Effect of Dietary Adherence with or without Exercise on Weight Loss
Fasten your seatbelts for this one. Regular readers know I am a huge fan of calorie restriction without nutrient restriction for weight loss and long term health.
In this particular study of calorie restriction and exercise, some interesting findings came out. Everyone was put on a 800 cal / day diet, which is quite restrictive. However, those that had greater restrictions (meaning they were taking in more calories before the study and the drop down to 800 was greater) had a harder time sticking to the diet. Makes sense. Also means that we should, in general, cut down our caloric intake, dieting or not. Next, those that exercised 3 x / wk lost more fat mass than the non-exercising group. So compare this to the HCG wonder diet that you hear on the radio so often. The diet associated with this is 500 cal / day and you can’t exercise.
I contend that the weight loss is from the calorie restriction and have seen nothing to suggest otherwise. Also, from this study we see that exercise is needed to lose more fat mass, and this is left out of the HCG diet. Stick to calorie restriction and save your money.