Question

Discuss the relative effectiveness of dieting and exercise in losing weight, noting that most athletic activities consume food energy at a rate of 300 to 400 Cal/h, while a single cup of yogurt can contain 325 Cal. Specifically, is it likely that exercise alone will be sufficient to lose weight? You may wish to consider that regular exercise may increase the metabolic rate, whereas protracted dieting may reduce it.

Answer 1

You need more fatty-acids, as fuel for the longer cardio sessions; try making your omelette with whole eggs, and putting a bit of butter on the veg. You also need plenty of carbohydrate for the heavy work; Try adding a baked potato to your lunch, some pasta to your dinner, rotate some cereal with whole milk into your breakfast options, and eat yellow & red veg as well as the green.

Your Trainer (who should well be well-qualified enough to know better) probably believes the MYTH that your body will use stored fat as fuel if it doesn't get enough energy from its diet.

But there is no known 'mechanism' by which a human body could achieve this; stored fat cannot burn (chemically, it's more like soap than wax).

If you are active enough during a long period of time, your body will start releasing more of this srtored substance ('triglyceride'), and chemically converting it into a burnable form, to HELP with the fatburning that is going on.

But without plenty of activity (powered by fats and sugars from your diet), both of these processes will be suppressed, in order to retain as much fat as possible in case of an emergency. By restricting fuel intake, you are teaching your body that the emergency (a period of total famine) is more and more likely. So do more, and that will GRADUALLY teach your body to invest stored fat in your activities, instead of keeping it for an uncertain future