This Basics section is about just that. The Basics of losing weight and the role of exercise.
To lose weight we need to change what, when and probably how often we eat. Exercise alone is not thought to be a good way to lose weight. Yes of course if we walk all day every day we will lose weight, but how sustainable is that? And yes top atheletes consume large amounts of calories, but that’s because they train every day for most of the day. The rest of us need to look at what we eat.
But let’s not diminish the role of exercise. Exercise is great for lots of reasons, but it’s not the answer to weight loss. It will have great benefits. And yes we should all do more. And yes, exercise and managing what we eat is better than just changing what we eat. But we have to change what we eat.
My main point here is, that if you exercise it’s helpful to see this as a bonus, or additional activity, not the main route to weight loss.