The relationship between weight loss and exercise:
If a person wants to reduce their body fat percentage from 35% to 25%, we can liken this process to traveling from point A to point B, which can be achieved through walking, cycling, or driving. Driving is the most efficient method.
Walking = controlling diet
Cycling = controlling diet + aerobic exercise
Driving = controlling diet + strength training + aerobic exercise
This analogy is limited to fat loss rather than weight loss (the number on the scale). Exercise is definitely not optional; it is very important. However, it is possible to lose weight without exercising, which doesn’t mean that exercise is useless; it is very beneficial. One can choose a weight loss method based on personal preference.
This is similar to drinking coffee. If you have no quality requirements for coffee and just want a caffeine boost, you would prefer instant coffee powder over a high-cost, complicated hand-brewed specialty coffee. While they may taste similar, you must understand that they cannot be the same. The same logic applies to weight loss through diet control and strength training combined with aerobic exercise.
In fact, there is a method that lies between cycling and driving: controlling diet + strength training, suitable for those who do not enjoy aerobic exercise.
The underlying logic of weight loss is caloric deficit. Without delving into other factors, even from a caloric perspective, the significance of exercise should not be dismissed. Of course, controlling diet is paramount, as caloric fluctuations from diet far exceed those from exercise; dietary caloric intake is more controllable than the calories burned through exercise.
Therefore, one can lose weight solely through dietary control, but it is essential to understand that exercise is not useless; it is useful, but it depends on whether one is willing to incorporate it.
