> Most of this person’s weight loss seems to have been from eating fewer calories, not walking.
This is likely true for everyone losing weight. Exercise gets you fit(-ter than you were before), though, and there are a lot more health benefits from being fit than thin. I'm pretty sure being thin just helps you with your sugar.
I think there are two components to this (they might be related, though, I don't know).
On the side, exercise does make you fitter, and consume some calories, etc.
But then, I find that it also has a non-negligible effect on the food I crave. I find it much, much easier to not eat tons of "junk food" when I exercise. And by that, I mean I practically don't feel like eating any, at all. I actually crave vegetables and meat. And those have a tendency to be "filling" and not have you want to eat again 2 hours later.
So it's much easier for me to actually lower my calorie intake when exercising.
For me, cycling to and from work helped me eat less, in the sense that I wasn't hungry while cycling and for at least half an hour afterwards.
So I could skip breakfast, jump on the bike, and then have a late-breakfast/early lunch at work. At the end of the work day I'd start to get hungry, but then I'd jump on the bike and when I got home I still had time to make and eat dinner before the raging hunger kicked in.
This helped me skip an entire meal per day, which made things a lot easier for me.
Nah that's typical I think. If I'm biking a longer way I have to force myself to eat some around like 35 to 40 miles, and then every 15 or 20 after. I don't feel hungry but I start getting noticably weaker.
In fact, when building up for distance cycling, I felt like learning when to eat and making my saddle and handlebars more comfortable was equally as important as building strength. Extra strength makes you finish your trip faster, but you'll probably still complete it even slowly, but if your saddle isn't right for you, the pain can be insurmountable.
When I'm going on a trip I pack like a light lunch (cheese sandwich and chips or fruit) and stop, but if I'll be back home that day I go for the type of stuff you get at a bike shop, cliff bar or those weird but kinda good energy gummis with electrolytes sugar and a little caffeine and just snack as I ride.
This is likely true for everyone losing weight. Exercise gets you fit(-ter than you were before), though, and there are a lot more health benefits from being fit than thin. I'm pretty sure being thin just helps you with your sugar.