literally get on a tredmill, angle it, and walk for an hour or two

I hate /fit/ and the bodybuilding forums so much. Stupid memes like this, SS, GOMAD, and related exist and continue to be parroted because of them. No, using a segway to move in between weight machines will not preserve your gains.

The amount of mental gymnastics performed by these guys to justify hilariously stupid physical decisions is simply colossal. I applaud folks like Chloe Ting (a "cardio bunny" aesthetic youtuber who specialize in Calistenics) who roast these guys by challenging them (bodybuilder roid bros) to keep up with her on her exercise routines. Watching these dudes collapse again and again because they have pathetic endurance and don't do meaningful cardio reminds is delicious to say the least.

If you get your diet advice from Zyzz, Rich Piana, or the rest of the memeloards of fitness, you deserve what's coming to you. Don't skip leg day.

Walking is quite special in this regard, because it doesn't seem to result in the same compensatory eating that more intense exercise does.

That depends on your pace and your previous level of activity. If the pace is average and your previous level was ~0 then yes, you're expected to benefit a lot for not much effort.

But to answer your question, walking at average pace is not extensive exercise by any means. Walking at top possible speed would be closer but would probably still not meet the bar. You'd need to incorporate running at moderate pace with a few periods of all-out sprinting into your walking routine.

One could say that your eating habits were borderline enough to maintain your current weight.

Also former fat guy here. I absolutely have not had that experience. I have easily maintained being fat (or even gained) while running 15-20k a week and walking everywhere. It's only when I actively moderate my eating have I lost weight. Otherwise I'd just slam down Oreos or whatever. It's stupid easy to get unfilling high calorie food.

It's good that it worked for you, but it clearly doesn't work for everyone.

> You're full of shit

Just FYI, that's an instant downvote on this site.

I just got a rather heavy physical job. Every shift is humbling. :P

I see a personal trainer on youtube one time who summarized all the components of weight loss so wonderfully I cant help but feel I butcher the topic whenever I talk about it.

The number one thing is sleeping. Go though the carnival of things people try to get their sleep sorted out.

The second thing is stress of both kinds. You need to be able to calm the fuck down. The body stores as much as possible in survival mode.

Then comes food. Your body need to adjust to burning fat for energy. People do this with tiny fasts and keto but (my entirely untested theory) is that you should fast for as long as it feels comfortable (no stress) then break the fast with keto. You start with something small, wait a bit then can eat quite a lot as long as there is no sugar and no carbs on the plate (keto). Then you do the next fast for as long as you can comfortably do. If you feel like complete shit eat some potatoes or even sugar and get back to the routine. Switching from carbs to fat cold turkey creates unwanted stress.

Then (if you didn't already) start mixing in a small amount of moderate physical activity. Walking for an hour per day is the goal. Keep an eye on what feels comfortable. Stay in the comfort zone. You may have to shorten the fast or eat a bit more between the fasts.

You don't have to go there but there are people who regularly fast for weeks and only have some cravings the first 1-2 days. They are obviously losing weight when they do that.

There are people who add [mild] strength training, will eat more and gain muscle weight. The good kind of weight.

If you add cardio you will also eat more but (like you said) you will feel like shit almost instantly after eating shit. From my experience I think it might actually kill you if you drain your reserves and try to replenish it with bullshit, say deep fried mars bars. You will be less capable fighting of diseases, infections or injuries when completely drained. You will quickly accumulate all the right stomach bacteria to create cravings for all the right things to eat.

Whatever you chose to do, it isn't about what you can do and accomplish today. It has to be a routine that will last 10-20 years. If you go from extensive athletic physical activity to sitting on the sofa for a few months the athletic digestive system is still there.

There was a fun study where they looked at big eaters both skinny and fat. Both ate just about everything but the skinny ones ate a lot more fat and the fat ones ate a lot more carbs. It seems to suggest that for the really lazy fat people an extra bucket of chicken to avoid eating a pizza might be worth a shot. More butter and more eggs per slice of bread. Two steaks and 1/3 the potatoes. etc

I'm not saying it will work but it would be fascinating if it did.