Got busy; it even happens to me from time to time.

In my opinion, science is equal parts research AND application. If the theory doesn’t hold water in the real world, it’s probably not valid. One caveat: That you don’t drop the context.

Re: the NY mag article – I think a lot of people misunderstood what Taubes was saying. He didn’t say that you couldn’t lose weight (short-term) by exercising; of course you can. What he said is that long-term, exercise makes no difference unless you also account for control of hormonal tone (through diet).

Case in point: Of the clients you’ve trained who’ve successfully lost weight for more than a year, how did they do it? Diet? Exercise? Or both?

I’d wager that it was both, but if they tried to do it only through exercise, they’d be unsuccessful. In fact, I’d bet that they’d end up even more overfat than when they started.

Bottom line: Diet is the most important factor when it comes to losing bodyfat. Exercise helps, but without dietary modifications, you’re exercising for other reasons, not to lose fat.

Excellent post – you see this a lot – members of the sports nutrition community behind in their understanding of nutrition for strength and bodybuilding – sometimes the anecdotal evidence of millions of competitors and participants wins out –
Did you the read the one in New York Magazine, about how exercise doesn’t contribute to weight loss? That was classic!