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Comment by archsurface | Hacker News Reader

You mention types of food but not quantities. A boat load of healthy food is still going to have an effect. Also, I for one don't consider walking to be exercise. It's fake exercise for people who don't like exercise to claim they exercise. My reason is that I cycle for eight months of the year then walk during the rainy months. By the end of the rainy months I get back on the bike and my fitness level is catastrophic - nothing. I've done this for five years, and have to say walking is just not good enough for exercise, not even close.

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Can't speak for OP, but generally speaking there's a lot of variability in peoples' perceptions of healthy food and caloric density. For example, a lot of people see nuts as health food, and yet they're some of the most calorically dense foods you can eat! Another example would be to crack open the Ottolenghi cookbook and make the delicious Lamb Siniyah, which among other things calls for a large amount of Tahini mixed with lemon juice to create a delicious crust over the top of the stew. Delicious, but incredibly calorically dense.

I think healthy/unhealthy food dichotomy is psychologically the same as religious dieting. It fosters feelings of purity, self control, and is a form of in-group signaling.

But our bodies grind down substances to extract calories. It’s a simple mechanism. You can eat McDonalds everyday if you manage intake.

To be fair OP did say:

>> And you know what it is? It's volume. I eat too much.

I missed that.

What about someone who's carrying 100+ pounds of excess body weight? Would you consider walking to be fake exercise for them? I'd say that's a more heroic workout than joy riding.

I've seen such people jogging - intervals - short jog, short walk, short jog, ... They didn't look comfortable, but when I'm cycling uphill toward the end of a hard ride with nothing left in the burning legs I start grimacing too. What do you want? No free lunch.

walking is exercise in the sense that it burns calories, specially when you're overweight as it's like having a 30kg (or more/less) backpack with you. Bonus points for incline.

But yeah, it's not HIIT. You won't really build up your fitness level by walking - it's not demanding enough. You need to be pushing yourself until you're out of breath, if you want to build up your cardiovascular health.

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