willie said:
How come all you fatties only talk about food? Stop just lifting those 10oz weights and do some swimming. It's done wonders for me.
Good for you! But for most overweight people, swimming isn't the best exercise for weight loss. They're far more buoyant (which is GREAT relief for backs and knees) and most movement in the water does not strengthen muscles a lot unless you swim several miles, which overweight people do not have the lung capacity or stamina for.
Second, unless the pool is heated to close to body temperature, heat is poorly transferred to the pool from the body, because the cool water temperature causes the blood vessels to constrict enough to impede heat loss. No heat loss - the "burn" - poor calorie consumption.
That's not to say that water exercise does NOTHING. It's excellent for maintaining good muscle tone for those who don't normally get a lot of exercise. It can greatly assist obese persons whose knees are far too damaged to do much walking. But it's not a weight loss exercise.