there's a caloric "sliding window" (making numbers up as an example):
gain weight
--------- 1900
maintain weight
--------- 1700
lose weight
--------- 1400
starvation
as you lose weight, this window slides down and shrinks a bit, so it becomes trickier to stay in the "lose weight" part. also, the window is invisible. exercise moves the window up and enlarges it.
exercise also makes it so that when you lose weight, you lose more fat, and when you gain weight, you gain more muscle. (dieting without exercise you can end up obese after losing muscle and gaining fat over and over and over).
Jen0125 posted...
If you're exercising and not losing weight you're prob replacing fat with muscle.
supposedly that can't happen. you either gain or lose, you can't "transfer"; except by losing and
then
gaining.