[ksahin]

You're right! I agree with your "90% kitchen / 10% gym" for weight loss, but to maintain your weight I think the gym is more important than that.

The problem with people doing hardcore diet is that they will lose a high % of muscle, and after their weight loss their basal metabolism will be really low.

The gym itself doesn't burn that many calories, but increases your muscle mass, leading to a much higher basal metabolic rate, which in the long run, help you not to gain fat easily.

[hvidgaard]

If you're not looking at it from the point of view where weight is about the food you eat, and health is about the exercise you get - you're bound to run into trouble at some point.

The only way to control your weight is to control your diet. It doesn't matter what your basal metabolic rate is. Will it play a role? absolutely, but it's not what you adjust to keep your weight in check. If you can manage your weight with a low metabolic rate, you can manage it with a high metabolic rate. Gaining muscle mass will make your body signal for more food, so it can be counter productive if you want to lose fat.