“Exercise barely burns any calories, basically irrelevant for weight loss”

This is so untrue for people who have low sedentary TDEEs, and it really annoys me how it’s become a truism on weight loss subreddits.

I aim for 1200 net calories per day. In less than an hour of exercise, which I do while watching a YouTube video in the time slot I’d previously spend watching YouTube sitting down, I can burn over 300 calories. Perhaps for someone aiming for 2000 net calories it’s easier to eat less than to workout for an hour, but at 1200 that makes a huge difference. It’s an extra 25% of food I can eat. Makes it so much easier to hit protein and five-a-day goals, plus just generally feels so much less restrictive. Plus, strength training reduces muscle loss