One of the core components of exercise in losing fat isn't even increasing caloric burn.
Exercise is the best anti-depressive "drug", it's better than any anti-depressant SSRI drug.
And there's about a dozen other bonuses to getting fit. Getting people out of the house, crapping better, sleeping better, mental acuity, life extension, better quality of life for your lifespan, reduction in cancer, reduction in injury from day to day mishaps, etc.
Exactly, the caloric burn that allows you to consume more calories without trouble is just the cherry on top; it allows you to get treats without needing to restrict other important areas of nutrition.
Taking the radical approach to banning all sugar is just too restrictive and counterproductive, because the most important part is getting satisfied by what you eat.
In my opinion (and experience) people who struggle with weight tend to be bad at cooking and/or selecting the food they actually want to eat; then they feel bad and end up doing both: overeating stuff that isn't so good for health (especially if exercise isn't matched) after eating not so good food they felt they needed to eat.
Pro cyclist actually consumes pure sugar for the load of exercise they do and they are some of the lowest body fat people on earth, it would actually be problematic for them to eat too many fibrous foods since they could never digest it fast enough to meet their energy expenditure.
Exercise is the best anti-depressive "drug", it's better than any anti-depressant SSRI drug.
And there's about a dozen other bonuses to getting fit. Getting people out of the house, crapping better, sleeping better, mental acuity, life extension, better quality of life for your lifespan, reduction in cancer, reduction in injury from day to day mishaps, etc.