"Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" - NYTime Article

BigBoneSista

I've learned that I lose the same amount of weight a month if I do cardio 6 days a week or if I do cardio 3 days a week. There is no significant difference. So now it comes down to preference for me. My minimum is 3 days a week...my max is 6. I do it how I feel. I have learned to eat realistically and in moderation and its paid off.

bootoou

it is very dissapointing when I have been kickboxing 3X per week and doing Kettlebells 3X per week and eating clean and a friend of mine says she started weight watchers about the same time and she has lost more weight than me... I know I am healtier than her and could run circles around her but it is still very frustrating. I however have lost more inches, Yea me!!

BigBoneSista

Fat loss is as much diet as exercised based. Burning 200kcals in the gym has exactly the same effect as eating 200kcals less.

That depends entirely on the type of exercise done and the intensity level it's performed at. Higher intensity exercise, such as heavy weight training and HIIT will burn more calories AFTER the workout. Also, dropping 200kcals from your diet can be harmful, especially if it puts the body into starvation mode. This could also potentially deprive the body of the essential macros it needs to function.

The problem is, people then go "I'm going to the gym, I'll have this energy drink to give me the energy to exercise" or "I've just been to the gym, better refuel" or "I've just been to the gym, I deserve this chocolate cake". Unless you're an athlete, and your next training session is before your next meal, you do not need to refuel, and if you're trying to lose weight, the last thing you want to do is fill yourself with excess calories.

Actually, everyone who works out needs to refuel, athletes are not the exception. Studies have proven that consuming a post-workout meal of protein and carbs will help the body repair itself from the workout.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi4.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/65946-ideas-post-workout-meal/

The difference, however, is making sure that meal is conducive to that result.

I agree.

BigBoneSista

it is very dissapointing when I have been kickboxing 3X per week and doing Kettlebells 3X per week and eating clean and a friend of mine says she started weight watchers about the same time and she has lost more weight than me... I know I am healtier than her and could run circles around her but it is still very frustrating. I however have lost more inches, Yea me!!

Don't be disappointed. You've gain lean muscle and had shrunk fat. Thats your ultimate goal. She has lost water, muscle and probably very little fat. Both of you could be the same height and weigh the same but your body would be leaner. Keep up the good work.

TurboJenn

I'm just wondering how a child eats 1000 calories of nutritious whole food in one sitting. I think what the writer is saying is kids who play more eat more junk and they gain or don't lose? Seriously? JUST eat nutritious whole foods I find it difficult most days to eat all my calories if I stay far way from junk.

healthyjen342

interesting post...Thanks for sharing!

jellybaby84

mmmm, I don't think it should make generalisations like that. My sister's neer dieted a day in her life. She was slighly overweight, joined the gym and has lost over 2 stone in a year and a bit, slowly, healthily and solely through exercise. She doesn't have an unhealthy diet but she she eats what she feels like when she feels like it.

I agree that exercise isn't going to make an overeater lose weight but it can help those who eat normally but don't don't deprive themselves of anything

ItsCasey

it is very dissapointing when I have been kickboxing 3X per week and doing Kettlebells 3X per week and eating clean and a friend of mine says she started weight watchers about the same time and she has lost more weight than me... I know I am healtier than her and could run circles around her but it is still very frustrating. I however have lost more inches, Yea me!!

Don't be disappointed. You've gain lean muscle and had shrunk fat. Thats your ultimate goal. She has lost water, muscle and probably very little fat. Both of you could be the same height and weigh the same but your body would be leaner. Keep up the good work.

Very true. You also have to keep in mind that people who go on programs like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, etc., but don't work out will eventually gain some, maybe even all of the weight back when they get off the program. People who are succesful at keeping the weight off work out regularly. They have to. Once you go from a severe and consistent calorie restriction, like 1200 per day, to adding hundreds more calories to your diet, the only way to avoid gaining weight back is to work out. Because you're using exercise to help with losing the weight, you're already ahead of the curve.

torregro

Let us all not lose site of the fact that there are *other* reasons to exercise besides the looks of our newly lean bodies.
Weight bearing exercise is critical in maintaining bone mass as we age, especially us women. I've been doing strength training regularly for a while now, and had a bone density DEXSA scan showing that I"ve got the bone density of a an 18 year old (I'm 53).
Some of us are trying to "outrun" our genetics to some extent, by exercising to reduce risk of early cardiac disease. You can buy into whatever theory of exercise vs. diet or exercise + diet that you want, but the fact remains...........exercise is critical to a long healthy life. Burn on, folks! ;-)

johnwhitent

Let us all not lose site of the fact that there are *other* reasons to exercise besides the looks of our newly lean bodies.
Weight bearing exercise is critical in maintaining bone mass as we age, especially us women. I've been doing strength training regularly for a while now, and had a bone density DEXSA scan showing that I"ve got the bone density of a an 18 year old (I'm 53).
Some of us are trying to "outrun" our genetics to some extent, by exercising to reduce risk of early cardiac disease. You can buy into whatever theory of exercise vs. diet or exercise + diet that you want, but the fact remains...........exercise is critical to a long healthy life. Burn on, folks! ;-)

I agree completely. I am 58, happily married, and feel no need to impress anyone with a good looking body. I eat well and work out so that I may enjoy a long, healthy, fun life. A sedentary lifestyle and poor diet has resulted in way too many people dying early and/or living with unnecessary infirmities as they mature. I run, cycle, and strength train because I want to enjoy my latter years. Bone density, cardio vascular health, and all the benefits gained by healthy eating and exercise provide a full life that can be thoroughly enjoyed by people into their 60's. 70's, 80's and even beyond. Where I go to church the congregation is, shall we say, mature. It is disheartening to see so many that are feeble yet only a few years older than I. They all assume that I am younger than our 46 year old pastor because they are aware that I do so many things that they can't do. I'm not out to impress them, but I enjoy hiking, canoeing, cycling, and a generally active life and I don't want to give that lifestyle up anytime soon.

Brianvera28

Long term success requires a commitment to both healthy eating habits and a sound excercise program that includes both cardio and weight training. If you try to fool yourself into thinking that you can maintain a healthy body & weight without both those components you will eventually end up gaining back any weight loss obtained by either dieting or hitting the cardio hard for a few weeks. The other important part of exercise is that it raises your metabolism for hours after you are done working out, so the benefits of exercise really do carry with you throughout the day.

Philbobaggins

Exercise WILL HELP you lose weight, fact. But Nutrition is very important. The diet side of things is crucial to body fat loss, cutting out trans fats and refines sugars frim your diet is what will make the difference, carbs are needed if you're exercising, and even elite athletes will have chococlate, sweets ect after trainign or events! there's good in everything. Body fat is the real enemy not weight so much, all women are gonna haaaaate this, but they carry more body fat than men do naturally, around 25% compared to 15-20% for men.

Tom

Delaina1

Bump

1113cw

Great read.. very interesting.. thanks!

Gr8_body4life

This is true, in part. But we must see the bigger picture for exercise! Exercise is not just a way to lose weight, its a way to improve our health!! Just because someone is losing weight does not mean they are getting healthy!! Exercise helps your heart a main problem in todays society!
In my weight loss journey I have noticed that exercising has helped me tone muscles, which is making my body look better, but so far not a lot of weight loss. Since i have measured in a matter of three weeks I have lost 4 inches!
Take it as it is and do what works for you!

elliecolorado

I completely disagree that exercise alone isn't enough to lose weight. I don't know if anyone has read this article http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html but it is possible to lose weight eating junk food. I am sure it is not great for overall health though.

I put on a lot of weight through college, sitting in a classroom most of your day and living off of fast food and vending machine food will do that. After college I got an office job, hardly exercised and continued to eat out for most meals. However a couple of years after college I moved and got a job as a waitress in a really busy restaurant. On average I was working 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week and was on my feet and usually walking that 10-12 hours a day. I was also living off of the food there, primarily anything and everything deep fried and greasy and I was also going out and drinking heavily every night! I lost about 50lbs in the first 2 months, without trying, only because I was burning a lot more calories a day than I was consuming. I kept the weight off for years, while I was working as a waitress and had the same activity level. I didn't start gaining weight again until I got another office job where I was sitting at a desk all day and I still didn't change my eating habits. Obviously then I was eating a lot more calories then I burned. Even if I worked out I wasn't doing 10-12 hours a day of walking. So over the next few years I gained most of it back, but if I had changed my eating habits to match my new activity level I could have kept it off. Now there are other health problems that can come with eating like that long term, but when it comes to losing weight it really all comes down to calories in vs. calories out.

mrk34

I agree with the article.

We don’t have to exercise to lose weight. I can state that because I have lost weight without exercising.

Shortly after I started my weight-loss program, I got injured and any exercise was out of question. I was desperate and thought that my chances for weight-loss were reduced to zero.

Concerned if I would be able to lose any weight without exercising I researched this subject and found the TIME 2009 article quoted here. The article gave me a little peace of mind. I continued with eating habits changes I implemented.

Guess what. The scale continued to show lower numbers at the unchanged rate.

Exercise is very important to our health and for this reason alone we should exercise and remain active. The importance of exercise and physical activity in prevention of Coronary Artery Disease can’t be overstated. CAD is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.

Also, the issue of muscle loss must be a concern to anybody who achieves rapid weight-loss. I experienced it myself when I was losing weight fast. Maintaining intensity of exercises may contribute to prevention of muscle loss while dieting.

misslyssx

bump

dls06

I've loss over 30 lbs since I started and have not done anything but give up empty carbs and watch portions. If you want to exercise for your heart or to look better in a bathing suit then go for it. But to loose weight you need to watch portions and lay off the JUNK>

MyNameIsNotBob

That article has an interesting point, which is, "Exercise won't help you lose weight if you keep eating 700-calorie muffins afterwards." But it was clearly an editorialized article. I didn't see too much research in there.

I strongly believe that you can lose weight by eating less, exercising more, or doing a combination of the two, which is ideal.

Eating less is the short-term solution to losing weight; exercising is the long-term solution for creating an active lifestyle that allows you to maintain a healthy weight once you get there.

And, you know what? If exercise lets me enjoy treats like muffins or lattes without going over my calories, then I'm all for it!

kamk16

I found this out all on my own. I joined a gym Jan 2010 but did nothing with diet pretty much stayed the same or gained not quite sure because I wasn't weighing myself anymore at that point. Jan 2011 I found MFP and starting eating healthier and watching portion size and low and behold I have lost almost 25 pounds So I have to say that this is so true I am proof.