Why exercise won't make you lose weight

[Alan]

Interesting article which may well ring true with many on this Forum, including myself. It was interesting as just a few weeks back I was having a lunchtime discussion at work and saying that this last 2 years I have really kicked up my exercise intensity a lot and can see the difference in my overall health and well-being, but my weight has not really changed significantly - I gain a little, I lose a little, around a range of about 10lb. (170 -180)

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - TIME

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Very true. I had a big week of exercises last week, and Saturday morning I woke famished and ate pretty much everything in sight, and this week I weigh just a bit more. Oh, well, if I had to go back to the days when I tried to be Marco Pantani by exercising like a demon and eating nothing but pasta sans sauce, then I'll take a few more pounds. Speaking of which, instead of skipping dinner, maybe I should make myself a grilled cheese.

 

[simple girl]

Interesting article. It's definitely harder to keep the cravings down after a hard work out. It all comes down to willpower, knowledge of what is happenning in your body, and having a good plan. In short, it ain't easy getting skinny and staying there. That's the cold hard truth!

 

[Midpack]

I went from 215 to 180 by lifting weights for 30-45 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week, and have kept it off for about 5 years. I really did not make any conscious changes in my diet during that period. Guess it was just an unrelated accident that I suddenly lost weight during the exact same period of time. The article is ridiculous IMHO, except that if you exercise and eat more, they can offset each other (isn't that profound). But TIME wants to sell magazines and many readers probably want to be told that exercise isn't beneficial WRT weight loss. Same nonsense that has sold thousands of diet plans that don't work, telling people what they want to believe when they know better. YMMV

 

[W2R]

There are too many variables here.

Some people barely exercise hard enough to break a sweat and spend more time sucking on their water bottles than pumping iron. Others knock themselves out, relative to their level of fitness.

Some people eat more after exercise. Others lose their appetite after exercise.

Some people monitor what they eat, add exercise, and eat no more than before. Others look forward to exercising because they feel they can then eat more pizza or whatever they are craving.

Some people have a metabolic level that is relatively steady, and others find that exercise really ramps up their metabolism.

When I was 30, trying to lose weight after having a baby, I was walking ten miles a day pushing a baby carriage and probably eating way too much because I was nursing. I joined a gym, did nothing but a little moderate exercycling there and (no surprises here) I didn't lose any weight.

More recently, having been very sedentary for many years, I have found that working out at the gym has been more effective for me.

 

[BlondieMM]

I have found since I started exercising regularly (4 or 5 days a week, 60 to 90 minutes) that I have lost weight because the more I exercise, the LESS I want to eat. I think my body just gets so pumped with endorphins that I just don't feel hunger. I eat a good evening meal, as healthy as possible, and can even have some unhealthy snacks at night. I have lost nearly 25 pounds this way and plan on another 25. So exercise CAN help some people lose weight if they react like I do.

 

[W2R]

I have found since I started exercising regularly (4 or 5 days a week, 60 to 90 minutes) that I have lost weight because the more I exercise, the LESS I want to eat. I think my body just gets so pumped with endorphins that I just don't feel hunger. I eat a good evening meal, as healthy as possible, and can even have some unhealthy snacks at night. I have lost nearly 25 pounds this way and plan on another 25. So exercise CAN help some people lose weight if they react like I do.

Congratulations on your weight loss!

I like the way you put it - - that exercise can help some people lose weight. There is a huge temptation to try to perceive ways in which people are all alike, but the truth is that our individual differences are huge and we simply are not all alike. What works for one person, may not for another.

 

[RunningBum]

I had the same impression as Midpack when I read that. If you exercise and use that as an excuse to eat poorly, you can gain weight. But the impression they give is that exercise doesn't help you lose weight. If you exercise and still eat sensibly, you should lose weight. It's a simple matter of burning more calories than you consume. You can lose more weight by either burning more calories, or consuming less. Whichever works best for you is the way to go. Personally, I find that the more I increase my running mileage, the more weight that drops off. When I take a break or cut back on running, the weight goes up. I'm not really as disciplined as I should be about what I eat, but sometimes I measure my runs in hours. Works for me, not for some.

Besides, I'm not a huge fan of weight numbers. How you feel is more important in my opinion, and things like cholesterol levels and blood pressure mean more than what your scale reads, in my opinion.

 

[Rustic23]

There was a TV show on a while back that took a group of people and had them train for a marathon. While most made it to the marathon few lost weight. Conclusion was no surprise. Diet AND Exercise! I will say however, when I was in college, I weighed 165 lbs. I also ate just about everything in site. However, I was also running 17 miles a day!

 

[tmm99]

I'm sure many people lose tons of weight exercising, but I can't seem to lose weight with exercise. I don't gain weight either, but I tend to eat much more food when I exercise. If I want to lose weight, I just change my diet.

 

[Alan]

One of the things that caught my attention is that the main study quoted was done at The Pennington Research Center right door to where we live and we actually know 2 people who have volunteered to undergo their programs and studies on weight loss. Neither of them had any success whatsoever even though they claimed to have followed the program of eating and exercise. Maybe it's that the folks that volunteer are mostly those who have "tried" everything else like our 2 friends.

Until I stopped playing and ref'ing soccer at age 40 I could and did eat anything and everything, but once I stopped I piled on the weight. When I decided to lose weight I combined a completely different way of eating with regular exercise and the weight came off very quickly.

DW and I always eat after we exercise as we are hungry but it is at a normal mealtime and we don't eat crap. eg we exercise in the gym after work and then we eat dinner, we cycle to the coffee shop and then eat breakfast and on a Saturday we play tennis for a couple of hours and then have lunch.

 

[aaronc879]

I'm sure many people lose tons of weight exercising, but I can't seem to lose weight with exercise. I don't gain weight either, but I tend to eat much more food when I exercise. If I want to lose weight, I just change my diet.

Drink more water before during and after exercising. That should curb your appetite and result in weight loss.

 

[Darryl]

Doc says calories in vs calaories out. I lost >15lbs last winter without changing exercise and dramatically increased exercise the last four months with no change in weight. You need to manage both.

 

[donheff]

Yeah, I knocked off about 17 pounds in my first year of biking (about 100 miles a week) but this year it gained back about 7 of those pounds despite the exercise. No change in diet in either period. I just hope I stay where I am. I don't want to discipline myself on the eating side

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Doc says calories in vs calaories out. I lost >15lbs last winter without changing exercise and dramatically increased exercise the last four months with no change in weight. You need to manage both.

Well, you have the old issue of muscle weight increasing from exercise which offsets a bit of the weight loss you otherwise would notice, at least initially. And remember that running a mile only burns 110 calories or so for the average size person so it's costly (in terms of exercise) to offset that 300 calorie dessert.

The calories-in-calories-out mantra has always been assumed, basically the laws of thermodynamics. But it may not be quite that simple. When you ingest calories beyond those required to maintain your current weight and energy needs, proteins are handled differently from fats and carbs. When taken without carbs, rather than being stored for future use proteins seem to be at least partially discarded by the body in the form of "thermogenesis" or heat generation internally. The body temperature rises much more after a protein feeding then after a carbohydrate feeding of the same calorie count. Eathing both carbs and protein together may offset this effect - the insulin surge from the carbs might ruin the thermogenesis effect of the protein handling.

The real-world implication of all this is unclear but does point out that some of the old assumptions may not be quite accurate.

 

[bank5]

I think a big problem with weight loss is that the average dieter doesn't know enough about nutrition. Exercising or eating less to lose weight is comparable to making more money or spending less so one can FIRE. The less people know, the greater the chance for failure and vice versa.

I read one study that the average American gets 7% of their calories from soda. I think it also said that the average teenager gets 33% of their calories from soda.

 

[MichaelB]

I went from 215 to 180 by lifting weights for 30-45 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week, and have kept it off for about 5 years. I really did not make any conscious changes in my diet during that period. Guess it was just an unrelated accident that I suddenly lost weight during the exact same period of time. The article is ridiculous IMHO, except that if you exercise and eat more, they can offset each other (isn't that profound). But TIME wants to sell magazines and many readers probably want to be told that exercise isn't beneficial WRT weight loss. Same nonsense that has sold thousands of diet plans that don't work, telling people what they want to believe when they know better. YMMV

Well put.

 

[freebird5825]

dh2b lost over 20 lbs by going to the gym 4 days per week since January 09. Some diet changes happened, but nothing radical.
Case closed.
I however liked the article. Just the excuse I needed. (...kidding)

 

[Kronk]

The following is a different perspective on the Time article. If you read the Time article, you should really read this one as well: Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology: Burn The Fat Blog

 

[RunningBum]

The following is a different perspective on the Time article. If you read the Time article, you should really read this one as well: Why Time Magazine Owes the Fitness Industry a Big Fat Apology: Burn The Fat Blog

Good rebuttal.

 

[Bestwifeever]

That's an interesting rebuttal on the "Burn the Fat Blog" but on the other hand the writer, a personal trainer and fat loss expert according to his website, does have a dog in the hunt--not good for his business if people don't see exercise as a tool to weight loss. Not to discount Time's interest in selling magazines to people who hate to exercise (me ).

I have a good friend who exercises--cardio and weight lifting--at least 90 minutes a day and she is also "fluffy" and doesn't understand why she's not losing weight. She is extremely healthy and fit otherwise, at least partly as a result of the exercise, but she eats a lot. In my own experience I can lose weight with exercise only if I continue to eat exactly the same as if I weren't exercising--if I eat any of the exercise calories, nothing happens (I can also lose if I eat less and don't exercise at all, it just is slower).

 

[Darryl]

Well, you have the old issue of muscle weight increasing from exercise which offsets a bit of the weight loss you otherwise would notice, at least initially.

Rich, Thanks for the entire nutrition/metabolism post, it really is fascinating stuff and to the above portion in quotes. My increased exercise while not creating weight loss certainly has made a change in body composition.

 

[ls99]

IMHO eating and exercising serve two entirely different purposes.
Eating is needed to stay alive. Don't need to exercise to stay alive.

For me eating is largely in the necessary class, albeit having a DW as great cook and my sweet tooth, liking chocolate makes it enjoyable. Before DW, eating was a strictly survival affair.

Exercise is to feel good, maintain agility, balance, poise, good walking form. Also improve and maintain ju-jutsu skills simply because it is elegant, slick, and graceful, all the while giving a quiet confidence to handle unpleasant encounters. Another activity I have pursued for about thirty years, is what I call the "practical application of the walking cane". It is an innocuous object in the hands of persons my current age. It is in fact a formidable tool if properly applied. The forms are again, a graceful but very effective forms of exercise, non-threatening to the casual observer.

The weight business I look at simply as an input-output balance. Simply controlled with pair of favorite shorts. When it begins to feel tight - reduce input. If it needs a belt to hold it up -increase input.

 

[TromboneAl]

I'll bet that Time article will cause over 1 million people to stop exercising.

Concerning the calories in/out equation, you have to remember that when you build up those muscles, they are going to be sucking up more calories, even while you are sleeping or watching TV.

 

[Texas Proud]

I also think the rebuttal is someone with more of a dog in the hunt as someone else said...

The original writer was giving one side of a possibility.... and there was a study to back up what he said... and there are many people who also back up what he said...

But from what people here are saying, he is wrong... but then, why do you not continue to 'lose weight' if you exercise all the time?


The benefit of exercise is a more healthy body... usually when someone who is overweight decides to lose weight, they change their bad eating habits and exercise... so they feel better and lose weight...

The article seems to say that if you do not change your eating habits or eat a lot more because you think that you can scarf down an extra 1,000 calories... well, then maybe you will not lose weight...

I do not see anything in the article saying do not exercise as it is a waste of time... like a lot of people here seem to be reading into the article...