I found this great article & thought I would share!

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/...icexercise.htm

Excerpt:

A lot of people are told they can expect to lose up to two pounds of fat each week with a program of regular aerobic exercise.

Some do. But a lot of people fail to see anything in the way of meaningful results, even after months of trying.

It's easy to think the problem lies with you. Is it because your metabolism is slow? Are you getting older and burning calories at a slower rate? Is it in your genes? You stick to the program, and still you don't lose any weight.

What's going on?

If you're not losing weight, it's probably not your age, your metabolism, or your genetics that are causing the problem. It's simply the fact that conventional aerobic exercise programs are not a particularly effective way to drop the pounds.

Thank you for the very informative post. I admit I got a bit discourage when reading it, especially when it mentions oxygen consumption and its relation to the amount of calories you actually burn when performing aerobic exercise. It helps me to realize that all factors come into play when dealing with weight loss. If I want to see results I can't slack off in any area, especially my diet.

It's always helpful if you post the source of the article, and better still if you just post a little of it and then include a link to the full article. As you post it, it's interesting, but I would know more about the validity of the findings if I knew who did the studies and who wrote the article and where it was published.

well, I guess you can look at it that the time you're on the treadmill or any other machine is time your not consuming calories!

aerobic has really helped with my stamina, and just making me feel healthier. plus, I do think it gives me more incentive to eat healthier, stick to my diet, and makes me feel better mentally. helps with circulation too, bwt.

I have found that sticking to my eating program is a really important part of the equation. doing the exercise and still overdoing it on the calories keeps me maintaining and not losing.

I would also like to see the source of the article.

All I know is that when I was doing aerobic (elliptical and treadmill) regularly I felt great, had more stamina, tons of energy, lost weight, and did notice a difference in my body shape. I stopped exercising, got lazy, and gained all my weight back. I'm now back at the gym doing 60 to 90 minutes, 6 days a week. I feel great, I'm losing weight, and today while walking up the stairs my honey said that my tushie was showing a nice shape. That gives me all the motivation I need to stick with aerobics.

Found it by googling a key phrase: http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/...icexercise.htm

Oh for heavens sake.

You may have lost only two pounds or something more with the exercise: but fewer of those pounds will be from your muscles that the dieting only group. Good grief.

Our bodies were built to move. There are so many benefits to exercise that it's ridiculous NOT to do it.

Did the studies follow people all the way to goal? Did they study them for a year (or more) it takes to get there? Sure you'll lose weight on a low calorie diet--if you're 240lbs and eat say 1500 calories a day--there's a deficit just walking around your house!

But what happens 6 months down the road? Can you create a calorie deficit then? Without exercise?

My goodness. I can't believe I'm upset by a stupid little article!

Another point to ponder - it may be that exercise doesn't do much for WEIGHT LOSS, as compared to diet. BUT in terms of health and your risk of dying, you're better off (more likely to live longer and free of chronic disease) if you're overweight and physically fit, as opposed to thin and not fit.

Gawd. First of all, these studies are including people who are working out "in the fat burning zone" (i.e. low intensity) 3x/wk for 20 minutes...well yeah, that's not going to get you very far.

Second of all he says combining diet and exercise resulted in a loss of only an extra 3lbs over a period of time compared to dieting alone. Then he goes on to say that to lose at a "reasonable" rate you have to burn 1000 a day, which is not realistic. Ok, I take issue with "reasonable" rate, as I'm sure most ppl on here do...when we lose .5lb in a week I think most of us consider that "reasonable", if not fantastic, and a whole # is good! So if you cut 500 calories out of your diet and work out for 500 calories (which is not unrealistic for a lot of people), you're losing weight twice as fast as diet alone! A 350 calorie work out, like the one described in the article, is nothing to turn your nose up at, but it's not the hardest workout in the world, either.

I know I'm totally preaching to the choir here, but grr. There is another woman who has a book out right now about how exercise is ineffective and you just need to diet. i think it might be the same woman who came up with "intuitive eating". It's just another fad.

Gosh, doesn't everyone already KNOW that exercise alone doesn't work for losing weight?

Jay

It breaks my heart, Jay, but sadly, no. My sister (who is about 20 years younger than I--and we rarely see each other) is using exercise alone to try and lose weight. She probably weighs as much as I did at my starting weight, though I can't be sure. However, I doubt she's losing: I was also told she spent $450.00 on Domino's pizza last month.

It's a shame. She spent a ton of money on some program a few years ago and lost more than 100 lbs--using a combination of diet and exercise. She regained because of a pregnancy that forced bed-rest.

I don't know where she got the idea that exercise alone will do it. I actually think she's in denial--but it's not my call, unfortunately.

I think this article is an advertisement. Did anyone notice this at the end of the article:

"The bottom line
Although it comes as a surprise to many, the majority of research shows that aerobic exercise in the so-called "fat burning zone" is not a very effective way to lose fat.

That's not to say that cardio is a waste of time. Interval training, or the type of cardio recommended by Tom Venuto in Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle, is another story entirely..."

I hear you, Alana. I tried that once myself--the exercise-alone approach. Gosh, I got more fit, but I was a fit fat person, and my goal had been to lose weight...

I am certain that $450 a month on pizza could crash any intentions... What can she be thinking? Never mind... I know...

Wannabe, I think it's an ad also, although I'm not sure what the writer is selling. The book is a pretty good one, I hear, so I doubt it's that...

My trainer at the gym has me doing "fat burning" sessions on the treadmill once or twice a week, along with interval training in between. My pulse rate for fat burning is ridiculously low. But, my own experience has been that those sessions work fine. Obviously, I am also restricting calories.

Anyway, I hope those that think exercise by itself is the answer have seen that it's not!

Jay

Hi all!

The facts as presented in the article have been pretty much flogged to death and can be summarized as follows:

Diet accounts for 80% of how you look: exercise for the other 20%. Cutting calories accounts for the bulk of weight loss. You can't exercise off the pounds unless your diet is in check. Conclusion: if you want to lose the pounds, you have to watch your diet. BUT the associated inference is that you don't need exercise because it is of minimal assistance in losing weight. And THIS is where I have some difficulty...

The BIG problem with this article is that there is a lack of connection between lifestyle change, weight loss maintenance, and exercise. The assumption that exercise is soley for the purpose of weight loss. If I exercise, how much MORE will I lose? It ignores the factors of weight maintenance, overall cardiovascular health, balance and bone density gains and benefits of improved muscular strength and flexibility.

I think all successful "losers" and maintainers have incorporated exercise into their lives. And articles such as these really detract from the overwhelming importance of exercise to weight loss maintenance and overall health. If you want to lose the pounds, there is no doubt that diet alone will do it. If you want to change your shape and transform your life and keep the pounds off, you need to incorporate exercise into your life.

Again, another example of dubious research...sigh...promoted by a website that requires membership to view their "earth shattering NEW research" about fat loss, diet plans, and exercise. (click on the link posted above and then click on HOME to see exactly what this site is about...)



Kira

People can lose weight and maintain without exercise. But that doesn't mean that exercise isn't beneficial for a whole host of reasons, including helping to create a calorie deficit.