Hi everyone. I just came across this article and it blew my mind! The results of a few weight loss studies have been released and found that participants who just worked out without changing their diets lost almost no weight -- and in fact, sometimes gained more than people who didn't exercise at all.
The article doesn't say DON'T EXERCISE but it says for weight loss, it's much easier to get results through dieting. Obviously exercise is great for cardiovascular health and building muscle and a whole host of other benefits.
Basically, they say for weight loss, dieting is good, dieting + exercise is best, and just exercise is the least effective.
I feel like a lightbulb has been turned on for me. I have been working out (again) everyday for a couple weeks and my weight has not headed south at all, in fact it seems to be creeping upwards. This has happened many times for me in the past where I get on an exercise kick and can't seem to lose a lb. I now realize an hour long workout can be totally undone calorie-wise by a snack, even if its something seemingly innocuous like fruit.
One thing that stuck out to me is that they said sometimes lower-intensity workouts like walking were more helpful for weight loss than high-intensity gym workouts. They suggested this because high-intensity activity creates a greater hunger response than walking. People were more likely to feel "starving" after an intense workout than an easygoing one, and consequently they'd eat more.
That actually makes a ton of sense to me. Sure, with exercise I'm burning some calories, but not THAT many unless I exercise like all day. And if I'm exercising enough, I'm not only not burning enough calories to lose weight, but I'm also gaining muscle, which can add on weight. Or I feel that because I've exercised I can eat more, and that leads to more weight gain.
Diet is my body's main source of calories, so it makes sense that diet is what majorly determines weight. By cutting calories or eating non-fattening ones, you're cutting out a lot more calories than through exercise.
Of course, the combo is awesome - eat healthy and lose weight, then exercise and gain more muscle which helps lose weight.
I exercise as much as I feel I can and not hate it. I'm not a gym person by any means, but I go. I actually get less hungry after a workout. Weird, but that's me. I do interval training, which I love. I like stuff that's broken up and not continuous.
Cool article.
Last edited by LiannaKole; 09-19-2010 at 07:17 PM.
Articles like this drive me nuts because they really downplay the benefits of exercise (although this one does emphasize benefits other than weight loss). I'm a huge advocate for working out, and most people who are trying to lose weight know that they need to exercise AND eat healthy to maintain the weight loss. It may sound harsh but anyone who thinks they can exercise and still eat whatever they want is not dedicated to losing weight.
I do think exercise is a great way to help maintain weight. You can't create a 500-1000 calorie deficit through exercise, but you CAN exercise enough in a week to "pay" for one solid meal each weekend, or a glass of wine each night: being able to have those sorts of indulgences is what makes weight management sustainable for a lifetime.
For the first half of my weight loss, I was so bad at exercise I doubt it did me any immediate good at all: I simply couldn't work long enough or hard enough to burn much. But even then I knew it was an investment--I was getting in good enough shape and building strong enough routines that some day I could exercise in a way that actually improved my health and expanded my dietary options. And it worked!
You don't exercise to lose weight--you exercise to support your weight loss efforts by getting healthy, improving your fitness and cardiovascular health, and keeping your muscles active and strong so your metabolism is good.
Meanwhile, you must restrict food in some way. That's how it works.
It's about 50/50 for me. If I don't get those extra exercise calories burned the scale moves at a snails pace for me. There's also the afterburn from exercise. and like someone said above, muscle helps burn some more calories too, plus if you are using your muscles you are less likely to lose it during weightloss.
I guess everyone is different, if you can lose without much exercise good for you..but some of us do need exercise for the weight to come off, even with dieting.
Based on my own experience, I agree that exercise is not effective for weight loss for me. That being said, I think exercise is super important for a number of reasons - cardiovascular system, muscles, bones, mood, energy. I feel better about myself when I exercise regularly and am more likely to want to continue to eat well.
Last edited by sf40; 09-19-2010 at 10:00 PM.
Reason: clarify first statement
I can definitely vouch for this. I've always tried to lose weight through exercise alone. I was never able to get below a certain weight, even training for a half marathon. It wasn't until this past spring, when I discovered calorie-counting, that I was able to get where I wanted to go.
And now that I calorie-count, it's obvious to me why. Too many raisins, a couple glasses of wine, a pumpkin latte, any of those can undo a workout oh-so-quickly.
This article from the NY Times describes some studies that point to exercise's role in maintenance. I've only been maintaining a couple months, but I agree with what Shmead said -- the couple hundred calories I burn during my workout help me work in some of my favorite meals or treats. That helps me stay happy.
A lot of people around here say it's 80% food, 20% exercise -- that sounds about right to me.
I gotta agree with the gist of the article. I think diet is the key for weight loss but exercise is a helpful adjunct; and then a combo of diet and exercise is the key for maintenance with an emphasis on the exercise.
I go to the gym 5 times a week, I don't see a trainer but a trainer did do my initial fitness assessment and will do ongoing assessments and he is an ex-fat person himself. He told me day one that losing weight is all about diet and maintaining is about exercise and I think this is what he meant. It's not a case of "if you want to lose weight don't exercise" and "to maintain your weight you just need to exercise" but there are just different emphases depending on the stage you're at.
I read a quote in someone's signature the other day... as soon as I read this its what I thought of. It said something like this: "Dieting makes me look good in my clothes, exercise makes me look good naked".
This really does make sense to me. A few years ago I did LA weight loss and lost 30lbs. Didn't exercise at all... I did gain most of it back but that was totally my fault. But now I am calorie counting and I exercise. Seems to keep me more accountable for myself and I feel good afterward
I think that if I didn't calorie count, I'd probably have a much tougher time, but since I do count calories and I work out, I find that the weight loss is much faster than if I wouldn't work out and just counted calories (assuming I would be eating the same amount). These days, I find that if I don't workout, I am a lot less in control of my eating and feel completely off track. I can understand the value of this article though.
At the beginning of my weight loss, I was at the gym for at least 2 hours a day anywhere 4-7 days a week but still had a bad diet. Not much good was happening, so I started calorie counting which helped. And finally, reluctantly, revamped the diet and the weight started falling steadily.
My mistake early on was getting really burned out from over doing it at the gym because I thought I had too. I didn't renew my membership when it expired, but kept walking, doing exercises, and workout dvds at home (not nearly at the same level of my gym time though). And I kept losing from a really good diet and hardly ever cheating. It all clicked after that.
As I get closer to my goal weight, I'll amp up the exercise to tone up, but at the moment I only exercise enough to get my heart rate going and to feel good.
This is totally true for me!! I've gone through periods where I've hit it hard at the gym, circuit trained, swam laps... the whole 9 yards and GAINED weight. When I watch my diet more closely and do a moderate amount of exercise the weight comes off much faster. Currently I'm focusing on strength training and eating completely cleanly and it's coming off faster than it ever has.
I think people don't realize how intensely you need to work out to burn x amount of calories. I was never athletic, even when I was skinny so exercise is to keep me moving, not to burn calories.
Why exercise won't make you thin
