Why Doesn't Exercise Lead To Weight Loss?

nytimes.com:

Few people, an overwhelming body of research shows, achieve significant weight loss with exercise alone, not without changing their eating habits. A new study from scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver offers some reasons why.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[GO-BAMA]

Anyone looking to lose weight through a one-pronged attack like exercise alone or dieting alone will not see desired results. You need both: diet & exercise.

Some would assume his is common sense- false. I struggled with my weight for years, only committing to one or the other and never saw results. I was 284 and I'm only 5'9. Only when I changed my lifestyle completely did I accomplish lasting results.

I exercise 5 days a week for at least an hour a day - usually more - split into two sets, usually 45 min each. Commuting by bike is great for this as I've found that splitting up exercise into manageable chunks is more effective than just trudging through a grueling 90 min workout once a day.

In addition to cycling every day, I diet using a 90/10 rule. 90% of the time, I eat healthy: only natural, organic foods, low in carbs, high in protein. Mostly fish or grilled chicken, vegetables, almonds, and LOTS of water. The other 10% of the time? I eat whatever I want, in whatever volume I want. Sunday after 5pm? I don't diet. Ice cream, pizza, burgers.... I understand that my body is a machine, and I want that machine to be as efficient as possible, but I know that if I don't have my Sunday night to look forward to, I'd never accomplish what I want.

The result? I've lost over 90lbs in the last year and I've never felt better.

[JSDKoeln]

If you are only testing for calories-calories out, then short, 12-week study will give you exactly the results you were looking for. 12 weeks is a joke. I will never believe it is calories in and calories out. Did everybody eat exactly the same foods? The people who ate what they wanted and exercised is not really scientific, since some may have eaten more in a day than someone else... or someone may have eaten bad carbs, for example. Did everyone do exactly the same exercise given their metabolic rate?

If a sedentary person goes into a life-changing exercise routine which, most importantly, involves muscle growth, then it will take more than 3 months to see long lasting results. It isn't exactly brain surgery.

The other BIG thing is... simply weighing is not a good measure of progress, if you are going to be scientific about things. It is all about lean-body mass as opposed to how much I weigh on a scale. If the study did not take that as the tool for measuring a dieter's success, then this study is utter rubbish. People who exercise can put on muscle mass in which muscle weights more than fat. Did they take that into account?

I think this is dangerously misleading. A waste of time in my opinion.

[Catothemuchyounger]

I am no expert, but from other things that I ready, there are problematic aspects to the advice given here. First, since even this piece agrees that the bottom line is calories in versus out, why would you recommend someone to keep their exercise in the "fat burning zone?" Sure, it will directly utilize some tiny amount of fat for energy. But the main thing is to use up as many calories as you can. You are better off going all out, or doing HIIT. And, of course, this will increase your capacity for more work, letting you go harder next time or the time after that.

Also, my understanding is that the "afterburn" effect is more pronounced after heavy exercise, such as sprinting or weight lifting, so this study may not really debunk afterburn at all.

Finally, the way to maximize fat loss is not to work out in the "fat burning zone" but to lift weights. That gives your body a reason to hold onto the muscle. Even if you end up losing less overall weight than you would with a lot of cardio, more of it will be fat, and you will look better faster.

[royevatom]

I think the Physiology of weight loss is interesting but the Psychology of weight gain is the more important issue.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

'Why doesn't exercise lead to weight loss?'

Because if it did, I would have tried it already.

[LordMoon]

Well, that's because the body adapts and becomes habituated to the exercise you do regularly.

Then of course some exercise isn't really exercise at all, once the body reaches a certain level of adaptation, it's dificult change, with the same old exercise routine.

I tend to think that the question here is all wrong, rather than exercising to lose weight, it's better to work out to have fun, and see weight loss as a by-product of you enjoying your body.

[jerrypl]

It all boiled down to what we already knew--it is all about calories in and calories out. Simple as that. So it took a research study to prove what common sense already taught us. There is no "after burn". No kidding.

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