Hate to Exercise? Don't Sweat It.

Not only do I have a sister who's a personal trainer and a brother-in-law who recently biked across the state of Iowa -- I also live with a husband who runs gazillions of miles a week, whose family business is fitness. Life can be so unfair. I definitely never signed up for this one.

Personally I don't need to sweat to feel satisfied. At this point, I'd rather walk -- to the beach (or to a bakery.) And mostly I'm okay with my slacker attitude. But sometimes I feel guilty that I don't exercise like a maniac so I can eat like one. That my personal happiness can be in complete opposition to my body fat percentage.

I recently joined my sister and her husband on vacation. While they spent two hours a day bonding over back-breaking bike rides, I spent the same time bonding with brownies. So it was incredibly validating to come home and find this issue of TIME magazine. My salvation was right on the cover.

Inside, it's even better.

The title is a beauty. I couldn't have written it better myself.

If you can't read the subtitle, here's the important part: Physical activity... doesn't always melt pounds -- in fact, it can add them.

That's the gist of the whole article right there. And it goes on to build my case very effectively. Click to read the whole piece here.

The basic theme is found in a sentence simple and short enough to fit on Twitter: Obesity research shows that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly overstated.

The author, John Cloud, is my new hero:

A standard bottle of Gatorade contains 130 calories. If you're hot and thirsty after a 20-minute run in summer heat, it's easy to guzzle that bottle in 20 seconds... From a weight loss perspective, you would have been better off sitting on the sofa knitting.
( How can you not love this guy?)

It's no joke -- his article is based on the very latest -- and serious -- research, which indicates that the more you exercise, the more you eat.

It includes some complicated stuff about scientific studies -- involving people and of course, rats. Due to a particular substance in their bodies (scientific name= "brown fat") rats have a far greater capacity to process excess calories. Even when force-feeding them, scientists have discovered it's very difficult to make a rat obese -- unlike a human female who can gain 10 pounds merely by opening a container of Haagen Das. The essence of these complicated studies is simple: When it comes to losing weight, exercise is good for you -- if you're a rat.

I am not making this up. Here's what the experts say:

"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," says Eric Ravussin, Chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher.

I know what you're thinking. I'm thinking it, too. Louisiana State? A state with probably one of the highest obesity percentages? Not to mention (no offense meant) -- are those the best academic credentials TIME magazine could come up with?

I sat up a little straighter when further into the article there's a quote from a guy at Harvard -- Steven Gortmaker, head of Harvard's Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity: "If you're more physically active, you're going to get hungry and eat more."

The solution seems obvious: be less physically active and you'll eat less. You don't even need a Harvard degree to figure it out.

Yale weighs in, too. Psychologist Kelly Brownell ran a lab treating obese patients, where he found that exercise did not lead to long-term weight-loss success. Today, Brownell says : "I would probably reorient toward food and away from exercise."

Harvard and Yale -- that's good enough for me.

Case closed. All I can say is: It's about TIME.

Follow Darryle Pollack on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DarryleP

Comments

[Darryle Pollack]

Maybe it's not clear that I wrote this piece tongue in cheek. Although it would be welcome news, I haven't read anything in TIME or elsewhere to suggest that exercise is not good for you. The focus of the article is the research on the role of exercise in weight loss. There's no doubt of its value and benefits for overall health. So I hope anyone who reads my post takes it with a grain of salt---something to avoid, although I plan to continue bonding with brownies.

[ifirehorse]

How very unhelpful...Weight loss is not the only reason to exercise for one, and secondly, the weight regular exercisers gain is generally muscle. Yes, you have an appetite if you exercise, but if you eat protein and good healthy food, you will not gain fat. In the past two years, since I started weightlifting and running regularly, my bone density has increased dramatically. As a menopausal woman, that is a huge benefit. My cardiovascular fitness has also improved dramatically, which means I don't get tired nearly as easily as I used to when I do everyday things like grocery shopping etc. I've watched some of my older relatives basically crumble from unchecked osteoporosis. Such unnecessary pain. Not a pretty sight. Sure, sometimes I'd rather stay in bed than get up and get moving, but I want to be ABLE to move when I'm in my 70s, so I'll pass on the excuses, thanks.

[odyssey58]

I don't find that I eat more when I exercise. I've been doing it for more than eleven years.

I exercise more for bone health and for cardiovascular health rather than weight management. I don't drink gatorade or any sports drinks or nutrition bars.

Articles like this do a disservice to us all. There is no doubt that exercise is extremely important to overall health. We need to be encouraged to exercise rather than be given reasons not to exercise.

Also, engaging in regular exercise needs to be viewed as a permanent lifestyle change rather than for short term weight loss.

[rugbymom]

Yes! I actually eat less when I'm exercising regularly, and am more likely to go for cucumbers and peaches than fatty starches -- and I drink water, not Gatorade. (The real take-away message from this article: Stupid non-foods like Gatorade or soda or french fries make you fat.) I don't know if it's that I work off the stress, or what -- I don't care about the biochemistry. And I sleep better -- no hot flashes, even -- and just feel a lot better overall.

[gts2525]

There are great online tools that can help you find the right exercise for you and motivate you on your goals. Holosfitness.com has hundreds of exercises listed with step-by-step instruction, all of which are provided for free. The site also offers group support and motivation in an effort to help you achieve your fitness goals and stick to a routine.

[ConstanceReader]

"If you exercise large muscles strenuously you will grow more muscle which may increase your weight but in a good way. "

I've been working out with a trainer for 3 months and taking dance classes. At 5'5" and 175, there is no such thing as increasing your weight in a 'good' way.

Three months. No loss of weight. No loss of inches. No loss of fat. Eating significantly more than I used to, because I'm significantly more hungry than I used to be. What I'm eating more of is healthy, lean foods, but it doesn't matter because I'm still eating almost twice as much as I used to. I'm also tired all the time (so much for the myth of increased energy with increased exercise), I'm borderline anemic now and wasn't before I started exercising. And I was already perfectly healthy to begin with, I just wanted to slim down and tone up.

The trainer was a waste of money, I'm done. From now on it's yoga and dance class and back to eating less (because I won't be so hungry anymore).

[67bug]

I went through the same thing with a trainer, too expensive. Think I'll just walk more for exercise. I have CFS so I get exhausted easily. Has yoga helped? What type of dance are you doing?

[ConstanceReader]

I am learning traditional Indian dance (I'm not Indian, just for fun). And I haven't started yoga yet but the dance classes made me realize just how inflexible my muscles are. I hope to start yoga next week.

[David Geschwind]

"In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless," says Eric Ravussin, Chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher.

Spoken like a true academic. He is right for lab rats and people who act like them, ie only exercise by participating in studies.

Yet when Consumer Reports surveyed its members about weight loss exercising more is one of the responses most highly correlated with successful, long term weight loss. A professional bicycle racer consumes massive amounts of calories. In fact its a challenge to eat enough. So why aren't bicycle racers and triathletes fat?

The studies are right but your take on them is wrong. If you really exercise, not just go walk on the treadmill for a half an hour, you will burn more calories than you consume. If you exercise large muscles strenuously you will grow more muscle which may increase your weight but in a good way. Also it is hard to eat while you are exercising which you can do if you are sitting on the couch. As an avid winter sportsman I can also attest to the value of exercising when its cold outside. Your body consumes calories just keeping warm.

Real fitness involves some discomfort and pain. Walking is good for the elderly and those who are just starting out but for most people its a waste of time.

The only surefire way to reduce your weight is through eating less and exercising more.