Wow... any thoughts on this study?

>>Start exercising and you?ll become a round-the-clock, fat-burning machine, right? That?s long been a commonly held belief among exercisers and fitness experts alike. But a new report finds that, sadly, it?s not very likely.

The notion that exercise somehow boosts the body?s ability to burn fat for as long as 24 hours after a workout has led to a misperception among the general public that diet doesn?t matter so much as long as one exercises, says Edward Melanson, an exercise physiologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. <<

It gets better, read here:

Exercise not likely to rev up your metabolism - Smart Fitness- msnbc.com

This is the part I thought was interesting:

>>?Bottom line is that we once thought that exercise would burn calories, especially fat calories, for a long period after a bout of exercise,? says exercise physiologist Gerald Endress, fitness director for the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center who was not involved in the research. ?This does not seem to be the case.?<<

I never did weight lifting when I was losing, just hard cardio daily. But I admit, this surprises me.

OH MY GOD....great study, great post!!!

I didn't read anything in the article I didn't already know. I never thought exercising would make me burn fat for a long time afterwards. It does for a short time afterwards because your heart rate is elevated.

Plus there are lots of studies that show that people who exercised don't necessarily lose weight. As the article mentions, you have to exercise *a lot* to burn off 400 calories, but you can put that in your mouth in no time. I think a lot of people use exercise as an excuse to overeat, in fact.

OTOH, between the extra muscle I have and the amount I exercise, I figure I can eat somewhere around 300 calories more a day than I could if I wasn't exercising. For someone who is doing more moderate exercise, maybe they only get a 100 calorie a day margin. But 100 calories a day extra is better than zero calories a day extra, right?

That must be why I exercised my brains out for 3 years before I got banded and never lost anything. I thought I was eating right too, but it was the ol lose 2 lbs during the week and gain 2 lbs back on the weekend.

Even the post exercise burn they've recorded in other studies following high intensity interval training is hardly hundreds and hundreds of calories.

I do not care one jot what studies say about exercise. I know the evidence my body has given me.

The studies say I shouldnt do lots of cardio, that I'm wasting my time. Bullsh*t. It works the BEST for my particular body, plus there's also the fact that I enjoy it so I will do it consistently.

I know the studies say if you dont kill yourself weight training that you will lose all your muscle. I've also found that to be bullsh*t. I do the very bare minimum, some pushups and dips, and I have really nice tone on my upper body, and running has strengthened my core to the point where I can do stomach tricks that amaze people. I'm also 42, have had 3 enormous babies and can jump on a trampoline whilst simultaneously having a coughing fit and NOT leave a puddle. Core strength anyone?

I also know that not only this time but once or twice at other times in my life when I've done exercise consistently (running all times) I can get away with the most heinous eating behaviours and not gain an ounce. Exercise for me DOES make the difference between having to diet to stay at a particular weight and being able to eat whatever the heck I want to.

As a female WLS patient, it is not usual to be able to eat 2000 calories a day. I can. I also have not needed to cut out carbs or even cut DOWN on them significantly even if I've eliminated crappy ones. Why is that? I tend to attribute it to the running but perhaps I'm just a freak.

But the way my body functions now that its fit, compared to how it was before - entirely different. I am so much more active all around. It depends what exercise you're talking about too - a half hour brisk walk for 250 calories isnt going to make that much difference, but i consider a 10km run in under an hour for an 850 calorie burn not hard at all. I do it almost every day. There's no way THAT doesnt make a difference.

However, if you try to lose weight just by exercising, it is not likely to be successful. Diet is the crucial factor, you can never outexercise a bad diet. Exercise isnt the magic pill if you look at it like that.

Ummmm...I think that is exactly what they are saying. Yes, it will burn calories while you are doing it, but no, it really doesn't have a significant effect on what you burn when you sit your ass back down on the couch.

You are a great example, you do lots of it, but most people don't, but expect it to somehow keep burning more then it really does.

I wish so bad that I could run, but my knee is not able to handle it. I have to just walk, bike and swim.

I know that if I only diet or if I only exercise, I don't lose much weight -- however, with the combination of the two -- watching what I eat and exercising 6-7 days a week for at least 90 minutes that people I work with could tell a difference between a Friday and a Monday ... I hope to get back to that routine in the very near future.

I need a new wardrobe :shocked4:

I dont agree with the comment though that if you exercise but then replace the calories you burn then you're no better off than if you didnt. Exercise does all sorts of wonderful things for your body apart from its role in weight management.

But i did laugh at how hard it is to gain muscle. So true. It cracks me up when people wail that they've gained 2 lb this week and everyone posts back to say "oh, you've started walking, its muscle". Sorry, but no. Most women would struggle to gain a couple of pounds of muscle in an entire YEAR with a dedicated strenght training program on the kind of diet we have after WLS no matter how many Protein shakes they drink. Body growth requires big calories.

You are a great example, you do lots of it, but most people don't, but expect it to somehow keep burning more then it really does.

Yeah, but there is a big difference between saying "most people are doing it wrong and it won't help" to saying "it doesn't work!". The later is more dramatic and that's why the story was focused that way. But it's not true.

That must be why I exercised my brains out for 3 years before I got banded and never lost anything. I thought I was eating right too, but it was the ol lose 2 lbs during the week and gain 2 lbs back on the weekend.

Exactly. Most people respond to exercise by eating more, and don't even realize it. That's why it's important to track your food when you are trying to lose.

There is a "right" way to exercise to really rev your metabolism too. That old fat burning zone is a crock. It just does very little for you - you will always burn MORE fat by working harder, even if the proportion of fat to carbohydrate in your fuel mix changes. For exercise to be a real help in weight loss it needs to be INTENSE. You really do have to work at more than 65% of your maximum heart rate. Workouts that light should be recovery workouts.

BUT - its also very true that a good daily brisk walk at about that intensity will keep you out of the cardiac ward and protect your health and your heart and mobilise your joints, so its definitely not useless activity - its just that if you want to see pounds fall away you need to be thinking breathing really hard, red faced and working at more like 75 to 80% with bursts of even harder.

Everyone has to start somewhere too. We cant all just go out and swim 50 laps of an Olympic pool in 30 minutes. You need to work up to it. So anything that gets you to that end goal is valuable. But i can promise, if you do get to workouts like spinning, running for an hour or swimming hard for similar lengths of time, you wont struggle with your weight if you're also eating reasonably.

I dont agree with the comment though that if you exercise but then replace the calories you burn then you're no better off than if you didnt. Exercise does all sorts of wonderful things for your body apart from its role in weight management.

But i did laugh at how hard it is to gain muscle. So true. It cracks me up when people wail that they've gained 2 lb this week and everyone posts back to say "oh, you've started walking, its muscle". Sorry, but no. Most women would struggle to gain a couple of pounds of muscle in an entire YEAR with a dedicated strenght training program on the kind of diet we have after WLS no matter how many Protein shakes they drink. Body growth requires big calories.

So true. In fact working out does great things for brain chemistry and for skin recovery.

I work out in the fat burning zone most of the time. And your right, it takes a lot of time to get the same result. If I stationary bike for an hour, and walk for an hour, and do some weights for about an hour, and do that 4 times a week, I will lose 2+lbs versus just 1lb, if I don't.

>>Start exercising and you’ll become a round-the-clock, fat-burning machine, right? That’s long been a commonly held belief among exercisers and fitness experts alike. But a new report finds that, sadly, it’s not very likely.

The notion that exercise somehow boosts the body’s ability to burn fat for as long as 24 hours after a workout has led to a misperception among the general public that diet doesn’t matter so much as long as one exercises, says Edward Melanson, an exercise physiologist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. <<

It gets better, read here:

Exercise not likely to rev up your metabolism - Smart Fitness- msnbc.com

This is the part I thought was interesting:

>>“Bottom line is that we once thought that exercise would burn calories, especially fat calories, for a long period after a bout of exercise,” says exercise physiologist Gerald Endress, fitness director for the Duke University Diet and Fitness Center who was not involved in the research. “This does not seem to be the case.”<<

I never did weight lifting when I was losing, just hard cardio daily. But I admit, this surprises me.

bummer...:biggrin0:

Edited December 11, 200916 yr by mnb

Hey, Wasa, good to hear from you!

Research changes on just about everything from one day to the next. I guess all I can say about the exercise deal is I think it's good for me and I'll continue to do it in moderation. Am not a marathoner or anything even close to it. The weight is coming off so I guess what I am doing is working...

Good to hear from you! Happy Holidays!