Obesity Discussion Forums

[nikro000]

I have recently read this article in TIME ("Why exercise won't make you thin") and I wanted to know if anybody has had any experiences similar to the ones described therein. I cannot post links yet, but if you goolge the title you will find it.


It basically says that strenous exercise is not ideal for weight loss, because it promotes appetite. It does not say that exercise is bad for you - it is good for the muscles and the cardiovascular system - but for weightloss it would be better (especially for an obese person) to move more during the entire day, than spending one hour at the gym a day.

Any comments?

nikro000

[fattypants]

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - TIME
\there's your link

[SentinelBasch]

One particular quote from that article caught my attention:

"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.

Whatever your stance on the subject, calling exercise "useless" for weight loss is rather ridiculous.

In any case, this certainly doesn't apply to me - exercise suppresses hunger for me. I eat more on the days that I don't exercise. Exercising diverts the flow of digestive juices to the stomach, which in turn causes many people to eat less. For those people who do eat more, I'm inclined to state it's a mental thing, like "OK, I was good and exercised today, so I can treat myself a bit."

As far as when you exercise, it's more important that you do it period! All of it adds up to the deficit. The metabolic boosts that come from exercise are really only significant if you push yourself pretty hard, but this applies regardless of whether you do all your exercise at once, or spread it out a bit.

For me, exercise has been critical for weight loss. I simply don't lose weight without it. I have had periods on my journey where I ate well below my expenditure (under 2000 calories per day) and did not lose weight. What this article does not take into account is metabolism - mine is exceptionally slow when I don't exercise, and exceptionally fast when I do. So, for some of us, exercise is CRITICAL for making us thin.

[Obesity Discussion]

Ooooh that articles pisses me off. It's so biased it's stupid.

OK, so this person complains that they exercise consistently and they don't lose weight, therefore exercise is ineffective in losing weight.

Well duh, you're eating too many calories. How is this so hard to figure out.

It doesn't help that they haven't found something they enjoy doing for cardio, which makes the process even worse.

Some other astonishing conclusions....

gee, I exercised, therefore I ate more food. Well duh! You're going to have more of an appetite because you worked out. icard:

That study was a joke. I mean you make the placebo people fill out what they eat for a weight loss study on a card every day and they see all that they're eating, of course they'll be more apt to cut back. That's part of the beauty of counting calories. This is a flawed study and of course they advertise it.

They also mentioned the people in the study didn't lose SIGNIFICANTLY more weight than the placebo weight who did lose weight themselves....what's significant by the authors book? What are the numbers?

This author makes it out like sitting around all day but getting an hour to 90 minutes of exercise is worse than just being slightly active throughout the day in general. B.S. You're not getting your heart rate up by just being active all day.

This study too:

And no matter how much PE they got during school hours, when you look at the whole day, the kids from the three schools moved the same amount, at about the same intensity. The kids at the fancy private school underwent significantly more physical activity before 3 p.m., but overall they didn't move more. "Once they get home, if they are very active in school, they are probably staying still a bit more because they've already expended so much energy," says Alissa Frémeaux, a biostatistician who helped conduct the study. "The others are more likely to grab a bike and run around after school."

I don't buy this either. First off, and this is just my opinion, but more affluent kids tend to sit on their butts all day long playing video games, on the computer, etc, while kids from less affluent areas are more likely to play sports, etc.

I have so many disagreements with this article that I'm just going to stop now. I'm going to smash my head into my desk if I have to keep reading the rest.





Give me a break.

[fattypants]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

Ooooh that articles pisses me off. It's so biased it's stupid.

OK, so this person complains that they exercise consistently and they don't lose weight, therefore exercise is ineffective in losing weight.

Well duh, you're eating too many calories. How is this so hard to figure out.

It doesn't help that they haven't found something they enjoy doing for cardio, which makes the process even worse.

Some other astonishing conclusions....

gee, I exercised, therefore I ate more food. Well duh! You're going to have more of an appetite because you worked out. icard:

That study was a joke. I mean you make the placebo people fill out what they eat for a weight loss study on a card every day and they see all that they're eating, of course they'll be more apt to cut back. That's part of the beauty of counting calories. This is a flawed study and of course they advertise it.

They also mentioned the people in the study didn't lose SIGNIFICANTLY more weight than the placebo weight who did lose weight themselves....what's significant by the authors book? What are the numbers?

This author makes it out like sitting around all day but getting an hour to 90 minutes of exercise is worse than just being slightly active throughout the day in general. B.S. You're not getting your heart rate up by just being active all day.

This study too:

I don't buy this either. First off, and this is just my opinion, but more affluent kids tend to sit on their butts all day long playing video games, on the computer, etc, while kids from less affluent areas are more likely to play sports, etc.

I have so many disagreements with this article that I'm just going to stop now. I'm going to smash my head into my desk if I have to keep reading the rest.


Give me a break.

GOOOOOZZZFRABAAAAAA GOOOOZFRABAAAA

I think it's a load of bs too. obviously working out helps you to lose weight. If anyone thinks otherwise, it's prolly because they want to either have an excuse to continue to sit around and get fatter, OR they own a potato chip company, and want you to sit around and get fatter.

[Elanor]

I think it's a load of b/s. When I exercise I lose my appetite and it goes against so much other research!

[Martintn]

Originally Posted by Obesity Discussion

This study too:

I don't buy this either. First off, and this is just my opinion, but more affluent kids tend to sit on their butts all day long playing video games, on the computer, etc, while kids from less affluent areas are more likely to play sports, etc.

I have so many disagreements with this article that I'm just going to stop now. I'm going to smash my head into my desk if I have to keep reading the rest.





Give me a break.

I exercise 6 days a week and on my free time sit on my ass playing video games and watching tv all day.... and I've lost 110 pounds in 6 months! I don't see how they can downplay the importance of routine exercise.

I pretty much do exactly the opposite of what they're saying and lose more weight than I probably should.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by Martintn

I exercise 6 days a week and on my free time sit on my ass playing video games and watching tv all day.... and I've lost 110 pounds in 6 months! I don't see how they can downplay the importance of routine exercise.

I pretty much do exactly the opposite of what they're saying and lose more weight than I probably should.

Which is the exact opposite of what this article says should have happened.

Originally Posted by fattypants

GOOOOOZZZFRABAAAAAA GOOOOZFRABAAAA

I think it's a load of bs too. obviously working out helps you to lose weight. If anyone thinks otherwise, it's prolly because they want to either have an excuse to continue to sit around and get fatter, OR they own a potato chip company, and want you to sit around and get fatter.

[BadBoys2]Woooosaaaah Wooooosaaaaah [/BadBoys2]

I'm just shocked a prime magazine would publish that. I think they're just looking to stir up emotion. (It worked).

[monique]

I just have to say, exercise DOES definitely increase my appetite (SB, I swear it's not just mental!) but that doesn't mean I eat more!

They're ignoring the fact that being more hungry does NOT have to mean consuming more calories! There's willpower, and there's filling but low-calorie food. I think this article was just an attempt to sell magazines by making people feel good about failing at weight loss.

~Monique

[matt007]

Originally Posted by monique

I just have to say, exercise DOES definitely increase my appetite (SB, I swear it's not just mental!) but that doesn't mean I eat more!

They're ignoring the fact that being more hungry does NOT have to mean consuming more calories! There's willpower, and there's filling but low-calorie food. I think this article was just an attempt to sell magazines by making people feel good about failing at weight loss.

~Monique

I read an article that obese people tend to not have the appetite suppresion that thinner people have after exercise. Something about leptin levels.

Anyway, I feel like I'm more hungry after exercise.

[wyoPBS]

There's nothing wrong with being extra hungry after a workout... it's a question of what you eat after that workout to satisfy that hunger. A bowl of your favorite steamed veggies with nonfat butter? Great! A couple of apples or oranges? Super! A bowl of ice cream or a bag of oreos? Not so good :-)

Don't be so quick to dismiss that whole article out of hand. It's certainly true that Joe Sixpack - by which I mean most of us here - doesn't burn nearly as many calories in a day of exercise as we eat over the course of the day, and one greasy burger can easily undo the benefits of 30-60 minutes of moderate exercise. Do the math!

pbs, waiting for my rice and chicken broth to finish steaming

[justme]

When I first start doing harder workouts I get hungrier and IF I were to give into that hunger I would not lose a pound....However I do not...well...ok...I do for the first week.... but then I get over it.

Bottom-line IMO, workout and diet lose weight..... Diet and doesn’t work out probably lose weight but slower....work out and don't diet.... probably lose weight depending on the amount of calories you eat and the intensity of the workout.

But if you do the average American adult workout and eat like Michael Phelps you will likely gain weight. But if you work out like the average adult and eat a good, healthy diet you will maintain or lose depending on your caloric intake.

[anisette]

Wow... I didn't even realize that this article existed... obviously some thin person who has never had a problem with obesity wrote this article... otherwise he/she wouldn't have written it. For me personally, I can exercise or not exercise and still lose weight because I'm watching what I eat through weight watchers. Some weeks, I lose more when I exercise. Other weeks, I lose more when I don't exercise. The important thing for me is making sure I keep within my points system. Also, I find that after a good and hard workout, I'm not necessarily as hungry as I am thirsty. I try to drink a bottle of water after my workout and that suppresses any type of hunger or thirst.

[johnita36]

I think that article is absolutely insane, to say exercise doesn't help you loose weight is totally crazy. I know at least for myself adding exercise into my daily routine when eating healthy is what helps me loose weight plus tone up as I'm losing the weight. I know it's what has helped me as I've lost weight this time to not have very much excess skin as it's toning as I loose. And to say many people reward themselves after going to the gym with junk food like doughnuts I found this VERY offensive, I know i for one would not go grab a doughnut after just sweating to death at the gym. For me knowing how much exercise it takes to actually burn the calories off makes me want to eat less. So this article to me was offensive and full of crap to put it nicely lol.



Johnita

[wildwoman]

OMG that article is stupid! and for the record when i exercise i tend to stay on my food plan, after you bust yer ass that hard you don't want to screw all that hard work up with a twinky!!! Plus if your smart you have a GOOD HEALTHY post work out meal or shake that will refuel all that muscle you are building! Any kind of exercise is never a waste of time!!!! But TIME magazine may be a waste of time with articles like that!!!

[monique]

The guy who wrote the article admitted he had never had a weight problem and worked out 4 hours a week but wasn't particularly fit and didn't watch what he ate. Obviously working out isn't going to make you lose weight UNLESS you keep your calories the same or less as before. The thing is, they used the fact that obese people burn more calories as "proof" that burning more calories doesn't mean losing weight. Well OBVIOUSLY obese people are also consuming more calories! Because as they said, cutting calories DOES make you lose weight. If you burn 3000 calories a day and only eat 2000, you will lose weight. The idea that someone would not notice that they're eating many more calories when they start an exercise program is kind of insulting. I agree that exercise alone won't make you lose weight if you pay no attention whatsoever to you eating! But like Kerrie says, who would bother to do that? Calorie deficits can happen with exercise, diet, or ideally a combination of the two! This article is stupid.

~Monique

[monique]

I got a rebuttal to the Time article emailed to me from SparkPeople, and I thought it was pretty good. If anyone's got a spark account they're also doing a poll.

TIME's Great Exercise Debate: What's In It for You?

~Monique

[Pailaura]

The grain of truth in this article:

-When people exercise a lot, they are likely to want more carbs. If they're hungry, they're likely to reach for fast-food junk carbs, sugary stuff. Snack food bars; sugary drinks, overeating fruit.

- Eating a lot of fructose - and sucrose, because it contains fructose - tends to make you fat. Especially it puts on visceral fat.

All that's necessary to counteract this is to have low-fructose carbs ready when you need a blood sugar lift after exercising.

If you are exercising in a relatively mild way and your diet isn't ideal, it is easy not to lose weight.

Lots of people run just so they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.

But there are also many, many people who say they lost a lot of weight by exercising and that it's really important. Many of them also say they cut sugar and HFCS out of their diet while they did it.

Laura

[PTstudent]

Whether an article is true or false, its really up to the reader to read with a tongue in cheek mind set when there are no references or resources sited at the end of their articles. For arguments sake, even if the author spoke 100% fact, with out references their article is as valid as the claims against them. I for one tend to steer clear of internet or magazine articles and just keep my business in nationally accredited resources. While they are online, they do have printed publications that were once used by your very doctor while they were in medical school (chances are anyway.)

Sites like cdc.gov, nih.gov, eatright.org, contain articles from accomplished doctors who have published work in International Journals of Medicine. Some sites are free, others are not.

However, according to my own experiences and course work that I have done, this article is what the english call: pure rubbish. While the author throws in a fact here or there, this is like OD said totally bias

Originally Posted by Pailaura

-When people exercise a lot, they are likely to want more carbs. If they're hungry, they're likely to reach for fast-food junk carbs, sugary stuff. Snack food bars; sugary drinks, overeating fruit.

The crave for carbs isnt necessarily due to exercising, but to a drop in blood sugar. You can have a carb craving whether you are physically active or sedentary.

- Eating a lot of fructose - and sucrose, because it contains fructose - tends to make you fat. Especially it puts on visceral fat.

Fructose is a sugar most commonly found in fruit, Sucrose is table sugar. Sucrose is a disaccharide and fructose is a monosaccharide. Both are what are known as simple sugars. While the molecular structure of sucrose is glucose+fructose - claiming fructose is the reason why sucrose can be fattening is a little outlandish. Over doing simple sugars creates a fluctuation of insulin which indirectly would be the reason for a person gaining unwanted weight. Visceral fat is caused by a slew of reason including high cholesterol. Not by too much fructose. Ive never heard of someone having too much visceral fat from overdoing it with apples and pears.

All that's necessary to counteract this is to have low-fructose carbs ready when you need a blood sugar lift after exercising.

Im curious as to what a low-fructose carb is.

If you are exercising in a relatively mild way and your diet isn't ideal, it is easy not to lose weight.

I couldnt say it better myself

Lots of people run just so they can eat whatever they want and not gain weight.

Not too sure where your going with this.

But there are also many, many people who say they lost a lot of weight by exercising and that it's really important. Many of them also say they cut sugar and HFCS out of their diet while they did it.
Laura

Its impossible to cut sugar out of your diet. Every carbohydrate contains sugar. Although there are such things as ketogenic diets (Which i highly recommend any one stay away from), some way shape or form you have to have some form of sugar intake (including fructose).

[PTstudent]

Originally Posted by monique

The guy who wrote the article admitted he had never had a weight problem and worked out 4 hours a week but wasn't particularly fit and didn't watch what he ate. Obviously working out isn't going to make you lose weight UNLESS you keep your calories the same or less as before. The thing is, they used the fact that obese people burn more calories as "proof" that burning more calories doesn't mean losing weight. Well OBVIOUSLY obese people are also consuming more calories! Because as they said, cutting calories DOES make you lose weight. If you burn 3000 calories a day and only eat 2000, you will lose weight. The idea that someone would not notice that they're eating many more calories when they start an exercise program is kind of insulting. I agree that exercise alone won't make you lose weight if you pay no attention whatsoever to you eating! But like Kerrie says, who would bother to do that? Calorie deficits can happen with exercise, diet, or ideally a combination of the two! This article is stupid.

~Monique

+1000