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Exercise won’t make you thin!
I saw a feature on CNN a while ago that made me almost fall off my chair laughing. Entitled “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin”, it was created by Time Magazine journalist John Cloud. Sweeping generalisations like this are dangerous because it gives people another excuse not to get in shape. People can now say, “Hey, I saw on CNN that exercise won’t make you thin … I hated the idea of exercising to beginning with, but now CNN says it’s not going to help me lose weight, so why bother?” I think John Cloud was trying to make the point that if you just exercise and don’t change your eating habits, you might not get the results you want, but to me, the headline sounded sensationalistic and misleading — an irresponsible marketing ploy to get high ratings and make the average consumers misguided and confused.
God knows I exercise a lot. If exercise really didn’t help you lose weight, I would be obese! I enjoy exercise, which is why I do it regularly, and I can assure you it’s been the most effective tool to help me age well (along with eating healthy meals in reasonable portions).
Many people start exercising and automatically assume they need to eat more because they are burning more calories, but since they were overeating to begin with (which is why they are trying to burn off calories by exercising more regularly), they should opt for healthy eating habits and reduced portions instead. In my experience, most portions in America are 30 to 40 per cent more than what most people really need to feel full.
I’ve seen regular gym-goers who don’t seem to lose any weight over the many years I’ve seen them train. Why? Throughout the years, they’ve never adopted healthy eating habits.
Not long ago, I saw a woman at a fitness facility I was reviewing who had previously been a regular member at my gym for years (she changed gyms to follow her long-time trainer). She had been working out with this personal trainer for years (personal trainers charge $65 to $85 an hour), and didn’t look slimmer or firmer than the last time I had seen her (which was about a year). She still had a belly! I thought, what’s the point of paying all that money for such high-level training if your body doesn’t look any better?
If your objective is to lose weight, fitness, without the proper nutritional support, is a waste of time. If you think I’m just ranting, just read the following:
>>> In August 2008, Dr. John Berardi wrote an article called “When Exercise Doesn’t Work.” I think the findings from this article are quite important, so I listed the core of the article below which states that if you want to lose weight and maintain it for the rest of your life, you need to keep active and eat a properly-proportioned diet:
>>> “When Exercise Doesn’t Work” (excerpt from Dr. John Berardi)
In my original article, I discussed two studies demonstrating quite conclusively that even well-designed exercise interventions, in the absence of a nutritional intervention, can lead to highly disappointing results. Check this out:
- Study #1 – University of Texas
- With 12 weeks of exercise; 3 strength sessions per week, 2 interval sessions per week
- Only 1.5 lbs of fat were lost
- With 10 weeks of exercise; 3 endurance sessions per week, 2 strength sessions per week
- Only 1.5 lbs of fat were lost
- Study #2 – University of Oklahoma
In each study, should the participants have hired personal trainers, they would have spent between $3,500 and $4,500 in personal training and gym fees. They would have spent between 50 and 60 hours doing gut-busting training sessions. And they would have lost a mere 1.5 lbs of body fat for their efforts.
So, readers and trainers alike, it’s time to recognize: Without a nutritional intervention, exercise alone does kinda suck. And it’s not just Mr Cloud’s article that demonstrates it. His article is just a “tipping point” of sorts. Years and years of research have been leading to this conclusion.
Many of us, either because we’re too indoctrinated, or because we fear too much for our financial well-being, have simply chosen to ignore this research.
>>> Krizia’s final word: I’ve been exercising for years now and have been careful with my nutritional plan for over a decade now, and I don’t have the issues John Cloud talks about in his article.
Exercise is such an important thing to include in your life because of these health benefits:
* It’s been proven time and time again that exercise can help preserve muscle mass as you age. The reason why so many seniors aren’t able to physically support themselves after a certain age is due to loss of muscle mass, and exercise is a huge contributor in reversing that.
* Adopting a regular exercise regime will help enhance aerobic and anaerobic fitness, which will help your body age better (keeping your heart healthy while keeping your muscles strong).
* Exercise has been proven to have a huge impact in helping your body protect itself against a myriad of diseases.
* Exercise also helps you hold on to cognitive and coordination functions as you age.
* Exercise is a great mood enhancer.
Stories like John Cloud’s really annoy me because they are misleading. Obviously, exercise alone won’t help you lose weight if you keep eating large portions of poor quality foods. Perhaps John Cloud should have adopted that perspective instead of the super-hyped headline he used (then again, had he actually used a factual headline, I would never have heard of the guy and I wouldn’t be watching him on CNN’s Morning Fix show).
The message here is to find a fitness activity you really like (and make sure you eat healthy!), because exercise should be an important part of your life. I exercise because I know that if I want to keep my muscles strong, boost my lean mass and keep my body fat to healthy levels, I have to exercise with intensity on a regular basis. I really enjoy exercising and I’ve not yet heard of a better health and fitness plan. Have you?
> If your keen on reading the full Time article, you’ll find it here: Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin by Time Magazine journalist John Cloud
Photo of international tennis champion Serena Williams by Rafael Amado Deras
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September 10th, 2009 at 10:05
The key for me to integrate exercise into my life was to find something that felt like fun instead of work. I don’t like weight training in gyms. I did it for a couple of years as a “have to”. Then, I discovered boxing! Now, that’s fun! Punching out my day to day upsets and anxieties changed the shape of my body and my outlook on life. Find something you love – a special aerobics class or a martial art, for instance. Create it as playtime for yourself and you’ll solve that “not enough time, motivation, or lack of interest dilemma we all face. Focus on fun!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:04
OMG – Cheryl! Words of wisdom!
I’ve been saying this for years now that weight training is NOT the only exercise on the face of planet earth.
I’ve tried golf and would rather peel paint off with tweezers, but there are millions of people who would think I’m nuts for feeling that way.
I think that if people really went a little further in their research, they would in the end find an exercise they really truly love.
I’m with you on the boxing! I LOVE BOXING. It’s a challenging exercise that makes me feel so strong.
At the same time I also love my weight training, but you won’t find me on one of those exercise equipment machines … because they are just NOT for me.
Thanks for dropping by.
September 11th, 2009 at 21:00
Exercise alone may not result in weight loss, but I find that when I exercise I eat less. The two reinforce each other.