exercise won't make you skinny!

what do you guys think of this article?

http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

i think its all a bunch of rubbish

i think exercise is great. but i know plenty of plump people who stay plump, and run every day.

when i ran i never lost weight.  i felt good, but i didn't lose weight.

when obese people lose a lot of weight exercising/dieting it is often because they're making changes from grossly unhealthy lifestyles.  they were going against nature before....

i'm starting to think genetics is playing with loaded dice....

It's truly more than 70% nutrition. Exercise is a health factor and benefit more than anything, plus of course it tones you and enables you to shape your body into certain forms, not considering any numbers on a scale in the least.

The most bothersome aspect of that article, for me, is that it does not take into account the fact that most weight loss programs prescribe increase in exercise along with decrease of calorie intake and/or more nutritious eating habits.

I also find it irritating that it focuses so highly on proving past research wrong, while putting forth no new research of its own, and not recognizing that the past research upon which the argument is based may be faulty, as well.  For example, in the case of the marathon trainees who did not lose weight, the sample size was very small, and the article does not state whether they were overweight before they began training, or just under-trained.  If they were undertrained, there is the chance of them losing a little weight initially, and then gaining it back in muscle later on in the program.

In my own personal experience, I have found that I can lose 6-8 lbs from exercise by not changing my diet at all (over a two month period)-- and in times when I have increased my exercise level, I have not felt inclined to increase my food intake, as the article claims.

I think that the article does not take into account that many people have the problem of eating more than is necessary for their body to function.  If I did not exercise regularly, I would find it difficult to restrain myself to 1500 or less calories a day, because I feel hungry all the time at 1500 cals.  However, because I exercise regularly, I can eat 1900 cals a day and have the same calorie deficit as I would if I didn't exercise and ate less.  And when I'm eating 1900 cals a day, I don't think about food all the time, so am less likely to binge.

However, I do appreciate that the article is examining new ways to look at weight loss in order that we may have a better understanding of how it works in the future, and to point out that it may be grossly unfair to assume all overweight people are "just lazy." 

 

bahhhhhhhh...it wouldnt load!

Exercise wont make you skinny...its true. All the exercise in the world wont help if you eat more then you are burning.... but you can still get skinny without moving an inch if you manage your diet right.

But, thats not all there is to the "nice body game". Losing weight by just diet change will leave you with a bad body (bad looking, bad feeling, just a generally not good body). You need exercise to be in good condition (and to look good)... and it doesnt hurt that exercise speeds things up and allows you to eat more (and still lose weight).

So, in the end, exercise is needed....anyone who tells you otherwise isnt looking at the entire picture of getting in shape (and they will be the ones ending up looking bad even after losing the weight).

loriklorik, you couldn't have said it better.  I agree whole heartedly!!  Stick with your recommended daily calorie intake and exercise so that your body forms shapely...firm, not flabby!! 

By the way, Thanks for sharing the article!! 

Over the summer i stopped my usual 2-3 ballet classes each week and gained 6lbs. Decided to loose 15lbs but dont want to diet as being trying that for years to no avail just get bored and give up. So instead cut out the snack, still eat out a few times a week but i have been going to spinning classes 4 times and ballet 3 times a week. In 3 weeks ivce lost 5lbs which i figure is good as i already have a bmi of 22. Thats 5lbs of fat ive lost and possibly more if its balanced by a little muscle gain.

If you just loose weight through diet you will also loose muscle which leads to lower metabolism as you need less calories to support fat than you do muscle. Which means that being thin but untoned would lead you to have to cut your intake down just to maintain.

By increasing your muscle mass you are incresing your need for energy so excerising and building 10lbs more muscle would mean that every day your body would burn 100-150cals more, therefore of course excerise would make you loose weight, unless you feel that excerising means you can start eating more.

Im going to stick with my routine of eating as i normally do and just keeping an eye on the snacks (i already eat well so weigh 138lbs) and try to excerise 6-7 times a week. Figure this is the best method for me as, dieting proves very slow progress so i get bored. Hopefully once ive dropped the 15lbs of fat i can continue to eat as i do and work out 3-4 times a week and the extra muscle should keep me looking healthy and toned

 

I used to exercise ALOT. I would be on the elliptical for an hour and a half somedays. I didn't lose a pound. It all boils down to nutrition for me. I know I probably ate alot more when I exercised.

I think exercise is great for you though, however I think it all boils down to how much you eat. JMO

Exercise (unspecified and by itself) won't make you skinny.

I agree with that statement.

First off, I don't want to be "skinny" - I want to be fit.

But the journalism in that article is not the most ethical.  For one thing, they were asking the author of the report that was recently issues if the running he did 30 years ago had made him fatter now or thinner now.  Huh?  What the hell kind of stupid question is that?

Here is what exercise can do for you:

• improve your utilization of oxygen (cardiovascular health)
• increase your muscle strength and tone
• increase your flexibility (and resistance to injuries)

It will do these things regardless of how many calories you take in.

Another problem I had with that article is that it quoted very old research, and focused the most on intense, vigorous exercise.  My doctor has told me I should NOT do exercise that is too vigorous if I want to burn fat.  I have to keep my heart rate up, just to the point that I'm sweating, but not that I'm so out of breath that I can't speak.  Moderate exercise is what helps burn fat, but you wouldn't know that if you read that article.

Journalists are always angling for hype. If it's controversial, it gets read by more people, their career advances, and so it goes on...

Ultimately, yes, I think vigorous exercise will increase the appetite.  But moderate exercise doesn't seem to, at least in my case. 

I say we need a better article. 

Moderate exercise has health benefits that are important to your overall well being.

And without it, you might be 'skinny' but you won't be fit.

I lose so much more weight  longterm with exercise than without=) So exercising must be doing something right for me.............

<shrug> Personally, I'd rather be fit and fat, than skinny and unfit.

My doctor likes to say that if exercise was a pill, he'd prescribe it to all his patients! There is much more to exercise than simply weight loss or controlling weight.

And I agree with what everyone else said, I wonder if the author was including the research in the past year about how walking downhill decreases insulin levels (yes, they had half the participants walk down a ski slope every day, and the other half walk up the slope but not down)? The author goes into how insulin plays a huge factor. Well, that one study should show that exercise can help control insulin, no?

I do have to manage my carb intake closely, because too many starches do pack on weight on me. I am prediabetic. But exercise has done wonders helping me control my insulin too. I need *both* exercise *and* diet.

so im 3 weeks into my excerise every day to loose weight. Im alternating my usual 2 ballet classes a week with 4 additional spinning classes. Havent changed my diet as i eat pretty healthiy anyway so im taking about 1400-2000 cals depending on whether im out for dinner etc. SO far only lost 3lbs which is disappointing considering im doing 8-10 hours of excerise a week, but more importantly than the 3lbs is that my clothes feel looser and my tummy is back to being flat, just got the huge hips and bum to go. So im sorry this article is complete poo, yes you will get slimmer with excerise without dieting assuming that you dont suddenly up your calories.