Time article: Why exercise won't make you thin

[Cleo's Mom 257]

I heard about this on CNN this morning and also posted it on the exercise & fitness forum, too. It's an interesting read.

Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin - Yahoo! News

[Nanook 2]

Cleo's Mom,

That article makes a lot of sense to me! I normally eat about an hour before I exercise and can still be hungry afterward. I've also read where swimming can actually make you gain weight! I don't know if your body goes into some type of conservation mode or not. Thanks for the article, Nancy.

[AlaskaGirl77 0]

Makes sense...that's why we are told to DIET and exercise...one with out the other is ying without it's yang...

[Jachut 487]

Excercise is only a valuable addition to diet. You lose or gain weight primarily becuase of diet, and you cant outexercise a bad diet.

Also, I think people go WAY over the top with their sports supplements. The average Joe just doesnt need them. All this fuss with Protein Shakes x long after a workout, and so much grams per day and the endurance drinks DURING the workout and whether milk makes the best post workout recover drink, I think its all bollocks. Hello! If you eat NOTHING after your workout you'll lose the most weight - and most people, even hard workers like myself do not do the type and intensity of workouts that require supplementing. Running 10km in an hour is not a superhuman feat that I have to feed myself up for, the average person SHOULD be able to do it, its what the human body is designed for.

People spend a fortune on all these supplements and take them faithfully and then wonder why they're not losing more weight!

But I kind of disagree with the article, in that exercising allows people the room to eat the bad diets we do today. As long as they dont eat EXTRA becuase they exercised, then they can have some room to eat and need less willpower. Also, saying that you might walk instead of taking a cab if you hadnt tired yourself out by exercising is a pretty crap argument. When you first start exercising, most people fall into the trap of tiring themselves out and then burning less energy for the rest of the day than they otherwise would have, that's true. But over time, as you get fit, your energy rises exponentially and sooner or later you become a bit of a human dynamo. I honestly barely sit down these days and i have the energy to work full time, take care of the kids, be involved in their sport, shop for and cook health food, not time saving convenience foods, fit in the general housework AND do one or two major jobs a day like a whole house floor wash, or window washing or cleaning both the showers, or mowing the lawns. I never ever could have done so much when I wasnt fit.

Edited August 8, 2009 by Jachut

[gatorgal 0]

Great article and good info. While I am not an exercise fanatic, I do try to walk 30 minutes each day (on my treadmill in my air-conditioned house) not because I think I will lose weight any faster but because it makes me feel better. When I exercise, I like the feeling I get of knowing that my body is working somewhat more efficiently. And the more weight I lose (down 28 pounds post surgery on 6/29), the easier it is to walk and the more joy I derive from doing it.

This article reinforced for me the health benefits of moderate exercise (heart benefits especially) while helping me understand the importance of diet along with exercise.

Glad I'm learning so much on this forum!

[bigpapa2 0]

I saw that article also but it said that people workout more and than eat more. They figure oh snce i walked that extra mile i can eat that extra whatever. Exercise is great with an diet as long as you dont take in extra cals because you are exercising. stick to the plain ad workout d you have good results.