Do what? exercise may make you gain weight?

In summary, the article cites a study that found that exercise has no correlation to weight loss, and that body composition changes are more important than weight change.
  • #1
thomasxc
140
0
i don't see how this makes any sense at all.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
"The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder."-straight from the article, linked above.
 
  • #3
I think its an excersize without dieting issue. It sounds like he is saying people excersize but then eat what ever they want or feel that since they have excersized they can go ahead and indulge in more fatty foods. Its possible that these people are over excersizing and possibly occasionally under eating which leads to them being more hungery and then binging.
 
  • #4
Keep in mind that muscle is denser than fat.

The article cites a study that followed overweight women and found no correlation between amount of exercise and weight loss. OK, but what about body composition changes? I can't believe that wasn't measured. The women who exercised most may have gotten a lot smaller, but as they exchanged fat for muscle, their weight may not have changed.

Also in that study they didn't follow any particular diet, so maybe we can say exercise alone isn't enough for some people.

But in my personal experience, when I get injured and can't exercise, I gain weight. When I heal and start exercising again, I lose the weight. So for me, exercise certainly correlates to weight loss.
 
  • #5
The point is, as lisab suggests, what is weight, and is it always undesirable? I wouldn't mind converting half my fat weight into equivalent muscle mass. Cardiovascular exercise is worth its weight gain, or for me, a stable overweight. (There are several ways to measure body fat index.)
 
  • #6
Makes sense to me. It's long been the standard weight loss philosophy that diet is far more important than exercise for weight loss (though not general fitness)
 
  • #7
lisab said:
Keep in mind that muscle is denser than fat.

Also in that study they didn't follow any particular diet, so maybe we can say exercise alone isn't enough for some people.

Indeed...good points lisa. Talk about drawing conclusions from an UNCONTROLLED experiment. But hey, it makes headlines...
 
  • #8
It's all about people eating more. If you burn 300 calories while working out, it is very easy to eat something with 500 calories.

I know many people who eat several donuts and feel good about it because they worked out that day. With that mindset of course you're going to gain weight!

In general it is much easier to get rid of calories by making cuts in your diet than by burning them off (obviously a combination is best, but this is a general statement). The effort it takes to burn 500 calories vs eating that much is not matched, so many people have a misconception that they worked SO HARD that they can eat at least that much.
 
  • #9
lisab said:
Keep in mind that muscle is denser than fat.

The article cites a study that followed overweight women and found no correlation between amount of exercise and weight loss. OK, but what about body composition changes? I can't believe that wasn't measured. The women who exercised most may have gotten a lot smaller, but as they exchanged fat for muscle, their weight may not have changed.

Also in that study they didn't follow any particular diet, so maybe we can say exercise alone isn't enough for some people.

But in my personal experience, when I get injured and can't exercise, I gain weight. When I heal and start exercising again, I lose the weight. So for me, exercise certainly correlates to weight loss.

Actually, it seems they did in an off-handed way:
"It's true that after six months of working out, most of the exercisers in Church's study were able to trim their waistlines slightly — by about an inch. Even so, they lost no more overall body fat than the control group did." quote from article.

However, I agree with what you are saying. Change in body composition is much more important than weight change. Diet is the most important factor in a person's weight. To say that exercise is not important in a persons weight management because no attempt at an intelligent diet was made is very misleading.

There is also a concept of set point in each person's metabolic picture that needs to be understood and can be modified. As this is a fairly recent concept and without knowing if the powers that be on this site consider it an established concept...I feel constrained to talk about it. (I already got a demerit today for the heretical statement that there was a center to the universe) But if anyone is interested, let me know and I will tell you.
 
  • #10
Is it made clear anywhere in the study as to what was considered "exercise"? I've seen the ladies in the pool waving their arms, holding noodles and sometimes foam "weights." Occasionally waving around milk jugs partially holding water. Some of them will even knock off a lap or two of breaststroke at super-slow ("lento" in musicians' terms).

I understand that if one is already obese, actual "working out" needs to be approached systematically, but come on, what some call exercise is pathetic.
 
  • #11
moose said:
I know many people who eat several donuts and feel good about it because they worked out that day. With that mindset of course you're going to gain weight!

Yes, I think we've all seen examples of that as well. So, yes, if you don't watch your diet along with exercising, it's quite easy to defeat the value of exercising. Spending a half hour on the treadmill in the morning does not justify pigging out on a giant piece of chocolate cake at lunch time, even if you try to negate the calories by washing it down with Diet Coke (that combination always makes me laugh...if you're going to have a giant piece of cake, you might as well give up pretending you're on a diet and have real Coke along with it).
 
  • #12
perhaps exercise stimulates our hunger. but for me (i am a competitive runner) finishing a long and/or hard workout never really seems to make me more hungry than i was before (because i have to fast several hours before running.)
 
  • #13
thomasxc said:
perhaps exercise stimulates our hunger. but for me (i am a competitive runner) finishing a long and/or hard workout never really seems to make me more hungry than i was before (because i have to fast several hours before running.)

It depends on the person I guess. I often don't feel hungery even though I ought to. If you drink a lot of water that may also keep your stomach feeling full.
 
  • #14
moose said:
In general it is much easier to get rid of calories by making cuts in your diet than by burning them off (obviously a combination is best, but this is a general statement). The effort it takes to burn 500 calories vs eating that much is not matched, so many people have a misconception that they worked SO HARD that they can eat at least that much.

Indeed, according to my heart rate monitor I need to run at steady pace for for 25-30 minutes (depending on what shape I am in) in order to burn 500 calories*.
And 500 calories is about the energy content of a 100g bar of chocolate...


*although you do continue to burn calories at at higher rate than normal for a while even after you stopped running so the actual "energy loss" is somewhat higher.
 
  • #15
thomasxc said:
perhaps exercise stimulates our hunger. but for me (i am a competitive runner) finishing a long and/or hard workout never really seems to make me more hungry than i was before (because i have to fast several hours before running.)

What kind of running do you do?
I really enjoy long(ish) runs that last 1.5-2 hours and sometimes more (when I am in better shape that now, that is). I don't get hungry while running but once I get home and start to relax I tend to get very hungry; although that is of course quite natural considering how much energy I just used up (and if I don't eat I get very tired and the recovery takes a long time).
 
  • #16
This discussion reminds me of an amusing memory on my first day as an undergraduate. After moving into my dorm there wasn't anyone to talk to and I didn't want to sit around bored so I randomly decided to go on a long exploration run. After about 3 hours I found myself out in the middle of nowhere in the woods, particularly starving and exhausted...so when I ran into a corn field, that corn looked irresistible. I tried to eat some of it it was the starchiest, nastiest thing I had ever put into my mouth!

Back when I used to run hardcore, after running I would often treat myself to a huge root beer float that was about 60% Edy's vanilla ice cream and 40% Barq's root beer (let me tell you...there is no better combination. Something about this combination causes the ice cream to instantly develop a 2mm thick hard caramelized crust as soon as it is immersed into the root beer that is to die for). Anyway, it didn't affect my weight, as no amount of exercise, eating, working out, not working out, or lifestyle changes has ever made my weight fluctuate by more than about 2 pounds in the past 10 years...
 
  • #17
The article didn't say how tall the guy was - maybe 163 lb is pretty lean and he just has a little bit of belly fat because he only does cario and never does abds?
 
  • #18
russ_watters said:
The article didn't say how tall the guy was - maybe 163 lb is pretty lean and he just has a little bit of belly fat because he only does cario and never does abds?

spot reduction is a myth. doing a bunch of crunches isn't going to preferentially reduce subcutaneous ab fat.

which kind of relates to the main problem i have with this sort of article. where do people get this idea that having ripped abs is normal?
 
  • #19
f95toli- i am a distance runner. my longest race thus far is a half marathon. i also run XC for my high school.
 
  • #20
junglebeast said:
This discussion reminds me of an amusing memory on my first day as an undergraduate. After moving into my dorm there wasn't anyone to talk to and I didn't want to sit around bored so I randomly decided to go on a long exploration run. After about 3 hours I found myself out in the middle of nowhere in the woods, particularly starving and exhausted...so when I ran into a corn field, that corn looked irresistible. I tried to eat some of it it was the starchiest, nastiest thing I had ever put into my mouth!

Back when I used to run hardcore, after running I would often treat myself to a huge root beer float that was about 60% Edy's vanilla ice cream and 40% Barq's root beer (let me tell you...there is no better combination. Something about this combination causes the ice cream to instantly develop a 2mm thick hard caramelized crust as soon as it is immersed into the root beer that is to die for). Anyway, it didn't affect my weight, as no amount of exercise, eating, working out, not working out, or lifestyle changes has ever made my weight fluctuate by more than about 2 pounds in the past 10 years...


i experience the same problem. i can love four pounds from being sick, and it will take me several months to gain them back, if at all. otherwise, its nearly impossible for me to alter my weight, no matter how many times i go to the gym and shove massive amounts of protein down my throat..haha
 
  • #21
It is widely known that, after high-intensity exercise, many people immediately go home and eat more calories than they just expended. This kind of "overshoot" is a normal phenomenon in all control systems, including the hormone-based control system used to control the human experience of hunger.

The people most likely to fall victim to this are those who do not eat well enough before their exercise, and those that simply exercise too intently over too short a period of time.

Our culture has polarized the idea of exercise; many people believe you're either running for your life, sweat pouring down your back, heart pounding in your ears, or you're not really exercising. Gyms, workout classes, videotapes, and exercise machine manufacturers all encourage people to think that they can be sedentary all day, then compress all their exercise down into a blistering 30-minute assault on their body, and achieve the same results. Not so, of course, and the biggest culprit is the over-eating response discussed in this thread.

If your goal is to lose weight, high-intensity exercise is your enemy. Diet and lots of easy, light exercise are far more effective. Walking has long been considered the best exercise for weight loss, though obviously not for cardiovascular fitness.

- Warren
 
  • #22
After months of burning up all the calories I could eat (rough paper-machine startup - bleeding-edge technology), the machine was tweaked to the point at which my job as the lead operator got more sedentary, though I kept eating those big lunches my wife packed for me. After realizing that I was putting on weight (fat), I bought a gym membership and trained there for a couple of hours a day, several days a week. I also started eating a bit lighter. The fat was gone in a couple of months, but not the weight. I had packed on a lot of muscle, and due to over-general guidelines, the plant nurse told me that I was "overweight". Not only that - when I wanted to donate blood, the Red Cross staffers made me see a supervisor after the initial screenings because they said my rest pulse rate was "too low". My BP was normal, but I had to convince the supervisor that my pulse rate was low simply because of the heavy free-weight work-outs.
 
  • #23
turbo-1 said:
Not only that - when I wanted to donate blood, the Red Cross staffers made me see a supervisor after the initial screenings because they said my rest pulse rate was "too low". My BP was normal, but I had to convince the supervisor that my pulse rate was low simply because of the heavy free-weight work-outs.

Haha...that's pretty stupid of them, but take it as a compliment! The more conditioned you are the lower your resting heart rate, the more healthy you are. My dad used to be a professional distance runner and had got his resting heart rate down to 30.
 
  • #24
i envy a person with a 30 bpm heart rate. after almost five years of competitive running, i can't get mine under 50.dang.
 
  • #25
now, these women didn't gain weight. there was simply an optimum somewhere in the middle for the given constraints.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0004515

The study has limitations because the sample is limited to sedentary, overweight or obese, postmenopausal women with elevated blood pressure. Thus, we do not know if the results will apply to other women or men. However, the study sample is a group that is likely to benefit from exercise training and represents a sizeable proportion, probably a majority, of U.S. women in the age range of 45 to 75 years. Further the study could have benefitted from a more rigorous and sensitive measure of energy intake. The food frequency questionnaire utilized in DREW prevented us from being able to definitively demonstrate that the observed compensation is the result of an increase in energy intake. However, it should be reiterated that examining compensation was not the a priori goal of DREW. The exercise training intensity was moderate and while this makes for good public health and clinical applicability, it is possible that higher levels of training intensity might produce different results in regard to compensation and changes in waist circumference.

In this study of previously sedentary, overweight or obese, postmenopausal women we observed no difference in the actual and predicted weight loss with 4 and 8 KKW of exercise (72 and 136 minutes respectively), while the 12 KKW (194 minutes) produced only about half of the predicted weight loss. We need to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for this exercise dose dependent phenomenon and develop strategies to identify and treat potential compensators.
 
  • #26
huh.
 
  • #27
thomasxc said:
i envy a person with a 30 bpm heart rate. after almost five years of competitive running, i can't get mine under 50.dang.

I think low 50's is pretty impressive too. But what distance do you run? My father was an ultra distance runner, and set several world records in the 24 hour run, which requires spending a large portion of every day running as practice, and that probably causes the heart rate to naturally slow down so that it's only going 60-70 BPM when you're running, which would cause the resting rate to be far lower.
 
  • #28
and don't forget to keep up your protein levels when you go hypocaloric

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news-nz/20091108-19540.html
Protein need makes us obese
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Massey University

A Massey scientist’s study showing spider monkeys will overeat fat and carbohydrate-rich foods as a way of regulating protein intake has shed light on why humans become obese.

Nutritional ecologist Professor David Raubenheimer’s just-published collaborative study with international colleagues found the Bolivian rainforest spider monkey regulates protein intake by eating greater quantities of low protein/high carbohydrate foods when protein-rich foods are not available.

“This is interesting because our experiments show that humans do the same,” says Professor Raubenheimer from the University's Institute of Natural Sciences at Albany. The consequence is the current obesity epidemic.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15836464
Obes Rev. 2005 May;6(2):133-42.Click here to read Links
Obesity: the protein leverage hypothesis.
Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D.

Department of Zoology and University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. stephen.simpson@zoo.ox.ac.uk

The obesity epidemic is among the greatest public health challenges facing the modern world. Regarding dietary causes, most emphasis has been on changing patterns of fat and carbohydrate consumption. In contrast, the role of protein has largely been ignored, because (i) it typically comprises only approximately 15% of dietary energy, and (ii) protein intake has remained near constant within and across populations throughout the development of the obesity epidemic. We show that, paradoxically, these are precisely the two conditions that potentially provide protein with the leverage both to drive the obesity epidemic through its effects on food intake, and perhaps to assuage it. We formalize this hypothesis in a mathematical model. Some supporting epidemiological, experimental and animal data are presented, and predictions are made for future testing.

PMID: 15836464 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/20/4/685
Behavioral Ecology Advance Access originally published online on May 19, 2009
Behavioral Ecology 2009 20(4):685-690; doi:10.1093/beheco/arp021

Protein content of diets dictates the daily energy intake of a free-ranging primate
Annika M. Feltona,b, Adam Feltona,b, David Raubenheimerc,d, Stephen J. Simpsone, William J. Foleyf, Jeff T. Wooda, Ian R. Wallisf and David B. Lindenmayera

a Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia b Institituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal, PO Box 6204, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia c Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Albany, Private Bag 102 904, Auckland, New Zealand d New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study, Massey University, Albany, Private Bag 102 904, Auckland, New Zealand e School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia f School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia

Address correspondence to A.M. Felton. E-mail: annika.felton@anu.edu.au. A. Felton is now at the Southern Swedish Forest Research Center, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden.

Received 3 September 2008; revised 6 November 2008; accepted 10 November 2008.
ABSTRACT

An important goal in nutritional ecology is to understand what governs the diet selection of free-living animals. Relevant information is however scarce because of the considerable challenges of collecting and interpreting such data. Here we use recent advances in nutritional theory to analyze data on food selection and nutrient intake by wild spider monkeys (Ateles chamek). We show that hypotheses traditionally used to explain vertebrate diet selection, such as energy or protein maximization, or avoidance of plant secondary metabolites, cannot explain the observed pattern of nutrient intake. Instead, spider monkeys maintained a stable daily protein intake but allowed total energy intake to vary as a function of the composition of available food items. A similar "protein-leverage effect" has been reported in humans for whom it appears to play a role in the development of obesity.

Key words: Ateles chamek, nutrient balancing, nutritional ecology, primates, protein.
 
  • #29
junglebeast said:
I think low 50's is pretty impressive too. But what distance do you run? My father was an ultra distance runner, and set several world records in the 24 hour run, which requires spending a large portion of every day running as practice, and that probably causes the heart rate to naturally slow down so that it's only going 60-70 BPM when you're running, which would cause the resting rate to be far lower.
I'm lucky that the Red Cross ladies measured my pulse as soon as I took a brisk 1/4 mile walk across the mill compound, because it was almost 60 bpm. If I had had to sit and wait for a while for the screening, it would have been down around 50 bpm or perhaps a bit lower. My workout partner and I did free-weight circuit-training, and except when we had to spot each other for heavy lifts (benches and squats mostly), we were lifting almost continuously for our 2-hour workouts. There were no "machines" at that gym apart from a couple of pieces with pin-selectable weights that let people do heavy lifts without a spotter. My friends' daughter sometimes joined us in workouts, and she was a brutal motivator. She was several times the world junior and later senior power-lifting champion. She would train with 450-500# squats and far exceeded that in competition.
 
  • #30
late last year, i was doing between five and eight every day. that tapered off dramatically (because I'm the most lazy guy east of the mississippi) and lately, I've been trying to get back there.but i have no way at my house to measure my heart rate, save to watch a clock and put a finger to my throat...
 
  • #31
lisab said:
Keep in mind that muscle is denser than fat.

OK, but what about body composition changes? I can't believe that wasn't measured. The women who exercised most may have gotten a lot smaller, but as they exchanged fat for muscle, their weight may not have changed.
I suppose it depends on wether you want to look thin and be healthy or you care more about being compared to a platinum cylinder in Paris
 
  • #32
Well depends what exercise. Weight training will obviously make you gain muslce, which will make you gain weight.

How ever, weight gain, the same with weight loss is dictated mostly by calories in vs calories out.

Simply, if you want to lose weight, then you have to eat less calories than your body needs to maintain your weight. There's loads of online calculators to work out what your maintainence calories are.
 

1. Does exercising really make you gain weight?

It is a common misconception that exercise will automatically lead to weight loss. While exercise can contribute to weight loss, it is not the only factor. It is important to also focus on a healthy diet and lifestyle to see results.

2. How can exercise make you gain weight?

There are a few reasons why exercise may contribute to weight gain. One reason is that when you exercise, you may build muscle mass, which weighs more than fat. Another reason is that exercise can increase your appetite, leading to consuming more calories than you burn.

3. Is it possible to gain weight while doing regular exercise?

Yes, it is possible to gain weight while regularly exercising. As mentioned before, exercise alone is not enough to lose weight. If your exercise routine is not paired with a healthy diet and lifestyle, you may not see the desired weight loss results.

4. How can I prevent weight gain while exercising?

To prevent weight gain while exercising, it is important to maintain a balanced diet and lifestyle. This means consuming a variety of nutritious foods and staying within your recommended calorie intake. It is also important to listen to your body and adjust your exercise routine accordingly.

5. Can certain types of exercise cause weight gain?

Some types of exercise, such as weightlifting, may contribute to weight gain due to building muscle mass. However, this does not mean that weightlifting is bad for weight loss. In fact, building muscle can increase your metabolism and help you burn more calories in the long run.

Similar threads

  • General Discussion
Replies
6
Views
827
Replies
2
Views
661
  • Classical Physics
Replies
14
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
7
Views
372
  • General Discussion
2
Replies
39
Views
4K
  • General Discussion
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • General Discussion
Replies
17
Views
2K
  • Electrical Engineering
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
  • Electrical Engineering
Replies
1
Views
349
  • General Discussion
Replies
5
Views
3K
Back
Top