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Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

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Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#61

Post by dahart »

mannykannot wrote: post #29
dahart wrote: post #4

> “You can’t exercise your way out of obesity,” […] “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” While this article is being a bit dramatic and possibly understating the impact of exercise slightly, I feel a little dumb that I didn’t know this earlier. It took me several decades too long to understand the obvious, that exercise is for building strength, and losing weight happens by eating less. I tried for way too many years to ex…

This is purely anecdotal, with a sample size of one even if it is right, but it seems to me, personally, that exercise suppresses my appetite to some extent. I can't say that this is even real, but if it is, my best guess as to why this might be is that the exercise subtly stimulates/irritates my gut such that I am de-motivated to eat, either by feeling full or subliminally 'sick to my stomach'. After running a marat…

You’re so lucky! I wish exercise made me less hungry. I’ve only felt that when going on very long multi-day hikes… being in severe calorie deficit and having almost nothing sound good to eat. Chocolate was one of the only things that I could stomach. Oh and once I went running about an hour after eating tomato soup, and halfway through starting heaving uncontrollably. But normally, running, gym time, weight lifting and biking all make me hungry. :P

There’s no doubt that appetite and everything around dieting and weight loss has a huge range of variation in behavior and what works. In addition to learning to separate exercise from food, the other thing that took me too long to learn is that weight loss is more mental exercise than physical. Figuring out how to trick myself into calorie tracking and habit forming isn’t easy, and my tricks on myself clearly don’t work for everyone.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#62

Post by Mathnerd314 »

hsbauauvhabzb wrote: post #46

Is there a tldr on the research that doesn’t involve his life story or what his coworkers think of him?

You could read one of the book reviews: https://researchblog.duke.edu/2021/03/24/duke-researcher-bus...

Still not great as a tl;dr though.

Maybe the book summary on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Research-Really-Calories-Healthy...

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#63

Post by gameswithgo »

taeric wrote: post #37
dahart wrote: post #4

> “You can’t exercise your way out of obesity,” […] “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” While this article is being a bit dramatic and possibly understating the impact of exercise slightly, I feel a little dumb that I didn’t know this earlier. It took me several decades too long to understand the obvious, that exercise is for building strength, and losing weight happens by eating less. I tried for way too many years to ex…

Yeah... I don't know that it is that simple. In the summer when I bike twenty miles a day, I am eating far more, and still losing weight. Don't get me wrong, I know that the easiest way to lose weight is to limit calorie consumption. I also know that a buffet of 1800 calories going to a bike ride helps a ton.

its possible to work out enough that compensative eating is not possible, but very few people work out that much, and some people have amazing eating powers, such that even riding a bike 50 miles a day isn’t enough to stop them being fat unless they also count calories.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#64

Post by progre »

nsxwolf wrote: post #36

This is very depressing. I find it incredibly difficult to lose weight dieting. And now it's telling me I just wasted all this money on a treadmill (and the effort it took to get it down into the basement).

You did not waste that money if it helps you exercise. The body needs to move to stay healthy. Never mind the weight, get your heart going a couple of times a week. When this is a habit, start to push a little. I think you will find that you feel a lot better after.

I find that I eat a lot healther when I'm not stressed out. Exercise helps with that.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#65

Post by _9omd »

dahart wrote: post #4

> “You can’t exercise your way out of obesity,” […] “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” While this article is being a bit dramatic and possibly understating the impact of exercise slightly, I feel a little dumb that I didn’t know this earlier. It took me several decades too long to understand the obvious, that exercise is for building strength, and losing weight happens by eating less. I tried for way too many years to ex…

I think a big part of the issue is that popular fitness and weight loss advice has perpetuated the wrong way to exercise to loose weight. When most people think about exercise for weight loss, they imagine long exhausting sessions on the treadmill, dripping with sweat, and a high calorie burn number. While the short term results may seem great based on the immediate calories burned, it's actually a terrible strategy for several reasons.

1) You become more efficient at repeated exercise, so the calories burned number on the machine is not accurate.

2) Your hunger will increase to compensate for the calories burned and you'll subconsciously eat more if not carefully tracking.

3) Excessive cardio and reduced calories can increase daytime cortisol levels and reduce resting metabolic rate.

4) Excessive cardio and reduced calories can cause muscle wasting and further reduce metabolic rate.

A better long term strategy is a strength training program with short cardio sessions. You'll build muscle which will increase the resting metabolism and avoid the over exertion stress that can lead to decreased metabolic rate.

Of course, at the end of the day it really is calories in calories out (despite the naysayers). But, the devil is in the details, because measuring calories out is extremely difficult unless you're willing to live in a sealed room that monitors your exhaled CO2 24/7. Diet (not how much but what you eat), sleep, and stress can have a large impact on the metabolic rate, and thus drastically change the CICO calculation.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#66

Post by josefrichter »

dpark wrote: post #26
josefrichter wrote: post #21

It’s sad that majority of people hit the gym or go for a run when they want to lose weight. Without diet it’s pointless. But what’s worse, diet change is also about finding a new balance that fits your body. If you start exercising at the same time, you are throwing your body drastically off current balance and it’s probably much harder to find a new one.

> If you start exercising at the same time, you are throwing your body drastically off current balance and it’s probably much harder to find a new one. This is for sure a [Citation Needed] claim. Exercise has been shown in numerous studies to be health protective and also to be muscle maintaining. I would love to know why you think exercising is not a net positive. I expect that greater than 99% off doctors, nutritio…

The point is don’t try to change everything at once. I am not questioning health benefits of sports. But change of diet is a big change - not only biologically, but also mentally, logistically, practically, financially, etc. Change of exercise is equally massive change. It’s kinda logical that trying to juggle too many things at once is more likely to fail.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#67

Post by koolba »

ohyoutravel wrote: post #30
nwiswell wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. Cyclists in the Tour de France typically eat 5000 calories a day, often more in particularly difficult stages. Obviously none of them have a weight problem. "Fun" fact: they also shit themselves on the bike. When you eat that much it's inevitable you're gonna have to poop it out, and it's a race -- you can't stop.

The last part isn’t true, at least unless there has been a grave accident. Many pee on themselves during races, but most of the Number 2 is done at port a potties along the way with an assist from the team car or peloton to get back up to speed and get back into place. You might be surprised at how little someone might need #2 when all their calories are from highly digestible into energy food.

It’s a double whammy because every ounce of shit is one more ounce to drag across the finish line.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#69

Post by ramchip »

pverghese wrote: post #38
wesleywt wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You tracked what you ate was the key difference. Not the exercise. I did an experiment on myself. I deliberately did not do any exercise and changed my diet. I loss 5kg quicker on my diet than I did when I was running 10km regularly. I think its counter productive to see an obese person in the gym or running as this will certainly lead to injury. The narrative around weight loss should always be eat less calories and…

Not sure what was your starting weight. But 5 kg is within the realm of normal weight fluctuations over a week for an average American.

I'd give the commenter the benefit of the doubt that they measured over a few days, and not just two isolated data points.

Re: Scientist busts myths about how humans burn calories

#70

Post by geoduck14 »

dahart wrote: post #4

> “You can’t exercise your way out of obesity,” […] “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” While this article is being a bit dramatic and possibly understating the impact of exercise slightly, I feel a little dumb that I didn’t know this earlier. It took me several decades too long to understand the obvious, that exercise is for building strength, and losing weight happens by eating less. I tried for way too many years to ex…

>A lot of people know this already, so it’s not busting everyone’s myths

It is still worth mentioning - because it is so easy to overlook.

Some simple math: if I go all out on a row machine for 30 minutes, I'll burn 300 calories.

If I eat 2 extra slices of pizza, it is easiely 300 calories

If I swap a turkey sandwich with healthy options, I can reduce my linch calories by 300 - and I can save even more during dinner (which is typically bigger than lunch)

So a good diet: takes less time than exercise, reduces calories more, and can save money

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