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Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

time.com

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Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#11

Post by kingkongrevenge »

ghshephard wrote: post #7
kingkongrevenge wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lots of low-intensity exercise that burned calories The way to lose fat is with intense and brief exercise, like weight circuit training with no rest between sets, on an empty stomach a couple times a week. Acute exercise in the fasted state, compared with the carbohydrate-fed state, for a given exercise intensity and duration, stimulates the oxidation of fatty acids from both intramyocellular (16) and peripheral (…

The entire point of the article was that working out hard and short a couple times a week doesn't help one lose weight, and that sustained continuous activity does. The reasoning is those bursts of short activity are met with increased caloric intake, defeating the value of any exercise.

I read the article and it does not really say that. In fact, the only bit that comes close is this: Another British study, this one from the University of Exeter, found that kids who regularly move in short bursts — running to catch a ball, racing up and down stairs to collect toys — are just as healthy as kids who participate in sports that require vigorous, sustained exercise.

I would agree with the general idea that daily walking at a relaxed pace is better than "jogging".

I think proper intense 10-20 minute workouts are so outside of the field of view of people who read and write articles like these they don't understand them. Doing a few sets of no-rest olympic lifts and then five minutes of double-unders with a jump rope does not boost your appetite much. It will make you a bit nauseous. It is not at all like going on a 15 mile bike ride or swimming a mile, which leaves you ravenous 30 minutes after.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#12

Post by pohl »

The first thing that jumped out at me is that weight is the wrong metric in the first place. I'd rather be the same weight but have more, and better proportioned, muscle mass. (Muscle burns calories even when you're resting...it's a much better knob to tweak than the number of calories burnt during exercise.)

The author might be better off by giving away his bathroom scale and thinking about his body as a system.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#13

Post by ajg1977 »

I find it annoying that either through ignorance or a need to create an eye-catching headline the author interchangeably uses the words "thin" and "weight" to describe a metric used to measure some undefined-but-ideal body shape,

There is an incredibly difference between being a 180lb man who exercises regularly and one who does not.

Perhaps the author was never asked the "which weighs more, a ton of feathers or a ton of lead?" question as a child.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#14

Post by yangyang »

Nobody is ever going to agree on this. Different things work for different people. Everyone's got their "I did this and lost loads of weight" or "this didn't work for me" story.

Some form of exercise combined with less and better food is probably going to get you somewhere. Learning to live with being hungry helps :-).

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#15

Post by ashr »

kingkongrevenge wrote: post #6
fizx wrote: post #2

I'm trying to lose weight right now. Actually, I'm trying to get in the best shape of my life, so that I feel better physically and enjoy the sports I play more. I've been losing about 1/2 pound per week for most of this year, while spending about a half hour per day in the pool, and maybe another hour on the basketball court. I took a two weeks off and went to France on vacation. I ate a bunch of great food (though…

> lots of low-intensity exercise that burned calories The way to lose fat is with intense and brief exercise, like weight circuit training with no rest between sets, on an empty stomach a couple times a week. Acute exercise in the fasted state, compared with the carbohydrate-fed state, for a given exercise intensity and duration, stimulates the oxidation of fatty acids from both intramyocellular (16) and peripheral (…

It is the exercise and eating habits combo that works. Weight gain = Calories In - Calories out.

Exercising along with the judicious diet (not starving) is what works. I recently came across two books that throw light on the interesting and useful information about high intensity-low duration exercising to develop a great body:

1. Cardio Free Diet: http://tinyurl.com/cardiofreediet and 2. The Nautilus Bodybuilding book: ISBN: 0-8092-5815-3

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#16

Post by mr_luc »

The article itself it insightful. But, brother hackers, can we allow an article whose title is a blatant lie to be voted to the top of Hacker News?

Running is exercise.

Running 1600 meters, on average, burns 124 calories for a man. ("Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running", Syracuse Uni study). This only takes a few minutes.

Even if a person is taking in massively more calories than their body needs -- let's say, overeating by 1000 calories a day -- they could burn it all off with a few miles of jogging. Increase the amount of running they do still further, and you won't find anyone who will seriously suggest that they won't get thinner.

Or how do you think that cross-country runners got so skinny?

Olympic marathoners?

...

So ...

Exercise CAN make you thin; thus, the statement that it won't is incorrect.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#17

Post by tallanvor »

At the end of the day, you lose weight by using more calories than you take in.

While the results of the Time article may apply to some people, I've found that I do a better job of losing weight when I go to the gym at least 4 times a week, and I've lost 45 pounds so far this year, most of it since March. At the end of the day, though, you still have to be conscious about what you eat, and find things that satisfy cravings without destroying the work you've done.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#18

Post by kingkongrevenge »

ashr wrote: post #15
kingkongrevenge wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lots of low-intensity exercise that burned calories The way to lose fat is with intense and brief exercise, like weight circuit training with no rest between sets, on an empty stomach a couple times a week. Acute exercise in the fasted state, compared with the carbohydrate-fed state, for a given exercise intensity and duration, stimulates the oxidation of fatty acids from both intramyocellular (16) and peripheral (…

It is the exercise and eating habits combo that works. Weight gain = Calories In - Calories out. Exercising along with the judicious diet (not starving) is what works. I recently came across two books that throw light on the interesting and useful information about high intensity-low duration exercising to develop a great body: 1. Cardio Free Diet: http://tinyurl.com/cardiofreediet and 2. The Nautilus Bodybuilding bo…

> Weight gain = Calories In - Calories out

Not true. People and lab animals can be made to get fatter while in caloric deficit with elevated insulin levels.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#19

Post by sophacles »

kingkongrevenge wrote: post #11
ghshephard wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The entire point of the article was that working out hard and short a couple times a week doesn't help one lose weight, and that sustained continuous activity does. The reasoning is those bursts of short activity are met with increased caloric intake, defeating the value of any exercise.

I read the article and it does not really say that. In fact, the only bit that comes close is this: Another British study, this one from the University of Exeter, found that kids who regularly move in short bursts — running to catch a ball, racing up and down stairs to collect toys — are just as healthy as kids who participate in sports that require vigorous, sustained exercise. I would agree with the general idea th…

Thats not the only part. Near the beginning about 4 groups of women, and the ones who exercized a lot did not lose a significant amount of weight over those who did not exercise beyond normal. The heavy work out group did however report eating more calories. Then there are 2 or 3 pages about low intensity workouts being good because they stimulate calorie burn without stimulating hunger (with a tangent on brown fat in rats).

In fact there are several examples in the article about compensatory eating, such as the women who would get muffins after jogging, canceling any extra calorie burn.

Re: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

#20

Post by ohlol »

mr_luc wrote: post #16

The article itself it insightful. But, brother hackers, can we allow an article whose title is a blatant lie to be voted to the top of Hacker News? Running is exercise. Running 1600 meters, on average, burns 124 calories for a man. ("Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running", Syracuse Uni study). This only takes a few minutes. Even if a person is taking in massively more calories than their body needs -- let's say,…

What calculator are you using? 1000/124 = 8

Eight miles is more than a couple.

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