Does Exercise Contribute To Weight Gain?
Normally, when one thinks about healthy living one automatically assumes that regular exercise is a part of that.
But according to a recent Times article, the supposed health benefits of exercise have been blown out of proportion. The best way to lose weight is to sit around and pick your nose, as nose-picking will burn some calories but not enough to make you hungry.
Okay, that’s not really what it said. But it came close. The article quotes an exercise researcher at LSU, Eric Ravussin, as saying that “exercise is useless” for weight loss. Why? The answer should be obvious. When you exercise, you burn more calories, and therefore get hungry, and therefore gorge on pizza and potato chips and ice cream right after your workout.
Horse feces.
I don’t know about you, but I am less hungry immediately after exercising. And in the summer, I have to make myself eat more, because I am outside more often and get more exercise and–would you believe (Mr. Ravussin wouldn’t)–I begin to LOSE WEIGHT!
Many studies have repeatedly shown that exercise is essential for good health for many reasons. These reasons include:
- Exercise burns fat.
- It increases muscle mass.
- It decreases one’s appetite–at least short-term.
- It reduces one’s risk of developing chronic/degenerative disease.
- It increases longevity.
I have known (at least) two men who gained weight to the point of obesity at one point in their respective lives. Both of them returned to a healthy weight by doing two things:
- Reducing caloric intake, and
- Wait…can you guess?…(oh, Mr. R, you just won’t approve of this)…EXERCISING!
The one man took up country-western dancing; the other, running and weight-lifting. Both continue to exercise regularly, and neither one has ever regained the weight they lost.
I briefly interviewed one of those men regarding exercise and appetite. Our conversation went something like this:
- CRUNCHY COACH: When you were in the process of losing weight, did you find your appetite increased after exercising?
- MAN: Immediately after exercising, no, it actually decreased.
- CRUNCHY COACH: What happened to your appetite overall?
- MAN: Overall, it may have increased, especially on days when I did a lot more exercising.
- CRUNCHY COACH: But you still lost weight.
- MAN: That’s because eventually you figure out the caloric intake you need and spread it out through the day.
- CRUNCHY COACH: And generally people who exercise regularly are more careful about what they eat, right? When somebody decides to improve their health they’re not going to eat fast food all day long.
- MAN: That, and commitment. You have to be committed to losing weight.
- CRUNCHY COACH: So, what do you think of this Eric Ravussin guy?
- MAN: He needs to be committed.
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Exercise is a vital part of weight loss, a necessary habit for anyone seeking optimum health.
If you are interested in learning the principles of optimum health that will not only help you get to a healthy weight, but decrease your risk of degenerative disease as well, don’t miss my e-book, Weird Health.
And should you ever run into Mr. Ravussin, you might think of suggesting that book to him as well.
