The Physics of Weight Loss

[ragani]

Great. Send me an article that says that exercise is not all that effective in weight loss, just when I have begin an exercise program. Do you realize how easy it is to use these kinds of arguments to talk myself out of exercising?

So, I should breath more and eat less, right? Is that it? How is that going to help my muscles get stronger or increase my flexibility?

Sigh... there is too much contradicting information out there to not be confusing.

I know my mom meant well to send me the link, but I hate when I get told I am wasting my time and efforts on building a "good" habit. I once had a dental assistant tell me I did not need to brush my teeth more than once a day, just when I was trying to develop the habit of brushing in the morning as well as at night, which effectively ended that habit right there.

I refuse to let this one become an excuse to not stick to my commitment to exercise regularly. (And you thought DDR was the only way to get exercise using the XBox!)

Comments

[tshuma]

I have felt and always will feel that exercise may not affect weight loss all that clearly, but it is not because it is not healthy for you to do it. I exercised most regularly about three years ago when I first started climbing and found it to be the most enjoyable thing I'd done, over and above dancing even. I started climbing two days a week regularly, sometimes three days, and I promptly gained about ten pounds, lost six, gained two more, lost fifteen, gained five. So there was a net weight loss of a couple of pounds. But what isn't reflected in those numbers is that my entire body was toned and fit, I felt and looked great, and had increased energy, increased flexibility, and increased strength.

There were parts of me that were larger than before (let me tell you the story of being labelleizzy's bridesmaid and having to replace the dress because the shoulders no longer fit -- on the morning of the wedding). There were parts of me that were as small as they'd been since before I did modeling -- my waist, my neck, my torso and legs. Toned and fit. And my weight hardly showed any difference at all.

So exercise might not change your weight. It might not affect your appearance tremendously (although it did mine). But it will decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It will probably increase your overall energy levels. It will probably make you feel good about yourself anyway.

[ragani.livejournal.com]

But it will decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. It will probably increase your overall energy levels. It will probably make you feel good about yourself anyway.

Those are the reasons I plan to keep my commitment. That, and I was asked to by my chiropractor in order to better develop my upper-body and help reduce carpal tunnel flare-ups.

I don't think it says what you think it says.

[mercator-7.livejournal.com]

I just read the article and you may relax your mind (but continue to work the body). The guy is saying that exercise DOES burn calories and WILL help you loose weight, but you also have to watch what you eat. Apparently someone out there thought that after their hour of exercise was over their body would continue to use calories at the higher rate the rest of the day (yep, theres one born every minute).

So keep at it! Go, Ragani go! (and friends).

Re: I don't think it says what you think it says.

[ragani.livejournal.com]

Watching what I eat has always made sense to me, although what constitutes healthy has sometimes changed through the years. I just did not need any potential excuse not to do the exercise part of my plan. I am still at that fragile stage of making a challenging habit stick where I can be easily knocked off track.

So far, I have been enjoying working out more often, and now that I have found a system that seems to make it more fun, I hope I can keep it up for those reasons, as well as the health reasons (and the same for those friends as well).

Thanks for the encouragement!

[abditus.livejournal.com]

He also leaves out a *very* import factor: muscle mass. Exercise is not about dropping all weight. Remember, those demonic little carbon atoms can also turn into muscle mass -- which weighs more than fat!

[veryloki.livejournal.com]

I don't believe this; exercise definitely helped a couple of my relatives lose weight, though I have no idea what the specific mechanism was.

I don't think the author of that article knows what he's talking about; he can't even admit that junk food is not good for you.

His 'carbon' argument, and overeating as the sole cause, doesn't make sense anyway. Someone who has been 20 lbs. heavier than one of their friends for years is not actually, at that point, retaining any more carbon on a day-to-day basis than their friend. Something else is at work here.