Exercise not that helpful for weight loss because

(karen) #1

I was trying to summarize this for someone else and I think I’ve got a pretty good explanation ala Jason Fung. Do you think this sums it up, and do you agree?

When you exercise your body will require more energy, both during the exercise and after, because your metabolic rate is raised, especially if you put on muscle. On its face this sounds like a good way to lose weight, but one of two things happens.

  1. You eat to satiety, but since your body is now asking for more calories, satiety means you are going to eat more, nothing really changes.

  2. You restrict your calories and don’t give your body what it wants, in which case you begin metabolic slowdown. This may work in the short run but eventually you will find that calorie restriction has to intensify to a point where it’s unsustainable.

Now this is not to say that exercise isn’t great for cardiac strength, body shaping, hormone regulation, better sleep, more positive body image, stress relief, possibly more toxic excretion through the skin and a host of other positives, it’s just about its benefit in weight loss in particular.

What say you?

(Pete A) #2

It’s a ridiculous notion (sorry) to think exercise doesn’t burn fat. I suggest anyone who thinks this to consider 30 days of some kind of modest, daily exercise (anything), then report back :grinning:

(karen) #3

Who said anything about exercise not burning fat? The point is either you replenish your energy stores after burning them by eating what your body wants, or you don’t replenish them, in which case your body starts a metabolic slowdown.

From your article:

“Just don’t compensate for the exercise by eating more calories instead.” Which is precisely what you will do if you’re eating to satiety.

(Pete A) #4

Well, your post is titled “Exercise not that helpful…” hence my response, with all due respect :grinning:

Personally I get a lot out of it, and understand you are examining and analyzing I more than I, but to me it’s pretty simple There are many positive benefits to overall health and the effort made to a Keto way of eating from exercise.

(karen) #5

I totally agree about it being healthy!! I would never encourage anyone not to stay active, I think there’s a lot we don’t know about body motion and health (or that we know and choose to ignore). I just, again, keep reading posts from people who spend 6 hours a day in the gym and talk about how they need to Increase their exercise levels because they want to “kick start ketosis” or lose weight faster, the more I learn, the more I think this is a doomed strategy.

(Sarah Slancauskas) #6

I exercise 6 days a week, an hour a time. I keep my post workout meal a small but satisfying size without any problems. Exercise gives me gifts keto alone simply cannot. The two together offer wonderful benefits and in my opinion is the optimum way to live.

(Pete A) #7

If the question is, “can you lose weight without exercising”, the answer is of course! Your body burns to cover existing. And I’ve lost and gained the same 75 pounds over and over since I’m a teen, some of those times with no exercise (and a long list of low fat diets by the way).

Last September, 75 pounds ago, I couldn’t lift my arms above my head without becoming winded and with pain.So each day I did a little something more, and now I no longer see stairs as a chore, or grunt when I stand up, or fret if I’m parked too far away from the front door to the grocery store. I welcome it.

It’s easier being me now in many ways I can’t help but feel passionate about that.

(karen) #8

I am starting to exercise again and I will repeat myself, I think exercise is great. I love feeling stronger, more coordinated, more flexible and, whether it’s from the benefits exercise or being in ketosis, having more stamina and energy. Love love love all that, love myself again. This is, honest, just a post about debunking the “eat less move more” weight loss advice I hear. :slightly_smiling_face:

(Pete A) #9

I hear ya, sounds great. Lots ingrained in us we have to do our own thing! :grinning:

#10

I agree that it doesn’t necessarily help with weight loss, if for the fact that muscle weighs more than fat as one factor. My sister has been doing Crossfit for over 2 years now and has taken roughly twice as long to lose the same weight that I have (with similar starting weights) while I only occasionally exercise (not saying this is ideal). She eats a paleo diet significantly higher in carbs than keto.

(Alec) #11

Karen
I think that’s the low carb logic. Unless you feed the body the fuel it wants it will make energy savings elsewhere to compensate.

So, short term, yes, exercise uses calories and will burn bodyfat. Long term, if you don’t add that fuel back, it will slow the other fuel burning down.

My personal view and experience is that exercise was critical for me to lose weight. Why?

  1. Because it reduced my stress and I was a stress eater. I think stress blocked my natural hunger signals, and with less stress I could control my stress eating better. No bingeing!
  2. It chewed up real quick any glucose I had eaten, thus speeding up my fat adaption: my body didn’t have a choice.

Fasting also creates an interesting scenario that may make the calories burnt during exercise matter more. I need to think more about that!
Cheers
Alec

(karen) #12

I was wondering if exercise could be a bit of a bandaid for carb accidents, it makes sense.

(Bunny) #13

Some questions concerning no exercise other than weight loss benefits and over all physical fitness:

Resting heart rate (resting metabolism)?

If your resting heart rate is faster than someone who exercises consistently does that mean you have a slow metabolism or fast metabolism? (a slower resting heart rate is associated with better health and longevity)

Fatty muscle tissue vs. lean muscle tissue? (physiologic {skeletal muscle} vs. hepatic insulin resistance?)

You must exercise consistently to speed up the body to activate the slow down of the resting metabolism gradually?

Let’s say you lose a whole bunch of weight but your heart is still thumping away at a high rate (i.e. at a high resting to active ratio?) I would say all is not well?

At some point you have to exercise after you shed enough weight (actual loss of adipose tissue) to shed visceral fat and fatty muscular and organ tissue?

(Karen) #14

True! Most people lose the weight, feel better/healthier, then are game for adding exercise. I think, perhaps ,Pete did it this way and is getting toned.

K

#15

See also Phinney and Volek who write exercise has many benefits. Weight loss is not one of them.

(Roy D Rushing Jr ) #16

This is one area where the CICO people agree with the keto people. The amount of calories you can consume simply dwarfs the amount you can burn off. I used to spend quite a bit of time on the treadmill trying to get at least a little edge on my calorie balance. Now I realize it wasn’t worth it at all. Since going keto I’ve largely disregarded total calorie intake in favor of keeping my carbs below 20g per day. My weight lifting sessions remain unchanged, but I’ve dialed my cardio way back because the reason I was doing it to start with is essentially gone. I no longer see it as getting a bit of a boost to my daily calorie deficit. Instead I just see it as a contribution to my cardiovascular health and energy levels.

(Victoria Mc Coy) #17

Here’s the thing I’m wondering about as I try to add exercise to my extended fasting routine: I seem to be losing less weight on a 4 or 5 day long fasts when I exercise than when I don’t. I don’t mind as long as I am building metabolic health, BUT - what if I am slowing my metabolism again by making energy demands my body can’t meet in a fasted state? Is that possible?

I have a fasting insulin of 11, HOMA IR @ 2.6, and typical GKI ~ 3.5. I’ve lost 30 lbs since starting Keto in January and adding fasting in February (IF & EF ever since) but I still have 80 lbs to lose.

Since menopause two years ago, I suspect that my degree of metabolic disregulation had become truly dangerous. Inflammation, borderline high BP & preT2D. Not to mention a steady upward creep in my weight despite eating 1200-1400 calories and exercising 2-3 times per week consistently. Thus, reading The Obesity Code was a revelation for me that changed my life.

Now my biggest concern is understanding how to heal what’s broken and get to a healthy weight again. My HbA1C is at 5.4 now and blood pressure is back in healthy range regularly too. So maybe I’m overthinking this, but having tried and failed SO often in the past, I am more than a little fearful when the scale doesn’t respond to my actions.

I’m on day 4 of an extended fast now, with 3 hours of swimming during the week, and I’ve seen lower ketones and higher glucose (not a lot, but still) and this morning saw a loss of only 1 pound. On my last two 5 day fasts I lost ~4 lbs. Would it be better to hold off on exercise for awhile, or is something else happening here?

Looking for any insights that will help me to know if I need to change what I’m doing or simply stay the course. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

(less is more, more or less) #18

Exercise is a crucial aspect to my day. I finish my hour-long workout, either cardio or weights, before 7 AM, 5 days a week. I started to exercise for weight-control decades ago. It was a catastrophic failure in that regards. Now I do it for physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. However, there are countless other benefits, as you’ve enumerated.

What I don’t like about the association of exercise and weight control is the notion that this is a thing. People try it, fail, and figure it’s them, not the failure of the model. Then they up their routine. “I need to do cross-fit” “I need to run a marathon” etc and they physically injure themselves, all while not addressing their obesity.

That exercise is the “missing element” as the AHA and others frame it, is a lie that must stop. As you wrote, exercise is great, just not as the key mechanism for weight loss.

(less is more, more or less) #19

Sounds like a dangerous band-aid to me. I’ve had “carb accidents,” I just chalk it up to learning and not overreact to my mistake or failure.

#20

I agree, but draining the glycogen and glucose afterwords can not be a bad thing