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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To explain that exercise does not affect your weight, or impact on obesity rates

803 replies

allmyown · 22/06/2024 14:59

I see this misconception all over MN every day.

Exercise is fantastic for your physical and mental health in many ways, but it is not a weight loss tool.

Posters are forever quoting energy in -minus energy out = energy stored, etc, as if we are petrol engines or something! we are not - this is not how our body works.

It is more like energy available / energy required to maintain weight= energy body decides to use.

Your body burns off excess energy if you are taking in more than your homeostatic systems think you need. Your body slows down and uses far less energy if you have taken in less than your homeostatic system thinks you need.

And so if you lose weight, and go below what your body wants you to be, then your metabolism will just slow down massively to make the weight go back on. And if you exercise a lot, your metabolism will just adjust to accommodate that.

The key to weight loss is making sure your homeostatic systems decide you should be a healthy weight. You can lower the weight your homeostatic systems is attempting to maintain, with healthy eating, cut out sugar, HPF, vegetable oil, margarine, and cut down on wheat.

Eat plenty of fresh food and greens, nothing long dated.

Unless you are running 10K every single day, you are not exercising enough to change your weight, and even if you are, it won't stay changed.

The obesity epidemic is related to sugar, highly processed food, vegetable oil, margarine, etc, and poor diet in general, not too little exercise.

But don't get me wrong, there are other health problems caused by too little exercise, I am not saying exercise is bad, just that an obese child is not necessarily a child getting inadequate exercise, as so many people seem to think.

Read "Why we eat too much" by Andrew Jenkinson, he explains the up to date science in so much more detail.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
21
TheFormidableMrsC · 27/06/2024 13:33

Not my experience at all. If anything it speeds up weight loss.

Mercurial123 · 27/06/2024 14:28

CortieTat · 27/06/2024 13:05

Sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or convey contempt 😏

I was a bit slow to pick up on it....

PaminaMozart · 27/06/2024 15:50

Wow. We are on page 29...... So much angst, so much intellectual energy spent trying to figure things out! When, for most people, it can be quite simple:

  • "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
  • Plus a fair bit of lean protein.
  • Avoid/limit UPF, sugar, refined carbs.
  • Don't drink calories, especially sodas, and restrict alcohol.
  • And move. Exercise. Do something that gets your heart rate up for 20 minutes or so most days.
  • Incorporate weight/resistance training a few times a week.
  • And don't forget to have fun and cherish the people you love.
At 70 years of age, this is serving me well. I enjoy the food I eat and love my daily workouts - and I'm super-fit.
allmyown · 27/06/2024 15:56

Mercurial123 · 27/06/2024 07:01

I'm always surprised, though I shouldn't be by the lack of basic nutrition on MN. Yes, if you eat them in excess or eat the chocolate covered ones, it's probably not a good idea. But almonds are healthy.

The Omega 6: omega 3 ratio is OVER 2000:1. Ok for the occasional treat, but not something anyone should be eating every day.

OP posts:
allmyown · 27/06/2024 15:57

PaminaMozart · 27/06/2024 15:50

Wow. We are on page 29...... So much angst, so much intellectual energy spent trying to figure things out! When, for most people, it can be quite simple:

  • "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
  • Plus a fair bit of lean protein.
  • Avoid/limit UPF, sugar, refined carbs.
  • Don't drink calories, especially sodas, and restrict alcohol.
  • And move. Exercise. Do something that gets your heart rate up for 20 minutes or so most days.
  • Incorporate weight/resistance training a few times a week.
  • And don't forget to have fun and cherish the people you love.
At 70 years of age, this is serving me well. I enjoy the food I eat and love my daily workouts - and I'm super-fit.

That sums it up really!

OP posts:
shearwater2 · 27/06/2024 16:04

Missamyp · 27/06/2024 10:48

It's true in Bodybuilding circles 6 packs are achieved via dieting 85%. Exercise does the rest.
This idea if you go for a 30-minute stroll and voila you'll be fit and healthy is nonsense.

Yes but a 30 minute stroll for someone who is completely inactive at the moment will be far more achievable and manageable than extreme bodybuilding, and it will make a positive difference.

And a six pack is just a sign that someone has worked on having a six pack.It doesn't signify health or fitness.

Mercurial123 · 27/06/2024 16:28

allmyown · 27/06/2024 15:56

The Omega 6: omega 3 ratio is OVER 2000:1. Ok for the occasional treat, but not something anyone should be eating every day.

So you agree almonds aren't bad when not eaten to excess. They are extremely good for you.

greengreyblue · 27/06/2024 16:42

Omega 6 is good for you!!! Omega 3 is good for you!! With all the crap food out there, almonds are the least of your worries.

greengreyblue · 27/06/2024 16:46

www.healthline

XChrome · 27/06/2024 17:32

cocolocosmoko · 27/06/2024 05:10

If exercise isn't even really exercise until you're pushing yourself "to the point of failure" though then I'd say that's a fairly strong argument in favour of what the OP's saying. I know almost nobody able to sustainably and repeatedly push themselves to the point of failure multiple times a week for a lifetime, given so many are being pushed to breaking point in other areas of their lives - caring for elderly relatives, advocating for their disabled children, working multiple jobs to be able to feed their families, helping their teens through mental health crises etc. Often while living with chronic pain, fatigue or stress themselves due to other health conditions for which there may be no treatment. It's unfair to say that people are "unwilling" to do the work when it's completely impossible for most of us.

And you have to build an absolute ton of muscle mass before you so much as burn an extra daily barley sugar (I remember Gary Taubes sets out exactly how much work is required to see even the tiniest of rewards in his book Why We Get Fat and it just isn't in the realms of feasibility for most people). Again, I applaud you if you're achieving this for yourself but for the medical authorities to tell people that weight loss is achievable through exercise and not actually mean a level of exercise that's in the realms of possibility for most of us then I think that's just misleading.

If course it's still exercise. It just isn't intense exercise.
I think you're misunderstanding what I mean by to failure. I don't mean your body quits on you and you collapse. I mean that in that set, you cannot lift another rep in good form. With some rest, you are then able to do another set.

Unwilling for whatever reason is still unwilling. Yes, many people have good reasons for being unwilling. It's not a judgement, just a reality.
I did not find it impossible despite having multiple jobs, a disabled and mentally ill daughter, a teenager and a chronic illness. I have chronic pain now, so I have had to slack off, but I still go hard. So it's not an ansolute impossibility for everyone. I would never expect anybody else to go that far. You can only do what you can do. I'm just laying out what's necessary if you want to get to that level where you raise your metabolic rate sufficiently to lose significant weight. A lot of people think low intensity cardio like walking is going to get them super fit and build a lot of muscle. It absolutely is not. So I just wanted to dispel that myth.

XChrome · 27/06/2024 17:38

allmyown · 27/06/2024 05:21

we are all humans and out bodies are all fundamentally the same and function in the same way they have done for half a million years

We actually all have different metabolisms. An ectomorph has a high metabolism and has difficulty gaining either muscle or fat. A mesomorph gains muscle easily. An endomorph stores fat more easily.
So it really isn't quite that simple.

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 17:59

A lot of people think low intensity cardio like walking is going to get them super fit and build a lot of muscle. It absolutely is not. So I just wanted to dispel that myth

@XChrome I run 10k a day low intensity and walk 5k a day. I was surprised at how well I tackled the steep hills when visiting Wales. My fitness has certainly improved from when I didn't do my daily walk and run. I have visible muscle definition.

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 18:01

@XChrome really ectomorphs and endomorphs? I always thought that was a ridiculous simplification. Bit like apple and pear shaped people.

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 18:04

I don't like this relatively recent, I think, scathing attitudes coming from body builders concerning cardio. Running and walking are functional exercise! We have been doing both since time began. Not so much with lifting very heavy weights except as a spectacle or punishment. In evolutionary terms building too much muscle is inefficient.

Bodybuilding is interesting and there is a lot to learn from how it all works but it is different not superior to cardio.

XChrome · 28/06/2024 00:07

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 18:01

@XChrome really ectomorphs and endomorphs? I always thought that was a ridiculous simplification. Bit like apple and pear shaped people.

It's just a factor. There are a lot of factors. Of course you can't boil it down to anything that simple.

XChrome · 28/06/2024 00:17

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 17:59

A lot of people think low intensity cardio like walking is going to get them super fit and build a lot of muscle. It absolutely is not. So I just wanted to dispel that myth

@XChrome I run 10k a day low intensity and walk 5k a day. I was surprised at how well I tackled the steep hills when visiting Wales. My fitness has certainly improved from when I didn't do my daily walk and run. I have visible muscle definition.

Oh, don't misunderstand me. Walking/running definitely improves your cardiorespiratory fitness. It's just not going to affect muscle mass that much
The definition is a gain in slow twitch muscle fiber, which does not have much mass. However, it is still essential. The fast twitch fiber you get from strength training and high intensity activities like sprinting and plyometrics has the most mass. You need a balance of both. I do cardio as well, with high intensity intervals. You can't skip cardio just because you do weights and expect to be fit. Well rounded fitness has both, plus flexibility, agility, power and balance.

XChrome · 28/06/2024 00:25

heyhohello · 27/06/2024 18:04

I don't like this relatively recent, I think, scathing attitudes coming from body builders concerning cardio. Running and walking are functional exercise! We have been doing both since time began. Not so much with lifting very heavy weights except as a spectacle or punishment. In evolutionary terms building too much muscle is inefficient.

Bodybuilding is interesting and there is a lot to learn from how it all works but it is different not superior to cardio.

We have been building strength since time began; moving rocks, cutting down and removing trees to build shelters and grow crops. It is indeed an evolutionary advantage, but yes, beyond a certain limit it is fairly useless, just as being able to run marathons is.

I work on functional strength now as well as all other aspects of fitness.
The pissing on cardio you get from weight room muscleheads is silly. Of course you need cardio as well. Grunting under a heavy bar for thirty seconds and then resting doesn't do much for your heart and lungs. So I go about it in a non stop style, using supersets and trisets. I also do regular cardio.

shearwater2 · 28/06/2024 06:48

XChrome · 28/06/2024 00:25

We have been building strength since time began; moving rocks, cutting down and removing trees to build shelters and grow crops. It is indeed an evolutionary advantage, but yes, beyond a certain limit it is fairly useless, just as being able to run marathons is.

I work on functional strength now as well as all other aspects of fitness.
The pissing on cardio you get from weight room muscleheads is silly. Of course you need cardio as well. Grunting under a heavy bar for thirty seconds and then resting doesn't do much for your heart and lungs. So I go about it in a non stop style, using supersets and trisets. I also do regular cardio.

I agree.

And my dad was fit all his life but I would say overtrained, often pushing himself to the point of failure and he didn't believe in listening to his body. He had osteoporosis so joint and mobility issues from his 60s onwards, underactive thyroid which he'd probably had for years ɓut pushed on through instead of seeing a doctor, had a massive heart attack in his 70s then was unwell for a few more years before dying of heart failure. My mum on the other hand is fit and well in her 80s and never did much exercise.

I'm not using this as an argument not to exercise regularly, but I always under rather than overtrain and definitely listen to my body.

curious79 · 28/06/2024 07:03

You CAN outrun a bad diet - Michael Phelps did, I know rugby players who do. I know when I get 25 mins in every day of a step machine I do too. Best weight loss comes from super healthy diet + exercise

heyhohello · 28/06/2024 07:17

@XChrome,

We have been building strength since time began; moving rocks, cutting down and removing trees to build shelters and grow crops. It is indeed an evolutionary advantage, but yes, beyond a certain limit it is fairly useless, just as being able to run marathons is.

Thank you. Yes, it was a recognition of balance between cardio and strength training was what I was aiming to emphasise although my snippyness over your precious (as I perceived scathing) comment regarding'low intensity cardio' was probably coming across.

Low intensity cardio IMO is the most immediately accessible exercise there is for a lot of previously sedentary people and it is better they begin with that and build on it rather than think it is pointless. My motto after recovering from cancer treatment was, 'Something is better than nothing' and I really did have to begin with the easiest forms of exercise. Plus I learnt to run by 'slow jogging' which can be slower than walking to begin with but promotes excellent form. Again some people are very scathing about that.

However, yes, strength can be very functional (outside of the extremes). I do strength training myself and am thankful I have progressed in this area too. I think we both agree balance is key. 🙂

heyhohello · 28/06/2024 07:18

@shearwater2 yes, I agree persistently overtraining can be harmful.

RagingTiger · 28/06/2024 07:21

A - different strokes for different folk. My friend has lost loads of weight purely through diet and doesn’t exercise. I have tried this and I do not lose weight without adding in exercise as well. I just don’t.

B - why is is such a big deal to you? Why the desperate need to share it? If people find what works for them who cares? Why is it any of your business?

heyhohello · 28/06/2024 07:23

@XChrome and I know someone who at one point seemed to have the attitude that all his muscle gains would 'drop off' if he as so much attempted to run a 5k. I could've accused him of going to a 'vanity gym' 😁.

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