This is a newsletter I never thought I would ever have to write. I will do my best to not get to fired up here. But, I am pissed. Why? Because of a recent article published by none other than TIME magazine. The article titled “Why Exercise Wont Make You Thin.” Was a pretty lousy yet hilarious attempt for TIME to try and present some evidence for why spending your time exercising will be spent in vain. Not only are the points flimsy and misinterpreted from it’s source data this article is highly irresponsible for such a major publication. Next thing you know they are going to present some scientific evidence that the world is flat and that yes, if you hold your face that long, it will in fact stay that way.
I struggled on my decision on how to respond to this. I was even going to address this issue as it is absolutely comical to me as I have literally helped many many many people LOSE WEIGHT WITH EXERCISE. As an EXERCISE and DIET professional I am beside myself by these claims. But, I will spend as little time possible bashing these guys and save that for when I meet their editors in a dark alley, and instead I will present to you, WHY in fact exercise is your best friend when it comes to weight loss. Morons.
After painstaking analysis of this crap I have come to this major conclusion. All of this guys claims are based on correlation (a simple relationship void of teasing out the potential hundreds of OTHER possible causes and providing no concrete evidence for why) and not causation (providing cause and effect to a relationship) and personal opinions (and his is sta-sta-stupid!). Causation, being the 800 pound guerilla in the room when it comes to proving a scientific point and making such claims as, “Exercise will not make you thin.” There are literally thousands of correlation studies over many years correlating weight loss with exercise. Also, there are overwhelming causation studies available and most importantly physiology literature breaks this down quite well. Because when it comes to weight loss or gain and all is said and done it comes down to calorie balance, simple math and physics.
Quick Example: Lose 1 pound in 7 days.
-3500 Calories in a pound
-Subtract 500 per day for 7 days and you have lost 1 pound of dry weight.
-Then ask yourself how you would like to subtract that 500 calories.
a) Eat less
b) Exercise more
c) Both
And if you read on you will see exactly why “C” is the best answer.
Besides that major trump card I will address Mr. Cloud’s (the enlightened author for TIME) points. The one point I will give Mr. Cloud is this: Yes, you can lose all the weight you ever wanted with diet alone. It is very very very possible. Heck, I have lost 17 lbs in one week before on just diet alone. BUT, this is nor reasonable or rationale and definitely not sustainable for most people. In order to lose the weight I lost I had to make SEVERE nutrient and caloric deficiencies for this to happen. What I did was a small sample of what professional bodybuilders do roughly 12 weeks out of a competition to shred all visible body fat. BUT, that’s it. They do it, but they do it for a short period of time and generally binge afterwards for living such a restrictive life of consuming nothing but chicken and broccoli. And not to mention they are weight training and performing cardiovascular work at the same time. But, yes, their extreme body fat loss is diet oriented.
Which is a great time for me to remind my clients the IMPORTANCE of optimizing your diet in order to achieve best results. BUT, this is in balance with your DAILY exercise program.
But lets get back to Mr. Cloud’s personal vendetta with exercise. Frankly, I think he has just had bad trainers (because there are trainers and there are TRAINERS!)…And, my very own personal vendetta is with the exercise research which is a VERY LOSE TERM IN SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE!!! In general it is safe to assume when there is exercise ‘research’ taking place the exercise is simple aerobics. This could be on a bike, treadmill, etc. And by now I hope you realize this is merely a small part of an exercise program and by NO means comprehensive exercise. Just as (against what my dietitian counterparts like to preach…they are going to hang me for this one) a CALORIE IS NOT A CALORIE IS NOT A CALORIE, EXERCISE IS NOT EXERCISE IS NOT EXERCISE.
So, I will put my disclaimer here: eating a well balanced and varied diet as well as being active on most days of the week is a great thing to do…BUT, not optimal or the best or only way to do things. And so, in research, you would think that things would get a little more specific and advanced than, “aerobics, ” or “physical activity.” Furthermore, in many exercise studies participants are simply given recommendations and guidelines on exercise and are thrown into the “exercise” group. Which, walking the dog and gardening also fall into. Trust me, our workouts at The Lab are a bit harder than walking your dog or gardening;)
So, lets move on and step over the fine details for now.
Mr. Cloud there are 2 types people in this world when it comes to this matter. Those who will obsess over and eat perfectly all the time and those who will not. Those who a motivated and those who are not. Those who will take on healthier habits and those that will follow every letter of a diet plan. The types of people that are successful losing weight with diet alone (successfully and keeping it of long term) are the exception to the rule and this is exactly why one of the Lab’s Nutritional Laws is “stick to these guidelines 80% of the time for long term success…” Living such a strict lifestyle leads to burnout, failure, and boredom. Which is also only sustainable for a short period of time. Hence the success and failures of many crash diets.
And then there are people like Mr. Cloud and myself. Yes, I share the value and connection of diet to weight loss with Mr. Cloud, but he lacks logic and reason. That’s why our gym is called the Lab. Science placed into the real world for results. We work with real people here, not actual rats. I have seen human behavior and what is possible and reasonable to the Americans lifestyle. Lets face it…when movies like Super Size Me paint the picture of the American diet and lifestyle does he really think these people will trade in all of their Big Macs, fries, cokes, video games, TV, for a lifestyle of severe strict dieting? Not likely.
But, we can meet in the middle right? We can start by being more physically active which will immediately improve blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. Which are all simple biochemical building blocks to the weight loss process. Then, we reduce the super sized portions and even more success is had. And the consumer did not have to go to insane lengths to achieve a healthier lifestyle and some weight loss success.
Mr. Cloud’s problem is that he is simply relating HIS personal experiences to the article and assuming this is how it should be with ALL people. This is ridiculous and unrealistic. If I had the same standards for all of my clients and myself I would have had very little success.
But, personally, I would eat saw dust and chicken poop if I thought it would help my performance. At one time I ate strictly raw food and greens (yes, even eggs!) as an experiment in nutrition. But, I have worked with hundreds of people and how many people do you think I have sat across from that would actually take it to the extreme Mr. Cloud suggests? I could probably count them on two hands. Hey, its not a bad idea to start a super strict diet to speed your initial successes to get momentum, but life does get in the way and your nutritional plan will have to be more realistic and therefore balanced with the appropriate amount of exercise. Birthdays, holidays, and sometimes you just may want to relax.
Lets now examine Mr Clouds notion that exercise makes you hungry…Geee, ok, with this theory I will just lock you up into a bubble and not allow you to lift a finger so God forbid you cause your self any hunger, stimulate your metabolism, attract any germs, or develop any antibodies for that matter. We will keep you away from all forms of dirt, foul language, sunlight, fresh air, and definitely the opposite sex (or same sex for that matter). Perfect, more for me! This way, you will not have to exercise, eat, move, sleep, drink, procreate, or pretty much contribute anything to the human race. If this is you then we will happily weed you out of the population as your pathetic mindset is frankly not helping anyone. Likewise, calorie restriction alone is a pathetic way to actually lose weight. Sure it works, but lets look a little closer.
Let’s say you have to eat 1200 calories at 150 lbs to lose weight based on your resting metabolism and current activity levels. Let’s say you get down to 140 lbs. Well guess what, you now have to eat less again. So, now we are down to 1050 calories per day as the new needs of your body has decreased and thus it will take fewer calories so it can continue weight loss. This process will have to continue until you are down to nothing. No fun. You are wasting away at this point. This is first why it is unwise to follow the mantra: a calorie, is a calorie, is a calorie and ALSO why exercise will be your best friend.
Not only will you build lean body mass, firm up, feel and look better, become more flexible and functional but you can now liberalize your diet too! But, what Mr. Cloud doesn’t point out is that weight loss and metabolism is a ‘feed forward’ system. Meaning, to stimulate cell breakdown and rebuilding (lean body mass gain, which also becomes a fat burning incinerator 24/7 when it is developed) it takes calories to do this…so, you actually need to eat more of the right things to help this process or the muscle will simply metabolize itself for energy and you end up spinning your tracks.
Next, there is your metabolism; this is why small frequent meals work. If you eat little food and infrequently your body must hold on tight to calories and fat cells and spare the brain and central nervous system from death as it goes into survival mode. Everything else is fair game for metabolism and energy. Usually, in starvation it will be muscle and amino acids as it is broken down into glucose easier than fat. So, you can see the beautiful relationship unfold of DIET AND EXERCISE and how they must go hand in hand.
Let’s go back to our dieter who is now at 140 lbs and eating 1050 calories per day. Let’s say they also have the motivation to severely reduce calories for life extension. On one hand, it’s your life go ahead and starve (Great! More for me again!). It’ been proven to work in animals so far, so you may have something there, but as long as no terminal diseases, accidents, or global warming get in the way of your little experiment, I wish you luck.
But, when your quality of life suffers from having such a sluggish metabolism, low sex hormone levels and drive, poor muscle mass and strength, poor bone density, low blood sugar, you will be begging for a cheeseburger if only you had the energy and strength to get up and drive (not walk, because that would take to much effort) to get one. Add that to the fact that your now 150 years old and all of your friends and family are dead and you have no one to have lunch, errrr, I mean play cards with in your diapers. So, while all this sounds god and can work in isolation it is no way to have a solid lifestyle.
Let’s review the statement: exercise makes you hungry. ACTUALLY, exercise stimulates catecholamines which are you awesome little fight or flight chemicals (also known as adrenaline) that actually fight off hunger for several hours after exercise (not that you should fast here…but, choose the right foods) and it just so happen to transport nutrients into your cells exclusive of the need for insulin. This is a very very very good thing, Why? Because Americans are increasingly overweight and obese, diabetes is rapidly spreading, and the last things we need to do is move less. A bout of exercise is much like a bout of insulin. It transports glucose into cells without insulin. So, your insulin sensitivity improves. It’s that simple yet magical. In my practice I have cured diabetes with this mechanism. Blood sugar levels decline with activity and thus the needs of insulin are reduced (a very simple look, but it boils down to that). And not to mention high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and high blood pressure just to name a few other deadly conditions that exercise can cure.
Exercise creates the opposite blood chemical environment of diabetes. And thus, why exercise is such a great weapon to fight off diabetes. Likewise, do you think these such Americans are going to improve their insulin sensitivity by eating less and more nutrient dense healthy calorie? People are hooked on food like drugs and alcohol. And this speaks so much to why many Americans have struggle with the Food Guide Pyramids suggested 6-11 servings of grains per day. Because they are so damn physically INACTIVE. When you load up on so much high octance fuel just to sit there…well, then yes, a low fat high carb diet will not work for you. IF, however you are physically active, much like the athletes I work with, then yes, you will be able to load up on tons of grains and carb and not suffer consequences. I enjoy well over 600 carbs on heavy training days:) But, this is simply to fuel performance…And if you like to eat like I do, then exercise will keep your weight and health in control.
Sadly, TIME magazine let this guy sell the idea that if you completely deprive themselves for their rest of their lives they can just sit on their butts. Great, if it works, you will be skinny, weak, and no better off because you will have the energy and vitality of an 80 year old. This is not only unhealthy but un-American. It promotes laziness and lethargy…which are terrible for both the mind and body.
That’s why this issue must be taken seriously and hacks like this shouldn’t be allowed to publish such confusing misinformation. Food needs to be respected and part of a healthy lifestyle from the day you are born and taught by responsible parents top their children. Diet and exercise behaviors will be learned by children from watching their parents (who hopefully didn’t’ read this guy’s article). And if people buy into this obesity will only continue to rise. And that’s the sad part. We are just talking weight loss here. Health benefits both physical and mental are widely obtained from simple physical activity. Depression, anger, ADD, anxiety, can all be helped with physical activity.
Now lets use our heads here for a second. The number 1 reason you should exercise isn’t even for weight loss. It’s for HEALTH. Being functional and capable. This is why you were given a body…use it or lose it. The body and muscles decay and cripple when not used regularly past your formative years. Disease sets in structurally (bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles, etc) and biochemical (blood sugar, blood lipids, etc). This has major reprocutions and will ultimately shut you down. With this mindset you will ultimately become a brain on a platter. And if you are not Steven Hawking you will have less and less to offer this planet.
This one got me fired up. Sorry if I offended anyone other than Mr. Cloud with this. I am going to go workout and revel in the calming properties of intense exercise. And, if you have read this far here are just a few more great exercise benefits PROVEN by science (read below). Also, check out this article for more TIME magazine bashing. This article is fantastic!
