Weighing in on the Benefits of Exercise

I recently brought home one of those free magazines you get at the health food store checkout because I usually find some tasty recipes. With January turning into the shed-the-holiday-pounds month, you can find weight-loss articles in just about any magazine lately, and the issue I picked up was no exception with a piece about how to lose weight — for good.

One of the sections of this piece talked about the importance of exercise with some suggested routines for weight loss:

If possible, get 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise every day to lose and keep weight off.

If you're the average non-athletically-inclined person reading that recommendation, you'll probably have the same thoughts I did. If I have to work out that much, I'd be killing myself and making myself miserable…so what's the use? And how could I fit 90 minutes into my schedule every day when I'm cramming so much into it already?

Not only is that much regular exercise for the average person a formidable and unrealistic goal, but more recently the benefit of exercise for weight loss has come into question.  Several controversial studies have been published, or are underway, that give us a fresh perspective of the role exercise plays in our quest to burn body fat:

• A Louisiana State University study conducted by Dr. Timothy Church showed that four groups of women who worked out with personal trainers at various levels of time commitment — from no exercise up to 194 minutes per week — did not lose a significant amount of weight, and some of the women from each group actually gained weight. The women who worked out the most didn't lose more fat than the women who never worked out. Dr. Church believes the lack of results was caused by compensation — eating more after workouts because either their appetite was stimulated by the exercise or they rewarded themselves, or the participants subsequently moved around less to either recoup from the workout or believed they'd had enough physical activity and didn't want to expend more energy. The Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh conducted a similar study and came to the same conclusions.
• The Mayo Clinic found that "most studies have demonstrated no or modest weight loss with exercise alone…patients should have realistic expectations, an exercise regimen…is unlikely to result in short-term weight loss beyond what is achieved with dietary change."
• Researchers from Queensland University of Technology studied 58 obese patients who participated in increased aerobic activity without diet modification, and nearly half failed to meet the expected weight loss goals.
• Another new study done by scientists at the University of Colorado School of Medicine utilized a calorimeter on athletes during and after exercising and found there is no such thing as "afterburn," where the body supposedly continues to burn body fat after strenuous activities. The study also produced the finding that participants did not burn any additional fat but instead burned less fat during the 24-hour study period.
• The University of Exeter found that children who were physically active from only frequent short bursts of activity were just as healthy as those who engaged in prolonged vigorous exercise.
• Terry Wilkin, professor of metabolism at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, and also leader of the EarlyBird study into childhood obesity, is eight years into a provocative children's study that uses accelerometers to accurately measure activity levels. His findings so far indicate that obesity leads to inactivity, and not the other way around, and that increasing activity at school made no difference since the children would be less active at home.

There are recent studies that point to exercise playing a positive role in weight reduction, and the study results listed above do not necessarily mean that exercise has no impact on body weight, but many of the experts are coming to the conclusion that an emphasis on diet may contribute more to weight loss than just strenuous and rigorous regular activity. Aside from this, however, exercise has shown to be important in weight loss maintenance.

So, after reading all these findings, what's the purpose in exercising, and what's the best way to include physical activity into your routine? And, how do you address the issue of weight loss?

To start with, there are many important benefits that come from purposeful physical movement. Here are just a few:

• Staves off depression and promotes feelings of well-being and positive body image
• Improves cognitive function
• Done right, it can help us feel more energetic throughout the day
• Prevents diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
• Enhances strength, flexibility, endurance, aerobic capacity, and coordination
• Improves bone density
• Increases whole-body circulation which is vital to optimal cellular function
• Promotes anti-aging and longevity

In my opinion, improving circulation is the most important reason to exercise, as optimal circulation plays a primary role in all aspects of health mentioned above.

When choosing to perform regular exercise, pick activities that:

• You are consistently motivated to do
• Add meaning to your daily routine
• You enjoy doing
• You can easily fit into your schedule without creating undo stress
• Avoid risk of injury

For some people, paring up with a partner or group of friends can add to the overall enjoyment of the activity. The more you do exercises out of obligation or when they feel more like a chore and just plain drudgery, the less likely you'll stick with the regimen.

If you're dealing with weight-loss issues, in addition to dietary factors there may be contributing psychological factors that are influencing your inability to rid excess weight, so you may want to look at your subconscious beliefs with a qualified hypnotherapist.

And keep in mind…your underlying intention with any physical activity significantly contributes to your holistic health. Excessive guilt and worry about your health and appearance can be toxic — if you're exercising because you fear disease, old age, or abhor your body image (instead of exercising out of respect for your body and for enhancing emotional well-being), you are unconsciously contributing to an unhealthy mindset that's ultimately counterproductive to nurturing and honoring your divine self.

References:

Time Magazine: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

UK Times Online: Exercise? A Fat Lot of Good That Is for Weight Loss

UK's The Independent: Why Your Workout Isn't Working

New York Times: Why Doesn't Exercise Lead to Weight Loss?

Mayo Clinic study: Treatment of Obesity

University of Pittsburgh study: Effect of Exercise on 24-Month Weight Loss Maintenance in Overweight Women

Louisiana State University study: Changes in Weight, Waist Circumference and Compensatory Responses with Different Doses of Exercise among Sedentary, Overweight Postmenopausal Women

University of Colorado School of Medicine study: When energy balance is maintained, exercise does not induce negative fat balance in lean sedentary, obese sedentary, or lean endurance-trained individuals