Four Reasons to Exercise That Aren’t Weight Loss

September 28th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Exercise doesn’t help you lose weight, according to this week’s supposedly shocking paradigm-shifter in the health and fitness world, courtesy of Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories and the forthcoming The Diet Delusion.

This doesn’t strike me as big news: I’ve exercised an hour a day and an hour a week and maintained the same exact weight. Why? I get hungry and feel I deserve to eat more. But I’m glad it is news, because it gives the lie to that ridiculous government recommendation issued sometime in the last year that said you need to exercise for two hours a day if you want to lose weight.

It also doesn’t really matter because there are many reasons to exercise besides losing weight. I exercise (mostly, I do yoga) because:

Otherwise I get depressed and sluggish.
Toned muscles are pretty.
Weight-bearing exercise keeps your bones strong and your posture in line.
When I get exercise I get body dysmorphia - I think I look better than I do!

Tags: Exercise · Health News

4 responses so far ↓

1 Melissa H. // Sep 29, 2007 at 5:21 pm

Love this…I think I ought to employ it (and I know you think I ought to! ;-)… You know my workout sessions…and truth be told, cutting back the past couple weeks (still every day but less time and more lifting) I’ve not lost anything… and I have enjoyed more free time.
2 Sara // Sep 29, 2007 at 8:01 pm

I don’t think you “ought to”! :-) I think you ought to do whatever makes you happiest. If you love the super-cardio, in and of itself, keep at it. But if it’s only a means to a skinnier end, you might be better off with the free time, if Taubes is right.

this is only sort of related, but the talk reminds me: I’m still amazed at those crazy transformations people make doing Body for Life (they do before-after-afters on their site), doing just 20 minutes of HIIT every day and a pretty reasonable lifting circuit. I don’t WANT a body like that, I’m just saying the 3 month progression is craaaaazy!
3 Melissa H. // Sep 30, 2007 at 4:38 pm

Totally true. Ran 4.5 miles this morning as the leaves were falling, the air was crisp… and enjoyed it… def. didn’t do it to lose weight. Haven’t stepped on my scale since Wed. Oh, yea, I’ve seen that Body for Life program too… it is insane!!
4 The Omnivore’s Dilemma // Sep 30, 2007 at 9:04 pm

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