Time Magazine article

[solveig]

I read the Time article last night, and it bothered me too. They are right that many people go overboard with their "compensation" for exercise with lots of heavy food. (Like my dad who rides his bike 7 miles to the tavern for a beer & a cheeseburger...)

But the article didn't really go into what kind of food people can eat when exercise amps up their metabolism, nor did it talk about eating frequently so that you never get ravenous enough to demolish 3 pieces of cake at night.

It was an article designed to provoke controversy, and I can't wait to see the letters next week, hopefully from some people with lots of letters behind their names.

I am completely confident that regular, varied, FUN exercise helped me drop and keep off the 65 lbs I lost, and more importantly, it helped me learn what my body needs and wants. And taught me I can do more than I think I can, and helped me stay sane, etc, etc.

[Crankin]

Exactly.
Thirty years ago, my dad told me that I was "getting a little piggish looking." Not nice, but true. Right then and there I stopped partying, going out to happy hour and eating fast food. I ate no red meat for 2 years and upped my fruit/veggie intake. I also started walking and doing calisthenics. I lost 25 pounds, even if it took me a year. I have never gained it back, except during pregnancy (each time it took me 4 months to lose the pregnancy weight) and the one time it started to come back is when I started cycling. My type of exercise may have changed, but even though I could not have done this without good nutrition, I most certainly could not have done it without exercise. I would have had to starve myself and I would have been one of those "skinny" girls with high body fat and no endurance.
I hope my friend who recently went to a trainer to "get rid of her bat wings" doesn't see this. She told me that she told the trainer she only wanted to work the one muscle that she thought was flabby (after the woman tried to explain about opposing muscle groups) and that she didn't "want to get muscles." I am tired of people telling me they can't do what I do. OK, but they can do something.

[witeowl]

It was an article designed to provoke controversy

Yup. Why give it a rational title like "Why Exercise Alone Won't Make You Thin"?

This article angered me on so many levels. The valid parts can be summed up as this: Be careful not to overeat as a reaction to hunger from exercise or because you think you "earned" it. Whether or not you exercise, you need to watch how much you eat. But that wouldn't have been much of an article, right?

I have a more complete reaction at my blog, if it's OK to say that.

[PscyclePath]

I get Time from some sort of promotion deal, and finally got around to reading this week's edition late last night. I thought the article was very poorly written... Their premise being that exersise alone induces one to eat more... and conveniently forgetting to mention that any sort of weight loss plan includes more exercise and less eating... Exercise + diet control.

But then their business is to sell advertising & magazines, not necessarily to give advice

[witeowl]

Since they're also in the business of selling advertising, but wrote something much more even-handed, I think they deserve to be rewarded, so I'm linking to this everywhere I can. Runner's World has the best response to the Time article I've seen yet here.

[jobob]

I was reading (OK, skimming ) the online version of the article and I thought they did a reasonable job of stressing that it wasn't exercise alone that would do the trick, and that one really had to watch calorie intake as well for any meaningful weight loss. But maybe I was reading it through my own filter.

The online version also has links to many other articles, plus a video with Jillian Michaels taking a Time.com producer through their company cafeteria where she points out foods to pile up on and foods to avoid. It was nothing that I didn't already know, but I thought it wasn't half bad, and it might be a real eye-opener for those who don't know differently.

[GLC1968]

Thanks for posting that link, Witeowl - that's a great summary/response!

[jobob]

Maybe with all the attention it's created, hopefully Time will follow up with another article picking up on the points made by Runner's World and others. They have the momentum and the attention now, they may as well capitalize on it.

[leathela]

I was really bothered by this article! I apologize if I'm reiterating what anyone else has already said on this thread, but I found the piece to be very one-sided and pessimistic. Yes, exercise alone may not be enough to achieve lasting weight loss, and you probably will gain weight if you run 3 miles and then proceed to eat a 500-calorie muffin from Starbucks (as noted in the article). The article rightly claims that people grossly overestimate the amount of calories burned during a typical workout. Not to sound elitist or judgmental, but this seems so intuitive to me: not breaking news, and not really worthy of TIME cover.

(I know that kind of does sound elitist and judgmental--I've always been active and interested in health and fitness, and I guess I sometimes forget that what seems obvious to me in this area isn't always obvious to others. That's my fault).

Anyway, the problem for me in this piece really rested in the notion that exercise is performed mainly at the gym--40 rote, tedious minutes on a stairclimber. Unless you truly love the gym (people do), I think that losing weight IS difficult because you lose motivation quickly. When you're exercising to meet a possibly unattainable goal - and not necessarily for the sake of your health or to improve your strength, flexibility, endurance, etc. - you can become easily discouraged when you don't see tangible progress within a certain amount of time. Then, people give up. In my opinion, the article fails to really consider the benefits of engaging in physical activity that you love, like cycling. When you're passionate about an activity, you don't conceive it purely as "exercise"...it's part of your daily routine, your life. I think weight loss/weight maintenance has *so* much to do with an inspired, empowered mindset. Activity shouldn't be viewed as drudgery. If the gym (or any other activity) is not appealing and doesn't leave you feeling strong and healthy, you owe it to yourself to find something that does. The TIME article really didn't address the sense of freedom and empowerment that comes with finding an activity that excites and challenges you, and I think it was remiss in leaving that very important aspect out. Also, when you find something you love to do and are apt to commit to, you will eventually find your ideal weight, on your own schedule.

[PscyclePath]

As a favorite legislator is fond of saying, "How many people are stuck in traffic right now, driving to the gym to ride a stationary bike?"



... way too many.

[gnat23]

Chris Carmichael also has a nice retort:
http://www.trainright.com/news.asp?uid=4653

"There’s no doubt that some exercisers hinder their progress by overcompensating for the calories they burn during workouts, but that’s a behavior that’s easy to change, not an indictment of exercise’s role in weight management."

-- gnat!

[witeowl]

"There’s no doubt that some exercisers hinder their progress by overcompensating for the calories they burn during workouts, but that’s a behavior that’s easy to change, not an indictment of exercise’s role in weight management."

Nicely put!

[Jolt]

As a favorite legislator is fond of saying, "How many people are stuck in traffic right now, driving to the gym to ride a stationary bike?"



... way too many.

I like that quote!! It makes me think of a conversation I had with a friend just a few days ago and she made the comment that the whole concept of having to go to the gym is ridiculous--in other words, that most people's daily life contains so little physical activity that we have to have gyms, and it just seems silly when you think about it. So true. If things weren't set up in such a way as to encourage or even require (office jobs, things being so far away one has no choice but to drive) people to sit on their bum all day, there would be much less need for gyms etc. It would also help if the average person felt safe walking and/or biking around their neighborhood--in a lot of places that isn't the case, whether because of crime issues, bad road design, crazy traffic or lack of sidewalks.

[smilingcat]

Thank you for the heads up.

Now I know what to look forward to at my work tomorrow.

meh!! I just have to think about my bp, 90-100/55-60 and and my heartrate, in low 50s, and I think about theirs.

[CyclingBeast]

Its all about getting a balance of energy intake and energy output. If you take in more than you burn, of course you're going to put on weight.

This article just annoyed me. I personally prefer the NewScientist - much more scientific and treats you as if you have actually had an education...