How much does activity really help with weight
loss?
Q: I am trying so hard to lose weight. I exercise daily
one hour on the treadmill or elliptical yet nothing is budging on
my body. I am totally frustrated. Why isn't exercise helping me to
lose weight? Is it even worth it?
A: Don't give up on exercise for weight loss, says exercise
physiologist Gerald Endress, fitness director of the Duke
University Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, N.C., which caters to
overweight clients.
"Every day I see people come into our center and they definitely
lose weight," he says. "There are two factors that are key:
restricting their diet and promoting exercise."
You don't discuss your diet, but keep in mind that "you will always
be able to out-eat your workout," says Endress. "You've got to
reduce your calorie intake."
Case in point: An average-weight person will burn about 100
calories walking a mile. So it will take a lot of steps to burn off
a 300-calorie candy bar or 600-calorie plate of pasta.
Endress and other fitness and weight-loss experts say people tend
to overestimate how many calories they burn through exercise and
therefore the extent to which physical activity can help them lose
weight.
"While exercise burns calories, the amount of exercise it takes to
be a substantial contributor to a weight-loss program is quite a
bit," says Warren Franke, an associate professor of kinesiology and
director of the Iowa Sate University Exercise Clinic in Ames.
In the National Weight Control Registry, an ongoing study of 5,000
people who have lost weight and kept it off, most say they exercise
about an hour a day, so you're on track there.
Generally speaking, the weight-loss equation comes down to calories
in versus calories out. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to
lose a pound of fat. So to lose just 1 pound a week, for instance,
you need to create an average 500-calorie deficit each day. You can
achieve those deficits through various combinations of diet and
exercise.
All that said, some people still will lose weight faster than
others. Why? Franke calls it the "$64,000 question."
Experts point to genetics, possibly gender (men seem to lose weight
faster, says Endress) and dietary factors, but there are many
unknowns here.
Confounding matters, our ability to lose weight at any given time
may change with age and fluctuating readings on the scale. Endress
says that the thinner you get, the more exercise it may take to
continue losing weight. "So as you get lighter, you may need to
work out longer or at a higher intensity." Think of excess weight
as carrying around a heavy backpack, he says. It's a lot easier to
walk when you're not carrying that backpack, or if it's not as
full.
Instead of doing the same old treadmill or elliptical routine, you
might increase the speed or incline, or mix in some new activities
squash, step class, salsa dancing to kick things up.
And keep in mind that the feel-good benefits of exercise may offer
another benefit to a weight-loss program: motivation. "What we hear
from our clients is, 'Once I start exercising, I eat better,'" says
Endress.
Q: I have 50 pounds to lose. I have been at the gym daily
for six weeks and have followed my trainer's meal plan with very
few "cheats." The weight is not coming off. Will it ever come
off?
A: It probably feels like you've been working out forever, but six
weeks isn't so long when it comes to tackling an extra 50 pounds.
After all, it took you a lot longer to gain that weight, didn't
it?
If you lost 1 to 2 pounds a week, which is what weight-loss experts
say is a safe amount, you would have lost 6 to 12 pounds so far.
But that's if you worked super-hard at it with minimal
"cheats."
Patience is key. Beyond that, take a close look at your trainer's
meal plan. Unless your trainer is also a dietitian, he or she isn't
qualified to devise an entire meal plan for you. Consult a
nutritionist.
Q: I have a problem. I only love to do ONE thing that is
considered exercise. I am an avid (three to five times a week)
tennis player. But my body does not respond even a little bit to
tennis anymore, and I'm as fat as ever. How can I take this ONE
fitness activity that I love to do (and work very hard at) and make
it work for me (weight-loss wise)? Help!
A: Certainly you can work up a sweat on the court. But as you note,
your body may not be working as hard as it used to.
"Your body kind of acclimates to the same type of exercise," says
Endress.
So how do you work harder? You could play an extra set, get a
tougher partner or add another day. You might also consider working
with a personal trainer who specializes in tennis and can offer
some suggestions.
And again, look at your diet. If you're celebrating your wins with
a slice of cheesecake, for instance, you could easily undo your
gains.
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