We begin with observations that, at first glance, seem obvious:

1. You cannot shed weight through dieting alone; you must exercise too.
2. Individuals who exercise burn more calories; burn more calories without consuming more calories, and you will lose weight.
3. A central reason for the obesity epidemic is that folks are less physically active today than they were a few decades ago.

What do you think?

“From his shoulder on down, the Rat felt the supple weight of her body. An odd sensation, that weight. This being that could love a man, bear children, grow old, and die; to think one whole existence was in this weight.”
― Haruki Murakami, Pinball, 1973

Exercise alone doesn’t usually control weight.

Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. It offers numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, increased muscle strength, and reduced risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. However, physical activity alone may not be sufficient for weight control.

Weight gain or loss is primarily determined by the balance between the number of calories consumed and burned. You gain weight when you consume more calories than you burn; when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. Therefore, weight control requires a balance between calorie intake and physical activity.

However, the amount of physical activity required to burn a significant number of calories can be quite high, and it is often difficult to achieve through exercise alone.

For example, an hour of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, may burn only 300 to 400 calories for a person weighing 155 pounds. In contrast, a single large slice of pizza can contain over 500 calories, meaning it would take more than an hour of exercise to burn off the calories consumed in just one slice.

Additionally, physical activity can increase appetite and food intake, leading people to eat more calories than they burn, thereby offsetting the calorie-burning benefits of exercise. Also, some people may have a genetic predisposition to retain or lose weight more slowly, despite their physical activity levels.

Therefore, combining physical activity with a healthy, balanced diet (emphasizing nutrient-dense, whole foods and limiting calorie-dense, processed foods) is essential to control weight effectively. By creating a calorie deficit through diet and exercise, weight loss can be achieved and sustained over time.

The Hazda, a hunter-gatherer tribe in Africa

Duke University (USA) professor of evolutionary anthropology Herman Pontzer studied the Hazda. The Hazda is a group of traditional hunter-gatherers who live in Tanzania, while Americans refer to people living in the United States. The average Hazda likely burns more calories than Americans because they lead a more physically active lifestyle that involves a significant amount of hunting and gathering food.

Studies have shown that Hazda men walk an average of seven to 10 miles (11 to 16 kilometers) per day in search of food, while Hazda women walk an average of three to six miles (five to 10 kilometers) daily. I initially thought that this level of physical activity would be significantly higher than that of most Americans, who tend to have more sedentary jobs and lifestyles.

Additionally, the Hazda diet consists primarily of wild game, tubers, fruits, and honey, typically lower in calories and fiber, and protein than the typical American diet, which is often high in processed and sugary foods.

Yet, I was wrong: Pontzer discovered that the Hazda consume and burn the same number of calories to walk a mile as Westerners. And the number of calories burned per mile walked is comparable. This doesn’t seem to make sense.

This observation is not limited to the Hazda. An analysis of ninety-eight studies discovered the following:

People in third-world countries with physically demanding lives had similar energy expenditures to more sedentary people in the developed world.

But why?

Internal energy expenditure controller

We have an internal energy expenditure controller set to a particular level. The Hazda’s regulator recognizes their activity and adjusts for it to keep total energy the same (perhaps by diverting energy from the body’s normal housekeeping tasks).

Physical activity reduces our immune system’s inflammatory response and drops hormone levels. On the other hand, laboratory animals don’t increase their energy expenditure with exercise; rather, they ovulate less frequently and repair tissue damage more slowly.

Writing in Skeptical Inquirer, Harriet Hall reminds us of some myths:

1. You cannot drop weight by dieting alone; you must exercise too.
2. People who exercise burn more calories; if you burn more calories without taking in more calories, simple physics tells us that you will lose weight.
3. A central reason for the obesity epidemic cause is that people are less physically active now than they were a few decades ago.

Humans appear to have a metabolism that burns more calories than primates (to support the extra activity of our brains). While there is an energy cost to finding more food, we compensate by cooking to make more calories available and by the more efficient obtaining of food (for example, through farming). Our ability to store fat helps us survive famines but sets us up for obesity.

Back to the myths.

1. You can’t lose weight by dieting alone; you must exercise too. Hall reminds us of the tragic concentration camps, where individuals wasted away for want of food.
2. Exercise and burn calories. Simple physics dictates you will drop weight. True, but our metabolism adjusts to compensate for the calories expended. Your metabolism sabotages your diet. It would be best to curtail the calories, but the implementation is challenging for most.
3. A central reason for the obesity epidemic cause is that people are less physically active now than they were a few decades ago. Increased calorie consumption (not primarily decreased activity) caused the obesity epidemic, not decreased activity.

Physical activity is central to optimizing health for numerous reasons, including cancer and cardiovascular risk reduction. Move to stay healthy, but exercise alone to lose or control weight probably won’t get the job done.

The post Why Exercise Doesn’t Control Weight appeared first on Medika Life.

First, diets don’t work as tools for weight loss. Yes, I know that some of you lost weight on a restrictive diet, but the reality is that 95 percent of us who lose weight by dieting regain it within one to five years. Deprive yourself, and you may then overeat in a diet-binge cycle.

Our bodies are designed for times when there wasn’t always abundant food. Restrict your diet too much, and your metabolism will slow, making it even harder to lose weight. I think of the brain as similar to a thermostat. Set the thermostat, and even if you open your home’s windows, the thermostat will drive your furnace to maintain a set temperature.

Restrictive dieting: Perils

Second, fad diets have associated peril. Many lack essential nutrients. Furthermore, we don’t learn how to eat healthily. How many people end up yo-yo dieting, a pattern that can cause illness.

As demonstrated in well-designed clinical trials, several fad diets can facilitate rapid weight loss. For example, the Atkins diet is the most popular low-carbohydrate diet. Proponents claim the approach leads to rapid weight loss without hunger.

The Atkins diet is at least as effective (and frequently more effective) at driving weight loss than other diets. The A TO Z study examined 311 overweight women who followed the Atkins diet, the LEARN diet, the low-fat Ornish diet, or the Zone diet for one year.

The winner? The Atkins group lost more weight than any other group. Healthline.com has some good information about the Atkins high-protein, high-fat diet.

I began by offering that many “fad” diets are unbalanced and don’t live up to their hype. Several diets do help with weight loss. Unfortunately, just because a fad diet works for weight reduction in the short term does not mean that it is sustainable over the long haul.

Restrictive dieting: Taking joy out of eating food

Enough said.

Restrictive dieting and eating disorders

While dieting may not cause an individual’s eating disorder, it is often a precursor to the diagnosis. The National Eating Disorders Association reports these disturbing statistics:

Thirty-five percent of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting, and that 20 to 25 percent of those individuals develop eating disorders.

For those headed towards an eating disorder, elements of restrictive dieting can have appeal; for example, individuals may gain a sense of control by counting calories or fat grams, avoiding specific food types, and focusing on the weight scale.

So what is the approach that helps me dodge weight gain while not restricting diet? Let’s get to it.

Sleep, diet, and weight

Did you know that approximately 35 percent of Americans get less than the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep each night? Or that upwards of 30 percent suffer from a sleep disorder such as insomnia or sleep apnea? Are you one of them?

Unfortunately, short sleep and other sleep disorders are associated with various illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Diet may be something we need to be more mindful of when it comes to sleep. A suboptimal diet can contribute to how well we sleep.

I recently came across the fascinating work of Marie-Pierre St-Onge. She has shown that consuming less saturated fat and less sugar results in less disturbed sleep. A Mediterranean-style diet rich in olive oil, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and fruits and vegetables may be particularly beneficial:

Those who followed a Mediterranean diet appeared 1.4-times more likely to have a good night’s sleep.

Here’s why. Protein-rich foods contain tryptophan, an amino acid from which the brain makes the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin. Other foods such as tomatoes, apples, bananas, nuts, vegetable oils, and animal products contain melatonin. It is not clear if consuming melatonin-rich foods boost your melatonin levels.

Based on her research, Marie-Pierre St-Onge believes that diet may affect sleep at least as much as mindfulness practices or melatonin-containing pills. She notes that melatonin supplements reduce falling asleep by four minutes on average. This improvement compares to 12 minutes for eating a healthy diet. The overall sleep quality is better with the diet approach, too.

Sleep and diet are reciprocal.

Sleep and diet are intertwined, with each influencing the other. With inadequate sleep, we tend to make poorer diet choices (which then results in lower quality sleep). Try interrupting the cycle by eating well throughout the day. Your more restful sleep may then influence you to make better food choices.

Finally, the strategy appears more easily achieved by early risers. Night owls tend to consume less plant protein, fruits, and vegetables.

The anti-diet diet

If we want to permanently achieve long-term and healthy weight loss, we probably should ditch the restrictive diet mindset. Find a healthy approach to eating that you can achieve and enjoy for life. Instead of restrictive dieting, aim for healthy and pleasurable eating combined with regular physical activity. And get some sleep!

Thank you for joining me today in exploring how sleep and diet appear intimately related.

The post Avoid Weight Gain Without Dieting appeared first on Medika Life.

Calorie Calculator

About this calculator

The Calorie Calculator can be used to estimate the number of calories a person needs to consume each day. This calculator can also provide some simple guidelines for gaining or losing weight.

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