Naturopathic Solutions

A new study, the results of which are described here at tvnz.co.nz is being hailed as a result that “debunks the widely held belief that diet plus exercise is the most effective way to lose weight.”

The study results as quoted in the article state:  "For weight loss to occur, an individual needs to maintain a difference between the number of calories they consume everyday and the number of calories they burn through metabolism and physical activity," Dr Leanne Redman of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, explained in a press release and that researchers report that dieting alone is just as effective as dieting plus exercise.  ‘What we found was that it did not matter whether a reduction in calories was achieved through diet or burned everyday through exercise.’"

Well of course this is not really new information.  A calorie not eaten is the same as a calorie burned.  Exercise can help you lose by burning more calories, but of course, you can also lose without exercise by eating less.  At getfitsource, we always emphasize that the key to losing weight is eating less, not exercise.  Eating less always trumps exercise for losing weight per se, because it is extremely difficult to burn the number of calories needed to lose lots of weight, whereas it is relatively straightforward not to consume them in the first place.  Of course, exercise confers other extremely important benefits as well, which fortunately, the article does point out:  “regular exercise can improve aerobic fitness and lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.”  Not exactly a minor piece of information and one that is totally ignored by the headline news: “exercise not necessary to lose weight.”

Although it says it somewhat differently, the article also repeats the well known fact that one can’t “spot reduce.”  In other words, one can’t target one part of the body for greater fat reduction than another.  This is also a well known principle in weight loss.

Don’t let studies like these shake your faith in the benefits of exercise.   But don’t expect exercise to be a panacea for weight loss.  You have to eat less to lose weight.

This article from The Kansas City infoZine suggests that calories from beverages may be a large causal factor on the nation’s growing obesity problem.

Here are some facts and opinions from the article:

During the last 30 years calorie consumption has increased by 150-300 calories per day with half of that increase coming from beverages.

Average soft drink portions have increased from 13 ounces to 20 ounces.

Studies indicate that when people consume more calories from beverages they do not compensate by consuming fewer calories from their meals, hence the increase in calories from the beverages is a net increase in calorie consumption leading to permanent weight gain.

Even after consuming more calories from sweetened beverages with their meals, study participants did not report any increase in satiety.

Beverages don’t provide an increase satiety commensurate with their calorie component:  they pass through our mouths quickly giving less time for the brain to realize we are eating and some people somehow rationalize that they don’t count; they do.

This article provides an excellent summary of the perils of high calorie beverages; read it in full here.

Our take at getfitsource.com is simple:

If you are still drinking colas or other “sugar water” you really aren’t serious about losing weight.  Sweetened soft drinks should be the very first thing that you jettison from your diet if you want to lose.  Drink only water and other unsweetened beverages if you are serious about losing weight.  If you must drink orange juice or grapefruit juice, be sure to dilute it copiously with water before you consume.  Sports drinks fall into the “sugar water” category.  Although they contain fewer calories per ounce than sweetened colas, they should be avoided if you want to lose.  A large sports drink can easily negate the (caloric consumption) benefits of a fairly strenuous workout.