Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health e-Zine
July 20, 2008
Lose Weight with Exercise
A new study from Israel shows us once again that dieting
without exercise does not work. The participants took off only six
to 10 pounds in two years. No matter what diet they were on, most
regained some of the weight they lost in the early months by the end
of the study (NEJM, July 17, 2008). It didn't make any difference
whether the overweight person was on a low-fat or low-carbohydrate
diet, or the healthful Mediterranean-type diet that stresses fruits,
vegetables, whole grains beans, seeds, nuts and seafood. However,
their small weight loss did result in improved cholesterol and blood
pressure readings.
If you really want to lose weight for good, you have to
exercise. Appetite is controlled in a part of your brain called
hypothalamus. If you try to lose weight just by eating less food,
your hypothalamus makes you miserable when you see tasty food
and know that you shouldn't eat it. If you exercise, you will eat
more, but you will not increase your intake of food to equal the
extra calories that you burn when you exercise. After you have
been exercising for a few months, your muscles will be stronger,
you will feel and sleep better and you can actually start to enjoy
your new activity. Then you are set for a life-long pattern of
burning up the calories you take in.
Unfortunately, the majority of older people who start
exercise programs drop out in the first six weeks. People are more
likely to stay in an exercise program if they have company and
find a sport that is fun for them. The best success comes when a
husband and wife exercise together. You can also increase you
chances of sticking to an exercise program by having a personal
trainer, going to regular exercise classes, or joining an exercise
group that is also a social club, such as Road Runners, a bicycle
club or a square dancing society.
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