Can Exercise Help You Lose Weight?

A few months ago a controversial Public Library of Science study revealed that women who exercised for six months were no more likely to lose weight than those who didn't. Suddenly everybody was up in arms, declaring that exercise actually didn't help you lose weight. Is this true? Why have we all been sweating and exercising if working out does nothing to help with our weight? In today's article we look at the truth behind these controversial statements and see what's really what.

First off, exercise does burn calories. That's a fact. If you workout on the treadmill for 45 minutes and burn 300 calories, than that is a real lose of calories that results in the mobilization of fat reserves for fuel. It may not prove huge, but it does exist.

Second, what the Public Library of Science study doesn't show is that they didn't monitor diet at all. People who ate a ton of junk food and exercised didn't drop weight, but who would be surprised? What we've learned from this study is that while exercise alone doesn't help you slim down, it plays a pivotal role in helping you keep it off. The reason is simple: while becoming thin is easiest when you control what you eat, exercise is what helps your body adjust to your new weight and stay there.

The reason is because your body likes to return to the shape it was before. Thus if you lose weight, it is incredibly easy to return to your previous weight as soon as you relax. The trick to defining a new set point that your body adheres to is through exercise; exercise basically locks in the results, making them permanent.
So before you go and give up exercise (and the multitude of benefits it brings), realize this: by giving up exercise you are basically entering a yo-yo cycle where you gain and lose weight. And that really doesn't sound like fun to me.

Lose weight with an intense workout such as the Insanity Workout. 60 days of incredible Max Interval Training will see you shedding pounds like water. Or try your hand at Turbo Fire results, which will give you a total body transformation in just 90 days!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Tucker

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