A disconcerting article in Saturday’s Times (p45) describes some university research which suggests that when overweight people like me exercise, the body compensates by slowing down the basic calorie burning for the rest of the day. Therefore total burn is a lot less than we think.
A bit dispiriting, if true. I think the solution might be to keep busier for the rest of the day. Move when Mrs Garmin says so. Don’t just fall into a chair in front of the TV. And avoid the afternoon snooze.
My wife has a list of household chores for me.
Written by
HeavyFoot
Graduate10
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And now we understand why Garmin says move even though we’ve done a long run🤣. Happy moving, enjoy your chores, your wife and your wasteline will love you for it🤗
I read about this research too. Another report recently said that exercise makes no difference to weight loss, and most calories are consumed by the brain.
Still, I believe healthy habits, sustained, will benefit us greatly. Another recent report said that low level exercise throughout the day is the key to longer life and better quality of life.
Which sounds to me like longer distances at lower speeds, which many of us do here, are a great idea.
And following that up with hiking, and doing chores, and generally being more active. 😎
Quick edit - did the report actually say the body compensates by slowing down metabolism ... might explain why sometimes we feel wiped out the rest of the day after a strenuous run?
I find after a run in the morning, whether 5K or longer a walk with Holly the dog helps my legs, if I don't go a walk I feel a little stiff sitting down, so after your chores go for a short walk.
Huh 🤔 my experience is (and I do have very low metabolism due to thyroid condition) that running elevates my metabolism. And I can very clearly tell:
- no running weeks = cold feet
- running weeks = no cold feet ever!
😁😃👍🏽
I also recently realised that jn 18 months running, I actually have lost 15kg. Slowly but surely. 😃👍🏽
Third thing relevant here is this: I listened to a podcast recently with a health expert, and he suggests that getting fit is in general more healthy than loosing weight. E.g. our whole health policies should finally turn to investment into getting people fit, rather than advertising that people should lose weight. Getting fit is also easier than losing weight, he suggested.
And of course we do realise that often weight loss follows getting fit, but it does not as automatically the other way around.
One thing I suppose, is that if the brain is the most important organ in the body, which consumes the most calories, and we stimulate it in a good way - in this case by running, only good things will come from that?
... not least from having a healthier brain and all the ways in which that may change our behaviour - a positive feedback loop.
On the other hand, you can’t always believe everything you read in the newspapers! Except, of course, that article which said it was ok to eat dark chocolate and drink red wine!
There’s so many theories and research, but the fact is if I run the scales are down a little and if I don’t run fir a few days they start to creep up again, if I don’t eat much the scales are down a little and if i eat more they are up a little unless I’ve run then they are down a little For every piece of research you can find an apposing (is that a word?) piece of research 🧐
It's still doing you good in lots of other ways Heavyfoot. There's been a lot of evidence that says you don't lose weight by running but a lot of people do.
I've also read that people overcompensate after exercise, either "I've run I deserve a doughnut" or they are genuinely more hungry. I've never lost any weight due to exercise except after a very long run I might lose 1-2 KGs but as that goes back on after a couple of days I assume it's fluid loss.
I even saw a video about low carb which said you should rest while trying to lose weight....I feel there must be some kind of middle ground, and exercise is good in so many ways other than for weight loss.
Very interesting. I have been wondering why my legs seem thicker instead of slimming down a bit since I began running. I seem to have firmer thighs, but they look bigger. I don't feel hungry for about an hour or so after a run, but by dinner time I feel almost insatiable! I seem to really fancy desserts and sweet things afterwards, whereas I could take or leave them pre-running.
It's hard to be sure about what's going on as Covid has narrowed our lives generally and curtailed movement during our day If anyone can throw any more light on this I'd be keen to learn more. Best wishes ☺️.
I asked the Doctor how I could lose some weight, (hoping he would prescribe some of those nice ".. drugs that keep you thin."). He said, "Eat less - Exercise more". For a long time, I just thought "yeah, right!" Then I found C25K. It's not the whole answer - but as I started to run I'm finding that I don't want the big portions, I don't want a lot of stuff that I would have just eaten because I was presented with it. I'm drinking more water. (Does Beer count?). I'm a Veggie - so eat reasonably healthy anyway, but I'm really surprised the way I have started to think about food.
Put your chores into MyFitnessPal and get Calorie rewards for them. 120mins on a Ride on Mower - 460 Calories! (Or 2 cans of Budweiser and 60 Calories change).
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At last, a decent length run: 7.75km; 425 calories; 8.33min/km; 1:06:19 time -
The Boxing Day burn off
Me and my reduced winter timetable - got some sun today!
