Missy If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen a post I have written that exercise is one of the worst tools to lose weight. I may have to backtrack a bit. A BIT.
In November 2020, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise published a study on how 300 minutes of total exercise a week may help with weight loss.
The study was for 12 weeks with the participants’ ages 18-40. They were sedentary and had an average of 25-35 BMI. They were divided into 3 groups. Group 1 exercised 6 days a week, group 2 exercised 2 days a week, and group 3 was the control group.
Many of you may be familiar with the feeling that the more you exercise, the more you eat. It is known as compensation. People often eat an additional 1000 calories. This is one reason why exercise alone is a tool that isn’t recommended for weight loss.
The study shed light on the fact that people rarely exceed 1000 calories of compensation. If the person exercised 60 minutes a week or 300 minutes, the compensation average is the same. The more the person exercised, the more they burned. Still, the group who exercised 6 days a week for 40 minutes (300 minutes) burned more but did not compensate any more than those who exercised 2 days a week. More energy burned, less energy intake. Calorie Deficit.
Metabolism is complex. There is much more to consider than 300 minutes of exercise will equal weight loss. But what we know is that adherence and consistency do help with weight loss. Many people struggle with what they are eating and instead focus on moving. If this is you, you may want to focus on this approach. But take notes. Does it stress you out to hit this goal? Do you feel energized, or does it make you feel depleted? And just to bring it back to nutrition, you may want to track-JUST TRACK- how much you are eating.
The more information you have, the better you can decide how to take action for your goal!
