I think the point of the article is about what actually happens not what could happen (as a result of exercise). Clearly it is possible to lose weight with exercise. The article suggests that this does not happen consistently for a variety of reasons (and whether it wouldn't be better to encourage daily physical activity instead of sweating in the gym with a personal trainer).
Another reason (not mentioned in the article) is that research shows (sorry don't have a ref) that people vastly overestimate the amount of caloric foods they can eat after exercising. So people think that a run gives them license to eat a piece of chocolate cake (calorically speaking) but really it gives them license to eat an apple. So people overestimate the amount of calories lost as a function of exercise and then of course don't realize how many calories many foods have (e.g., 120 calories for a Gatorade). Marie **************************************************** Marie Helweg-Larsen, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Psychology Kaufman 168, Dickinson College Carlisle, PA 17013, office (717) 245-1562, fax (717) 245-1971 http://www.dickinson.edu/departments/psych/helwegm **************************************************** -----Original Message----- From: Deborah S Briihl [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, August 10, 2009 8:48 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Time magazine cover story 8/17 I'm agreeing with Nancy here. I taught a Psych of Eating class and I have a sister who is an exercise fanatic (she is currently training with the guy who trained the current Mr. Olympia). Yes, you do get hungry after exercising - in fact, my sister is being encouraged to eat more. However, it is WHAT you eat afterwards that is important - protein (rather than those french fries or muffins mentioned!). The other problem is the focus on weight loss (I believe that Stephen Black talked about the BMI issue earlier this summer). People don't lose weight with exercise - but you can see a change in inches lost and body fat. And that bit about self control!!! What nonsense!! Eating and exercising are like any other habit - you need time to form it properly (and it may take months). Want better self control at home - number 1 solution is don't buy the food that isn't good for you and you won't be tempted. There are also a number of research articles out there that show that people just don't realize the calorie count in foods. For example, straight black coffee has 0 calories. Starbucks Frappuchino? 240 calories - and that's the small (tall) - no whip cream. Diet portions on food products are often smaller or swap sugars for fats - but people then eat more of the diet food - so does that mean we should get rid of diet food? [email protected] wrote: >Hi, > >I was wondering if any fitness enthusiast or health psych tipsters might have had the same reaction to the new Time Magazine cover story that I did (I was motivated to write a letter, which is unlikely to be published but I thought I'd give it a go).? I was irritated by it for two reasons: > >1) Scientific inaccuracy - the author mentions "converting fat into muscle". Isn't this just plain wrong? You can shrink your fat cells and build up your muscle cells but you can't "convert fat into muscle". The author (J. Cloud) doesn't seem to have any credentials (but he does selectively quote experts on weight and fitness.) This is an easy one and I wonder how he missed it. > >2) A general tone of "why bother?" - Yes, the author mentions several times that exercise is crucial for good health BUT intersperses a lot of discouraging material - "if you exercise hard you'll just overeat to make it up later" OR "you'll just be lazier later." No, you don't have to do either of those things. It's like an excuse making festival... > >I think the article is a great example of oversimplifying complex behaviors and how that can be misleading or destructive. Any credible fitness program includes encouragement to exercise and modify nutrition. I think this author is equating "exercise won't help you" with lack of discipline which of course IS a problem. I can see this article being used by countless people as one more excuse not to try to change at all. > >Reactions? I am interested to see if I am off the mark here. > >Nancy Melucci >Long Beach City College >Long Beach CA > >--- >To make changes to your subscription contact: > >Bill Southerly ([email protected]) ---------------------------------- Deb Dr. Deborah S. Briihl Dept. of Psychology and Counseling Valdosta State University 229-333-5994 [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
