“When you look at the results in the National Weight Control Registry,” Braun says, “you see over and over that exercise is one constant among people who’ve maintained their weight loss.” About 90 percent of the people in the registry who have shed pounds and kept them at bay worked out, a result also seen in recent studies.
From a story in today’s Sunday NY Times Magazine: Weighing the Evidence on Exercise
My take home points (confirming my biases):
1. Exercise resets one’s “set point.” Quote: “But in animal experiments, exercise seems to remodel the metabolic pathways that determine how the body stores and utilizes food…. But the exercising rats metabolized calories differently. They tended to burn fat immediately after their meals, while the sedentary rats’ bodies preferentially burned carbohydrates and sent the fat off to be stored in fat cells”
2. It’s easier for men to lose weight than women (life is not fair!)
3. Being more fit leads to being more active all day long, which burns more calories…
I’ve reached a wonderful point where I can eat as much as I want of HEALTHY foods. They don’t talk much about it in the article, but I believe this is due to incorporating weight training into my routine. Resistance training builds muscle, which burns calories 24/7!