Although caloric restrictions is usually chosen over exercise as a means of losing weight, exercise is more effective than dieting in promoting body fat Toss, This is due to the fundamentally different effects that dieting and exercising have on the metabolic rate,
Dieting decreases the metabolic rate and since the dieter then requires fewer calories, less Weight is lost, This results in the “plateau phase” where weight loss slows or even ceases, Often the dieter becomes frustrated and abandons the dieting. During the plateau phase, caloric intake must be reduced even further to lose weight. A demanding situation for even the most dedicated dieter.
On the other hand, exercise increases the body’s metabolic rate, and this effect persists even after exercise has ended. For example, the metabolism may remain elevated for 6 to 24 hours after moderate exercise lasting only 30 minutes. This also explains why a jogger, swimmer, etc., many times has difficulty falling asleep if he has just jogged an hour or two earlier, his metabolic rate is still high. This increased post-exercise use of calories is not considered on the charts that list caloric expenditure from different activities. The increase in metabolic rate after exercise, over and above the energy cost of the exercise itself, may result in an additional 4 to 5 pound weight loss per year is the individual exercises 30 minutes each day.
Caloric restriction causes losses of both body fat and lean body weight, of which muscle is a major component. With extreme caloric restriction, such as semi starvation and fasting, a third of the initial weight loss may come from the lean body mass. Even a sensible, well balanced diet, which results in no more than a 2-pound loss per ‘week, may also cause some muscle loss. Exercise, however, promotes fat loss and increases Jean body mass due to an increase in muscle mass.
When considering the influence of exercise and caloric restriction on body weight, the type and duration of activity must be specified. Obviously, athletes who spend many hours in Vigorous training each day will eat more than if they were not exercising yet these individuals are also quite Jean in terms of percent body fat. Sedentary people eat slightly more than individuals who engage in light to moderate activity for up to 1 hour each day. Exercise of this nature appears to be a mild appetite suppressant.
When dieting is combined with exercise, fat loss can occur more rapidly than if either method is used alone, combining the two reduces the proportion of weight loss from the lean tissues to an insignificant amount, and Exercise can also counter the effects of a lowered metabolic rate due to dieting.
Caloric deficits may range from 100 to 00 calories per day, depending on the dieter’s caloric needs and percent body fat, by combining dieting and exercise, those desiring to lose weight can increase their food intake slightly, yet achieve fat loss, by exercising longer, more intensely, or more days per week.
Aerobic exercise is preferred to other types of exercise for body fat loss. The exercise prescription for weight control is similar to that for improving cardiorespiratory fitness. This involves engaging in aerobic exercise (such as walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, or aerobic dance) at least three times a week, at a moderate intensity (60-90% of maximum heart rate) for 20-60 minutes nonstop.
The individual should expend 300 calories per session since this seems to represent a threshold for body fat loss. If the exercise intensity is low, such as in a walking program, the participant continues to exercise until he has expended 300 calories, In practical terms, 300 calories is approximately equal to walking or jogging 3 miles, bicycling 12 miles, swimming | mile, or 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic dancing, Because total caloric expenditure is related closely to body fat loss, increasing the frequency, intensity, and or duration should cause greater reductions in body fat.
Usually the weight changes little, if any, in the first weeks of an exercise program. This is because lean weight (muscle) is increasing to about the same extent that fat weight is decreasing. The participant may become discouraged because the scale shows no change, although body composition (fat versus lean weight) is changing dramatically. During this period, the fact that clothing fits more loosely is more indicative of the positive changes taking place within the body.
If the participant hopes to spot reduce, he is in for a disappointment, despite popular claims to the Contrary there is no difference in the effects of spot and generalized exercise ‘on fat distribution. Exercise, even when localized, draws from all the fat stores of the body and not from local fat depots.
Substantial reductions of 3 to 4 inches can occur in the abdominal girth after exercise such as sit-ups, which is not due to fat loss. Instead, the abdominal muscles are strengthened and pull the abdominal contents back into their normal position, Exercise of any kind causes the fat to be mobilized from the areas of greatest concentration, not from specific localized areas.
In conclusion, it is essential that a person who’s goal is to lose body fat must exercise. Dieting by itself will not make your goal a reality, but, only a dream.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 24, 1986
