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>Normal exercise will not cause weight loss What do you define "normal exercise" as? You cannot break the 2nd law of thermodynamics: if you calories in is le

>Normal exercise will not cause weight loss What do you define "normal exercise" as? You cannot break the 2nd law of thermodynamics: if you calories in is less than your calories burned you must lose weight.

jckt 12y ago
I think he/she means that normal exercise, or rather the typical amount of exercise that people do, is insufficient to burn the calories in a normal diet. So while the exercise you do is healthy, you shouldn't be expecting weight loss, though at the same time you should expect less weight gain (which I wouldn't consider as weight loss).
- SiVal 12y ago
  No, it's that people who exercise more tend to eat more, even when their primary reason for exercising is to lose weight. They either don't think about it or overestimate the calories burned by their exercise and allow themselves to eat a bit more, mistakenly believing that the net result is still negative calories. Moderate exercise is good for you whether or not you want to lose weight, but if weight control is one objective, you need to be more careful than most people realize to avoid eating more when you exercise more.
sgift 12y ago
Your body can regulate your appetite and your calorie spending to a certain degree, e.g. people who exercise often eat more afterwards, which negates the calorie burning effect (but it can also lead to changes in body composition: Fat is replaced by muscles).
thret 12y ago
Daily hard exercise - the panting, heart-pounding, drenched in sweat kind of exercise - increases your metabolism. You can eat whatever you want, as much as you want, and you won't gain fat. The 2nd law of thermodynamics has little if anything to do with calorie counting.
- ogrisel 12y ago
  Indeed, the first law is about conservation of energy, the second law is about the increase of entropy.
- CmonDev 12y ago
  Playing MOBA makes my heart pound and I lose a bit of weight - does it count?
- m348e912 12y ago
  I wish. Maybe it's my age, but I do a high intensity exercise class 5-6 times a week and I sweat a lot. I didn't see a significant weight loss until I changed my diet. I guess it's true when they say it's 70% diet, and 30% exercise, at least for me.
  - thret 12y ago
    How old are you? I've heard my metabolism will slow down as I get older but I don't seem to be there yet in mid my 30s.
    - m348e912 12y ago
      I'm in my mid 30s too.
- king_jester 12y ago
  > Daily hard exercise - the panting, heart-pounding, drenched in sweat kind of exercise - increases your metabolism. This is not true for all people and can be highly variable between different people, let alone not necessarily possible for folks with metabolic disorders.
  - SixSigma 12y ago
    Highly variable, true, wide range - false http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people.html http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-peop... You should never take your health advice from someone trying to sell you a book supporting your poor choices. i.e. Dr Bacon.
hrktb 12y ago
> You cannot break the 2nd law of thermodynamics There's a bit more happening than the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Our body does a lot of things. I understand how comforting it can be to put it in "in -> out" terms, so simple. But it just doesn't reflect in any way the complexity of a living organism, and doesn't reflect the experiences of people trying naively to just eat less for instance.
JulianMorrison 12y ago
Your body / unconscious brain is perfectly capable of - making you intensely crave specific calorific foods, - making you prefer the taste of higher-energy over lower-energy foods when offered a choice, - demanding your gut absorb more of the calories you normally consume, - making more frugal use of the calories you normally consume, - throwing you into hibernation mode, making you sleepy, lazy, and disinclined to move.
dhimes 12y ago
That's the first law of thermodynamics, not the second (although you can't violate the second either). In general, through my life, I've found the best way to think about it is exercise for fitness, diet for weight maintenance. What happens to you once you have responsibilities to others (wife, kids, etc.) unless you are a professional-level athlete is that you really don't have the time and energy to burn enough calories. It's hard to burn 400 kcalories, but it's easy to not eat that piece of pie (or to have a small piece and no bread with your meal). There are exceptions, and most of us who are somewhat active have probably gone through that phase of life where we do 5000 kcal workouts 5 days a week and so on, but it's a very time-and-energy consuming proposition. I have known some men who have made it a point to continue that lifestyle into middle age, but they are exceptional and almost to a person never married (gay I think) or several times divorced. In other words, it takes total self absorption and those of us with normal family and community responsibilities have to let it go eventually. That's also the failure I see with people and their New Years' Resolutions to get fit: quit drinking, go to the gym twice a day, etc. It's not sustainable.

jckt 12y ago

I think he/she means that normal exercise, or rather the typical amount of exercise that people do, is insufficient to burn the calories in a normal diet. So while the exercise you do is healthy, you shouldn't be expecting weight loss, though at the same time you should expect less weight gain (which I wouldn't consider as weight loss).

SiVal 12y ago
No, it's that people who exercise more tend to eat more, even when their primary reason for exercising is to lose weight. They either don't think about it or overestimate the calories burned by their exercise and allow themselves to eat a bit more, mistakenly believing that the net result is still negative calories. Moderate exercise is good for you whether or not you want to lose weight, but if weight control is one objective, you need to be more careful than most people realize to avoid eating more when you exercise more.

sgift 12y ago

Your body can regulate your appetite and your calorie spending to a certain degree, e.g. people who exercise often eat more afterwards, which negates the calorie burning effect (but it can also lead to changes in body composition: Fat is replaced by muscles).

thret 12y ago

Daily hard exercise - the panting, heart-pounding, drenched in sweat kind of exercise - increases your metabolism. You can eat whatever you want, as much as you want, and you won't gain fat. The 2nd law of thermodynamics has little if anything to do with calorie counting.

ogrisel 12y ago
Indeed, the first law is about conservation of energy, the second law is about the increase of entropy.
CmonDev 12y ago
Playing MOBA makes my heart pound and I lose a bit of weight - does it count?
m348e912 12y ago
I wish. Maybe it's my age, but I do a high intensity exercise class 5-6 times a week and I sweat a lot. I didn't see a significant weight loss until I changed my diet. I guess it's true when they say it's 70% diet, and 30% exercise, at least for me.
- thret 12y ago
  How old are you? I've heard my metabolism will slow down as I get older but I don't seem to be there yet in mid my 30s.
  - m348e912 12y ago
    I'm in my mid 30s too.
king_jester 12y ago
> Daily hard exercise - the panting, heart-pounding, drenched in sweat kind of exercise - increases your metabolism. This is not true for all people and can be highly variable between different people, let alone not necessarily possible for folks with metabolic disorders.
- SixSigma 12y ago
  Highly variable, true, wide range - false http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-people.html http://examine.com/faq/does-metabolism-vary-between-two-peop... You should never take your health advice from someone trying to sell you a book supporting your poor choices. i.e. Dr Bacon.

hrktb 12y ago

> You cannot break the 2nd law of thermodynamics There's a bit more happening than the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Our body does a lot of things. I understand how comforting it can be to put it in "in -> out" terms, so simple. But it just doesn't reflect in any way the complexity of a living organism, and doesn't reflect the experiences of people trying naively to just eat less for instance.

JulianMorrison 12y ago

Your body / unconscious brain is perfectly capable of - making you intensely crave specific calorific foods, - making you prefer the taste of higher-energy over lower-energy foods when offered a choice, - demanding your gut absorb more of the calories you normally consume, - making more frugal use of the calories you normally consume, - throwing you into hibernation mode, making you sleepy, lazy, and disinclined to move.

dhimes 12y ago

That's the first law of thermodynamics, not the second (although you can't violate the second either). In general, through my life, I've found the best way to think about it is exercise for fitness, diet for weight maintenance. What happens to you once you have responsibilities to others (wife, kids, etc.) unless you are a professional-level athlete is that you really don't have the time and energy to burn enough calories. It's hard to burn 400 kcalories, but it's easy to not eat that piece of pie (or to have a small piece and no bread with your meal). There are exceptions, and most of us who are somewhat active have probably gone through that phase of life where we do 5000 kcal workouts 5 days a week and so on, but it's a very time-and-energy consuming proposition. I have known some men who have made it a point to continue that lifestyle into middle age, but they are exceptional and almost to a person never married (gay I think) or several times divorced. In other words, it takes total self absorption and those of us with normal family and community responsibilities have to let it go eventually. That's also the failure I see with people and their New Years' Resolutions to get fit: quit drinking, go to the gym twice a day, etc. It's not sustainable.