Why should we exercise - part 2

Please note that this is a multi part blog meant to be read in order. If you are just joining my blog please go back and read the first part as things will make a lot more sense. You may have to scroll down a bit, or look over on the right hand side of this page to find the link to the previous blog and read it.

We were looking at an email that questioned the evidence that exercise is good for you.

Actually, up until about 5 years ago, that attitude would have held some water.

While it seemed intuitively correct that exercise had to be good for you, the studies that had been done were not exactly clear cut in their findings.

They suffered from the ususal methodology problems: not enough participants, not enough control over the participants, not enough time for the results to mean something (6 weeks hardly qualifies) and the most common problem all researchers seem to have even if they just broke into fort Knox, not enough money to do a good study.

You should be able to recite the conclusion in your sleep by now "More research is needed"!

In fairness to the people doing this work money might have been an issue, after all who is going to fund a study on lifestyle and prevention? Certainly not Big Pharmacy whose answer to everything is take more prescriptions.

There was also a problem with the people in the study and people in general.

And this is big, I mean really big so drum roll please!

All people seem to grossly overestimate the amount of calories they burn and the amount of time they exercise in a day or week especially.

But fat people overestimate it even more grossly.

As a matter of fact, the more grossly obese you are, the more grossly your are likely to overestimate your calorie expenditure and underestimate your food and calorie intake.

How gross is this overestimation?

Normal weight people overestimate the calories they burn by about 600 a day (this is equivalent to about 2 tenths of a pound).

Heavy people overestimate the calories they burn by about 1000 a day or one third of a pound each and every day.

So when people come to me and whine, "Doc, I am exercising every day for the past 6 years and I haven't lost even one pound." I know exactly where to start.

Time to keep a food journal and an exercise diary with times and amounts.

Ok now, finally on to the evidence that exercise really does make a difference.

If you go back to the first blog post on this you'll read the story of my friend who made himself a new man by losing 30 pounds.

Benefit number one: You will look younger, healthier and more attractive.

Benefit number two: You will feel and be stronger and be able to do more. Recent studies show that the lower your waist to hip ratio is (lower numbers mean your belly is smaller in relation to your hips), the stronger people are and the more aerobic capacity they have.

Benefit number three: Your mood will improve. Studies show that exercise can be at least as effective as drugs for the blues.
In one study where people rode stationary bike or treadmill for a half hour 5 times a week they had almost 50% less depression.

The theory is that exercise helps release serotonin, the brain's happy chemical.

By the way, other ways to do this are fish oil and Sleep Wizard.

Ok, that's the end of this jog so join me again tomorrow and get your sweats on for the next batch of goodies about exercise.

Oh, while your at it...why not check out the combination of Hercules Factor, Regenerizer and fish oil.

This combo has helped many people achieve the kind of body and weight loss they have always wanted.

Regenerizer has been out of stock for a few weeks but we got a huge load in yesterday. It always goes fast and we can't keep up with the demand so order now! Don't be left out, get rid of that ugly winter weight and crank up your fat furnace!

Tune in tomorrow and don't forget to tell your friends about the blog.

The truth lives here!

Doc