MYTH: Exercise makes one lose weight.
TRUTH: Guyton, in Textbook of Medical Physiology, gives the Calorie expenditures of various levels of activity as:
| Activity | Calories per hour |
| Sleeping | 65 |
| Awake lying still | 77 |
| Sitting at rest | 100 |
| Standing relaxed | 105 |
| Dressing/undressing | 118 |
| Typing rapidly | 140 |
| "Light" exercise | 170 |
| Walking slowly (2.6 miles per hour) | 200 |
| Carpentry, industrial painting | 240 |
| "Active" exercise | 290 |
| "Severe" exercise | 450 |
| Sawing wood | 480 |
| Swimming | 500 |
| Running (5.3 miles per hour) | 570 |
| "Very severe" exercise | 600 |
| Walking very fast (5.3 miles per hour) | 650 |
| Walking up stairs | 1100 |
If we
take our normal daily activity as equivalent to typing, the increase in energy
expenditure for running is 570 - 140 = 430 Calories per hour.
Since animal "fat" has about 3500 Calories per
pound, one would have to run for 3500/430 = 8.1 hours to "burn off" a pound
of fat; therefore, one would have to RUN 5.3 miles/hr x 8.1 hr = 43 MILES!!
Conclusion: exercise is not a useful method for
losing excess weight, for WHO is going to RUN 43 miles to lose each pound of
"fat"?. Who CAN run 43 miles?
That is why we see overweight aerobics instructors.
Exercise does NOT help one to lose weight. It is useful for increasing the circulation temporarily to help with the detox process, it can build strength and endurance, but it is useless for reducing excess weight.