Two Hours from Fat and Fit

Dear Gretchen,

Good point. I actually had it in mind to address Taubes's theory about exercise, but when I sat down to write the article I forgot to do so. As I read Taubes on exercise, I hear that he's says that it was not proven that exercise will help you lose weight. But I think that studies like the one I reviewed here are now providing that proof. 

Taubes cites a lot of studies that prove the opposite. One doctor found his patients lost more with bed rest. That appealed to me <G>. And it's important to separate association with cause. As he points out, teenaged boys don't grow a lot because they eat a lot; they eat a lot because they're growing a lot.

I'm not saying exercise is bad. Exercise is good. It has a lot of other benefits like cardiovascular health, developing muscles, which will take up more glucose, which is a definite plus for those of us with diabetes, and other things.

But people shouldn't expect the exercise alone to help a lot with weight loss. There's evidence it increases appetite. So if you eat according to appetite, the exercise would do zilch. If you exercise, increase your appetite, but still eat only a limited amount and leave the table hungry, then the exercise could help.

Here's a link to his magazine article on this topic for those who don't want to plow through his long book. Read the comments too. Not everyone agrees with him.

Dear Gretchen,

None of the studies that Taubes cites prove that exercise doesn't help us to lose weight. Not even Taubes can prove a negative.

David 

I agree.

You could, however, show that exercise had no significant effect on weight loss. However, Taubes is not doing research himself, and his conclusions are simply theories, designed to stimulate others to do research. I brought it up simply to stimulate discussion.

I find the concept of reversing the cause and effect in the weight loss equation very interesting.

Dear Gretchen,

You succeeded in stimulating this discussion, for sure!

David 

 Even if there is no proof that exercise makes you lose weight,

 in my opinion it is absolutely essential for anyone who has

 diabetes. In my experience, nothing brings the glucose down

 faster than 15 mins of vigorous exercise, or a good 3/4 hour walk,

 not even the metformin I take. One thing for sure, it does burn

 calories, which have to come from somewhere.

I think everyone agrees that exercise is great for anyone with diabetes who is able to exercise. It not only brings down BGs in the short term, but it builds muscles, which help bring down BGs in the long term.

If you've been eating 1500 calories a day on bed rest and then run 10 miles every day and still only eat 1500 calories, then you're most likely going to lose some weight. But if you run those 10 miles and get so hungry you eat more than before, then you might not lose.

Very well said. I couldn't agree with you more.

But you triggered a long-burried memory of what the other kids called me when I started to put on weight. I was a little younger than you. We had lived in Upland, California (35 miles east of L.A.) and I had terrible asthma and was far too THIN. But one weekend we had a chance to stay in a cabin that friends of my parents had in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Upland but at 4,500 feet.

Overnight my asthma went totally into remission. So, bless their hearts, my parents immediately bought another cabin and moved to this remote village (which is now called Mount Baldy Village). I was well -- and also gained far too much weight. And I also learned my love of the outdoors there, where I could wander on my own on the trails around our cabin.

The other kids called me "fatso." Personally, I think that it's best to acknowledge the pain of names like these. Was that what they called you?

That memory no longer hurts me. In fact, last month I had a chance to go back there when I visited my sister and her family, all of whom still live in the area (in Ontario, Chino, Santa Ana). I especially enjoyed going back to the school, which I attended for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

It was a one-room schoolhouse with all 20 or so kids from all eight grades together. Today it is a ranger station, and on the day I was there a ranger was giving a talk to a group of kids from the valley down below. I asked to say a word and told them that I was one of the students who had gone to school in that very room more than 60 years earlier.

So I have no pain of being called a "fatso." Only good memories of getting well and of hiking in the mountains around our cabin. 

Its amazing that our peers as children can be cruel in their ignorance.  The little cliche that says, "Sticks and Stone can break my bones but names will never hurt me." Is really a lie! 

The name the other children called me was "Monicow" part of my first name and a cow.  How sweet but I was also called Harmonica too.  I never let those so call friends know how deeply they hurt my feelings when they called me that name and you know when one starts they all follow suit.  Children are still cruel today to children with weight problems or other challenges in their lives.

And yes I have moved on and the pain is gone but the memories are still there.  Right! 

Dear Monica (is that right?), 

Good for you for sharing the name that hurt you!

I was wondering if now that 2/3s of Americans are overweight, if kids are still so rude about it. Or are they now rude to skinny people?

Slim 

Hey Slim,

How does that feel?  Kudos to you!

And yes its Monica please don't ever call me "Monicow" that will end our wonderful relationship.  Ha! Ha!

David - Have a great day!