Why Training for Weight Loss is a Waste of Time, Is It Real?
Exercise burns calories, and revving up your internal combustion engine is essential for weight loss. Yet, according to Dr. Herman Pontzer, we're all mistaken. Could our efforts to get ourselves slimmer be beneficial in the long run?
The Hadza hunter-gatherer community in east Africa engages in more physical activity per day than most westerners do per week, but they do not burn any more calories. That's because, as Dr. Herman Pontzer describes in his book Burn: The Misunderstood Science Of Metabolism (Allen Lane), your body doesn't work like a simple machine. Your body is a complex organism that has evolved to match energy expenditure to changing food intake by adjusting your metabolism. After all, if you use Keto Now burn more calories than you eat, your body will eventually consume itself, leading to death.
Dr. Pontzer compares your body to a corporation with a set energy budget: exercise lowers processes that might otherwise go haywire, such as inflammation and stress response. Overtraining, on the other hand, might impair key processes, making it unsuitable for weight loss.
Men's Wellness: Most people's understanding of metabolism is challenged by your book. What has been the response?
Dr. Herman Pntozer: Many people were enthusiastic and believed it was a novel approach. People typically thought I made a compelling point backed up by evidence. There has been criticism from two groups: those whose careers rely on exercise as a fantastic tool for weight control in some way, and the keto and carnivore guys, who don't want to hear that humans didn't develop to eat 100 percent meat.
What is it about metabolism that is so misunderstood?
Metabolism is the day-to-day activity that your cells do, but we're only aware of a small portion of it. Keto strive energy we expend exercising and the calories we consume through meals are both visible, but the rest is hidden. People often think of metabolism as being synonymous with exercise or nutrition, but it is much more than that.
How can you help people understand metabolism at a dinner party, if not by handing them a copy of your book?
HP: First and foremost, I explain the Hadza's work to them. That, I believe, makes it extremely genuine. You can have a bunch of people who are really physically active, yet their bodies burn the same amount of calories as you and me on a daily basis. That is difficult for people to believe. 'Actually, if you look across animals, even within the human population as people engage in fitness programmes, you see something similar: exercise doesn't affect how many calories you spend, it changes how you spend them,' I reply. People may not always believe it, but they at least get what I'm trying to express.
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