You Can’t Burn More Calories with Exercise
It’s commonly known that exercise helps with weight loss, but not quite in the way you probably think. Many people mistakenly think that the more they exercise, the more calories they burn, but the evidence doesn’t support this idea.
One study conducted by Pontzer et al actually disproves this theory, showing that our bodies actually keep our total daily calories burned pretty consistent regardless of activity level.
Read on to learn why our bodies deal with additional calories burned and how to really make your time in the gym work better toward your weight loss goals.
Myth: The more you exercise, the more calories you burn overall
Obesity researcher Alexxai Kravitz explains that there are actually three main ways your body burns calories with diminishing overall returns. Those three components are 1) your basal metabolic rate, or what your body burns at rest, 2) the energy used in digestion, and 3) the energy used in physical activity.
She goes on to say, "It's generally accepted that for most people, the basal metabolic rate accounts for 60-80% of total energy expenditure.” Digestion uses about 10%, and about 10-30% are burned through physical activity.
The truth is, you can increase the calories you burn in the physical activity category by exercising longer or at a higher intensity. However, your body tends to want to keep things in balance, and will actually compensate in other areas to preserve calories.
Fact: Above a moderate activity level, your body compensates for calories burned
Researcher Herman Pontzer studied the calorie expenditure of hunter-gatherers in Tanzania who are about 14 times more active than the average American. His team found that despite the high activity level, the population burned about the same amount of calories as moderately active Americans.
It was found that despite the extra exercise, our bodies compensate for about a quarter of the calories we burn, and even more (up to 50%) for people with a higher body fat percentage.
The bottom line is that regardless of how long you spend on the treadmill, the only way to achieve a reliable calorie deficit and lose weight is through diet.
How it works
This research is sort of counterintuitive when you consider that exercise does actually help you lose weight through mechanisms outside of burning calories alone. Let’s go over how exactly your body compensates for those extra calories burned.
1. You are naturally hungrier after an intense workout
Have you ever noticed that you are super hungry after a hard workout? You may burn an extra couple of calories during an especially hard workout, but your body still needs calories to carry our your other basic bodily functions.
What’s more is that it is much harder to burn calories than it is to eat them. You can undo an hour run or 45 minutes of high intensity interval training with one McDonald’s Big Mac, one bagel with cream cheese, or even one Starbucks Frappuccino.
Check out some other reasons you might be hungry all the time in this post!
2. You naturally decrease activity level when you aren’t working out
Studies have shown that when you do a hard workout in the morning, you are likelier to be less active throughout the rest of the day. This can mean that you fidget less at your desk or you might opt for the elevator over the stairs.
This all happens unconsciously as your body tries to conserve energy until your next meal.
3. your body will slow down its internal processes to preserve calories
While you might be able to control your activity level or maintain your calorie deficit through willpower, your body will actually compensate for those extra calories all on its own. It does this through a variety of mechanisms including slowing down digestion or regulating hormone release.
This is actually a good thing, and part of why you can lower your inflammation by engaging in regular exercise, but it stops you from being able to achieve that calorie deficit through exercise alone.
Scale weight and body recomposition
Interestingly, while exercise alone might not help you to burn more calories overall, it will still help you reach your weight loss goals and should be a regular part of your routine.
The best thing form of exercise for weight loss is actually not cardio but strength training. Increasing your muscle mass actually helps to speed up your metabolism and causes your body to burn more fat.
You may notice that when you increase strength training, the scale won’t move, but your body is still changing for the better. Since muscle weighs more than fat, the scale may not reflect your progress as well as you might hope, but trust the process and fight through the plateau where even better progress waits on the other side.
Ultimately, diet reigns supreme
If weight loss is your goal, getting your diet right is where you want to start. There is a common phrase that says, “Abs are made in the kitchen,” and they’re right. You can do crunches all day but you’ll never see that six pack without adjusting your diet.
Check out my other post on how to eat in a calorie deficit to lose weight for some helpful tips when it comes to getting your diet right.
The bottom line is that even though exercise can help you lose weight and is incredibly important to your overall health, diet will always be the bigger contributor to your weight.
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