Comments on: “Time” Magazine Agrees, Cardiovascular Exercise Is A Complete WASTE OF TIME If Your Goal Is Weigh Loss!

By: Jim Karas

Jim Karas — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:17:23 +0000

Mike: I posted the piece, but I feel that it truly is flawed. In it, he says that if a person has 25% body fat, then the other 75% is muscle. What happened to bone and other organs in the body? Don’t they weigh anything? The assumption sounds wrong and the author also did not change anything regarding caloric intake. CLEARLY the subject would have to eat more to gain the muscle and that runs contrary to most weight loss programs which bring down calories to facilitate weight loss.

I appreciate you sending these articles on so please, continue to do so.

Jim

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:04:15 +0000

Bottom line, be careful endorsing the nonsense of the TIME article – he actually runs contrary to a lot of what you are preaching.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:02:53 +0000

And I don’t disagree with you insofar as resistance training is effective for fat loss, however the true number of calories burned is closer to about 7-12cal/day. according to more recent well-conducted studies. A review of the literature compiled for the ACSM combined the most well-conducted studies and came up with a high-end number of 11.4 calories/day per pound of muscle.

Again, I’m not saying that resistance training shouldn’t be central to any program, but your numbers are inflated.

Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2004 Dec;18(6):1009-29)

Lyle McDonald also wrote a great article (only yesterday in fact) outlining how much body fat you can realistically shed by adding muscle. If you don’t already read Lyle’s stuff – I highly recommend it.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/reducing-body-fat-percentage-by-gaining-muscle-qa.html

Cheers.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:03:05 +0000

The research cited for strength training was inaccurate. Both Tufts University and the University of Maryland prove that muscle burns 35-34 calories, per pound, per day, respectively. I have been in this industry for 22 years and I know from hundreds of clients (including myself) that muscle burns far more than 6 calories a day.

That is the one area I strongly disagree with the “Time” piece.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:57:59 +0000

The problem is that the author does not really differentiate between cardio and resistance training – just “exercise” which is a massive problem that permeates in the world of journalism.

And in fact, he actually dismisses resistance training as effective too.

“According to calculations published in the journal Obesity Research by a Columbia University team in 2001, a pound of muscle burns approximately six calories a day in a resting body, compared with the two calories that a pound of fat burns. Which means that after you work out hard enough to convert, say, 10 lb. of fat to muscle — a major achievement — you would be able to eat only an extra 40 calories per day, about the amount in a teaspoon of butter, before beginning to gain weight. Good luck with that.”

It’s hardly an ensorsement for strength training.

By: bfree

bfree — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:09:49 +0000

One very flawed, unsubstantiated article and you’re going to toss out your cardio and ignore almost every real health professionals advicel. I’m afraid Mr. Karas is a bit of snake oil salemsan with no real credentials looking to make a profit off of very bad advice. Keep up the cardio and just because you may become more hungry doesn’t mean everyone engages in irresponsible eating habits. As a cardiovascular surgeon I can tell you that cardio is extremely important for overall health. If you give up on cardio you are really giving up on a much higher quality of life.

By: chela

chela — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:14:17 +0000

Yay, you DID reaad it.

By: admin

admin — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:40:47 +0000

I totally agree, and just watch every calories. I mean, things sneak in when eating out (as I am sure you are in control when eating at home) so be hyper aware.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:39:12 +0000

So glad you posted this Jim. I am struggling with losing my last few pounds and I have been wondering if I needed to add cardio. Now I see that I just need to make adjustments to my strength and resistance routines.