First they tell you that the population is obese and that we need to be more active and exercise, and now apparently the latest intelligence is that exercise is the reason we may be putting on weight. Sometimes I do not know what to believe, I cannot quite fathom how exercise could be the reason some of us are putting on the pounds rather than shedding them.
Recently, I read an 8 page special in ‘The Sun’ (I know) called ‘Why Exercise Can Make You Fat’ at first I thought honestly? How can this be true, it seems there is two sides to every solution when it comes to exercise and losing weight. I mean I read drink 2 litres of water a day at least to lose water weight, and then another article will state that drinking too much water means that your muscles are holding on to it making you gain weight! I will then read that you need to limit your caloric intake whilst exercising to lose weight, however, I will then read an article stating that if you are exercising you may not be eating enough, and actually going into starvation mode, causing your metabolism to slow ultimately gaining weight.
So now seeing this article that exercise apparently makes you gain weight, has baffled me it seems there is no solution to losing weight. The article states that too much high-intensity exercise releases the stress hormone cortisol, in return this makes us gain weight. Meaning, that if we run everyday supposedly we will gain weight, because the intensity of the work out causes cortisol to be released over a long period of time, thus it can produce fat, especially around the abdominal area in women.
I think the article is actually really misleading, it states that a 1/3 of people who start exercising put on weight. It then justifies this by saying that it is because we burn up and appetite and then eat what we want. All of the case studies state that the person will exercise and then eat biscuits all day, so obviously you aren’t going to lose weight. So really, it isn’t exercise that causes weight gain, it is our lack of knowledge of what we eat, and how much we are eating. They say no amount of exercise can out weigh a bad diet, which is true. When I first started exercising i though “oh well I ran for an hour, I’m allowed a McDonald’s.” However, I wouldn’t see any change in the way I looked because even though I was exercising I was eating whatever I wanted. Only recently have I really learnt about nutrition and what foods I should be eating as a runner.
To conclude, I think the article is very misleading and shouldn’t be stating that exercise can make you fat because people will stop doing it. You can’t just exercise and expect results. It is true that eating clean will help you lose weight more than exercise (80% clean diet, 20% exercise = weight loss) but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It is all about moderation, eat clean, do not eat less and exercise 3 times a week, that way you body can rest and you won’t produce cortisol as they are stating, so you will not put on weight. Sometimes I think these articles are ridiculous in teaching people how to live a healthy lifestyle.
A Holly Berry 
Unfortunately newspapers go for headlines and thus warp the research they are referencing in their articles, which only causes confusion among the general public.
There is currently a 4-part documentary on BBC2 called ‘The Men Who Made Us Thin’ which you may find interesting. There is also a 3-part sister programme called ‘The Men Who Made Us Fat’ on the BBCs iPlayer.
I know it is so dumb! I actually did watch them they were very interesting! I wrote a blog earlier about the one they did on the diet industry.