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 EXERCISE: NOT A WEIGHT LOSS SOLUTION





Going to the gym is a great start, but it might not be enough if your goal is to lose weight. New research in Current Biology shows that our bodies are pretty good at adapting to more exercise—so ramping up your workouts doesn’t always lead to burning more calories.

The researchers behind this study say it’s time to rethink how we look at physical activity and the role it plays in weight loss. Their findings make one thing clear: diet has to be part of the equation, especially if you’re trying to manage your weight.

“Exercise is essential for your health,” says Herman Pontzer of the City University of New York. “That’s the first thing I tell anyone who asks about these findings. There’s plenty of evidence that exercise is great for your body and mind, and none of our work changes that. But if you’re trying to lose weight or reverse unhealthy weight gain, what you eat matters too.”

It’s a familiar story—people start an exercise program, drop some weight at first, and then hit a plateau or even gain some of it back. Research has also shown that people with very active lives don’t necessarily burn way more calories each day than those who are sedentary.

Pontzer saw this up close while studying the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer group in Tanzania. “They’re incredibly active—walking long distances and doing hard physical work every day,” he says. “But their daily calorie burn was about the same as people living much less active lives in the U.S. and Europe. That was a real shock, and it made me question how activity and energy use are connected.”

To learn more, Pontzer’s team measured the activity and calorie burn of over 300 adults for a week. The results? Physical activity does raise energy expenditure, but only up to a point. The most significant calorie jump was seen in people who went from being sedentary to moderately active—about 200 extra calories a day. But once people hit moderate activity, their bodies adjusted, and additional exercise didn’t mean burning even more calories.

“The most active people used the same amount of energy each day as those who were just moderately active,” Pontzer found.

So what’s the bottom line? More exercise doesn’t always mean more calories burned. There’s likely a “sweet spot” for activity: too little is unhealthy, but beyond a certain amount, your body adapts.

If you’re serious about losing weight or improving your health, it’s not just about working out harder. You need an innovative approach that combines both diet and exercise—and that’s where expert guidance can make all the difference. For personalized support, consider working with a health coach at ProTime-Fitness.org. A coach can help you find the right balance for your lifestyle and goals.

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