Eat less, exercise more to burn fat

Dear Dr. Gott: It’s recommended by most medical experts that a person should raise his or her heart rate for 20 minutes a day, three times a week. Well, I’ve been doing just that. I work out with a low-impact, 40-minute aerobic tape and a 30-minute aerobic tape with 5-pound hand-held weights six to seven days a week. In addition, I walk whenever possible. My weight will not come off. Do I need to increase my routine?

Dear Reader: Many people mistakenly believe that moderate, regular exercise will burn off fat. It isn’t so. Although such exercise is healthful, as I’ll describe in a moment, strenuous activity is not the key to losing weight. A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. Therefore, in order to lose a pound of adipose tissue each week, a person must expend 3,500 calories while exercising. This is, believe me, strenuous – on the order of two hours of competitive tennis singles on a warm summer afternoon.

In addition, you have to take into account what the person would eat that day: on average, about 2,000 calories. Consequently, to lose a pound, our prospective athlete would, in reality, have to burn off closer to 5,500 calories each week, a daunting prospect for most adults.

Reducing dietary calories is a much more efficient way to achieve weight loss. If, using our example, a person were to reduce dietary intake by 500 calories a day, he or she could lose a pound a week (500 multiplied by 7 equals 3,500), regardless of exercise. Such a goal can usually be accomplished by reducing dietary fat to a minimum, eliminating alcohol and sweets, and consuming modest portions (no seconds).

With respect to exercise, you’re correct that many medical authorities endorse it, and the Heart and Lung Association guidelines are easily within reach of most adults.

Exercise has several salutary effects that include improved circulation, reduced blood fats, more efficient sugar/carbohydrate metabolism, enhanced blood flow to heart muscle, lower blood pressure and a heightened sense of well-being, to mention a few. Also, because moderately strenuous exercise releases endorphins (chemical stimulants in the brain), such activity often relieves depression, anxiety and stress. Therefore, irrespective of weight considerations, regular exercise benefits the heart, the body and the mind.

In your case, your unwanted extra weight may be a genetic characteristic that you’ll have to address, using the dietary modifications I mentioned.

In short, you will enjoy better health if you exercise regularly. Coupled with dietary restrictions, this activity should help you to lose weight and, most important, keep it off.

For continued dialogue, I recommend my new book “Live Longer, Live Better.” This 400-page book devotes an entire chapter to issues regarding weight. It can be ordered by calling Quill Driver Books at (800) 605-7176.