Over the summer I joined a gym and was determined to shed a few pounds before making the trek back north for fall semester. As time went by, I thought that I was being diligent in my efforts, but when it came down to my progress, the scale told a disappointing story.

Then, toward the end of summer, word was released by the media that exercise may not actually help you lose weight. I was intrigued.

I jumped off the elliptical and bought a copy of the Aug. 9 edition of Time magazine to read, ‘Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.’ This was the first information I saw that made me think maybe exercise just isn’t cutting it anymore; it certainly wasn’t making my abs cut. According to the article, exercise triggers hunger, which, when satisfied, can negate the calories burned during the workout.

‘I think that article was based on some truth,’ said Eliza Decker, the assistant director of Recreation Services at Syracuse University. ‘Your mindset after you go on the treadmill, though, is what matters. If you think you can go home and eat a bunch of Little Debbies, you aren’t going to lose weight by going to the gym.’

It’s really about knowing that you are going to go to the gym, you are going to burn calories and then the best thing to do is not eat an unhealthy meal when you return home, even if you’re hungry. Just because you are hungry does not mean you have to go and eat chocolate and cookies and fettuccini Alfredo. Planning to eat a healthy meal after your workout is the key to dieting success.

‘Your mindset really comes into play because you have to realize that the benefits of going to the gym and then eating healthy things outweigh the benefits of going to the gym and eating unhealthy things after,’ Decker said.

Since muscle weighs more than fat, it is often said that when you are doing strength training you may gain some weight before you lose any. This is possible if you are doing all work with weights and no cardio at the gym, but doing strength training will increase your metabolism, which in turn will make you burn more calories throughout the day.

‘I think, overall, working out makes you feel better, look better and sleep better,’ Decker said. ‘I think going to the gym and doing cardio and strength training do make you make better decisions.’

People often have the mentality that because they are going to the gym, they can have an extra snack that day or eat something they would not normally eat. With this mentality it may be harder to lose weight while exercising, but your metabolism will still be increasing from the workout, and your time spent at the gym will not go to waste.

The fact that you are hungrier after you work out doesn’t mean that you have to eat junk food and foods that will negate the effects of your time spent at the gym. I probably did not lose all the weight I wanted to this summer because I didn’t try hard enough, but it’s not because the gym made me gain weight. I’ll put the blame on myself this time, until I can find some evidence that really suggests otherwise. Maybe this is why there is a McDonalds right around the corner from my gym?

Rebecca Toback is a sophomore magazine journalism major and the health columnist. Her columns appear every Thursday. She can be reached at rltoback@syr.edu

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1914857,00.html

Published on September 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm