Have you tried to exercise to lose weight but not had any luck? Shouldn’t burning all those extra calories mean you lose weight?
Research shows that exercise on its own is not a very effective tool for weight loss.
That doesn’t mean exercise is pointless, far from it, it has lots of health benefits. But it does mean you’ll need to have different expectations if you want to lose weight.
When we start exercising, the body responds in clever ways. One of these is compensation. After a workout, many people subconsciously move less for the rest of the day. You might sit more, fidget less, or feel “entitled” to rest because you’ve trained. This reduction in everyday movement, known as non-exercise activity, can quietly cancel out a large chunk of the calories burned during your workout.
The second compensation comes through appetite. Exercise, especially harder sessions, often increases hunger. If you’ve ever finished a run and felt ravenous, you’ve experienced this first-hand. Without realising it, people can easily eat back the calories they’ve just burned, sometimes more than they expended.
This doesn’t mean exercise is useless for weight management. In fact, it plays a crucial role, just not always in the way people expect. While exercise may not lead to significant weight loss on its own, it is one of the strongest predictors of maintaining weight loss once it has been achieved.
People who successfully keep weight off long term almost always have regular physical activity as part of their lifestyle. Exercise helps regulate appetite over time, improves insulin sensitivity, preserves muscle mass, and supports metabolic health. It also makes you more resilient. A body that moves well copes better with small dietary slips than one that doesn’t.
There’s also a psychological benefit. Exercise improves mood, reduces stress, and increases self-belief. When people feel fitter and stronger, they tend to make better food choices without forcing themselves to. It becomes a virtuous circle rather than a constant battle.
So if your goal is weight loss, nutrition is usually your best approach, with exercise playing a supporting role. Regardless of weight loss, exercise should be non-negotiable for your long-term health, independence, and keeping weight off once you’ve lost it.