Q&A: exercise for weight loss; Ozempic envy; urinary urgency; & defining perimenopause

ICYMI 👉

• Mental Health is Health: Part II 🧠

• Mental Health is Health: Part I 🧠

• Five Tricks for Aging Gracefully

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The first question (about exercise for weight loss) is free for all subscribers. Questions 2-4 (on Ozempic envy; urinary urgency; & defining perimenopause) are for paid subscribers only. If you would like a paid subscription but it’s not in your budget, please message me directly.

Click here to submit your questions (about anything) for future Q&A posts!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are entirely my own. They do not reflect those of my employer, nor are they a substitute for advice from your personal physician.

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QUESTION #1: EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Is it true that exercise doesn’t help with weight loss? I just read this article that made me question why I drag myself to the gym in the AM!! I am frustrated that ppl can take Ozempic and I am doing the hardest part and not losing- what am I missing??

- DS 

Dear DS,

I hear your frustration, and I will answer your question in two parts. The first is about exercise and whether it promotes weight loss. The short answer is: it depends. Numerous studies show that exercise alone generally doesn’t promote weight loss.

It makes sense. Brisk walking for 30 minutes burns, on average, around 140 calories, approximately the same number of calories in a 12-ounce latte with 2% milk. Yet, we might assume it’s more. How we and our bodies “interpret” exercise is partly why there is so much variability between patients in terms of the effectiveness of exercise for weight loss.

Many of my patients exercise religiously but still have difficulty losing weight. Part of this is normal human physiology. For some of my patients, exercise and not losing weight reflects a common pattern of daytime restrictive eating paired with nighttime compensatory over-eating (as I describe here). And sometimes the extra weight is even due to exercise itself.

To be clear: I’m not saying that increased exercise cannot and will not help some people lose weight in a sustainable, healthy way. It will, and it can. I’m also not saying we shouldn’t take responsibility for our everyday habits in the areas where we actually have choice. We should.

When it comes to exercise, the problem I commonly see isn’t the absence of adequate activity; it’s about why, how, and when we move our bodies. For more of my thoughts on this, click here. 

The upshot: exercise is good for every aspect of health—mental and physical. It’s important to appreciate the benefits beyond simply the number on the scale, as difficult as that can be!

I will answer your second question below…

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Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash

QUESTION #2: OZEMPIC ENVY

“I am frustrated that ppl can take Ozempic and I am doing the hardest part [exercising] and not losing- what am I missing??”