Myth one: Exercising for fat loss<\/p>\n
\u201cExercising probably isn’t your ticket to losing a tonne of fat \u2013 that is mostly down to diet,\u201d says Wolf. <\/p>\n
While movement is excellent for your health, he explains, the calories burned through exercise are going to be relatively small when viewed through the lens of your wider weekly energy expenditure. He adds that a two-hour workout \u2013 an unrealistic prospect in most people\u2019s busy routines \u2013 will usually only burn between 300 and 800 calories.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in the research, when we look at studies where people are made to either exercise or follow a calorie-restricted diet, exercise tends to be relatively poor at actually making you lose fat,\u201d Wolf says. \u201cThe amount of calories you\u2019re able to burn, and therefore the size of the calorie deficit you\u2019re able to put yourself in, just isn\u2019t that large.\u201d <\/p>\n
Instead, it is easier to change what you are eating to create the necessary calorie deficit for weight loss \u2013 while maintaining the nutrient-dense diet needed to support overall health. <\/p>\n
\u201c[You should] exercise for health, exercise for the functional benefits, exercise for the physical benefits, and exercise for the appearance side of things [building muscle], but trying to force fat loss purely through exercise is probably a bad idea,\u201d Wolf summarises. <\/p>\n
From this, it can be said that diet is the main contributing factor to overall weight, while a weekly routine balancing appropriate nutrition with aerobic exercise and body-strengthening activities is the best way to go for overall health. <\/p>\n
A 2023 systematic review of existing research on this topic, published in the Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews,<\/a> concludes: \u201cThe most efficient regimen for obesity management in adults is the combination of strength plus endurance exercise for a minimum of 175 minutes per week, and a customised hypocaloric [calorie deficit] diet based on patient-specific metabolic needs and overall health status.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: An exercise scientist recommends a simple trick to increase the health benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day<\/a><\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n \u2018Exercise for health, exercise for the functional benefits, exercise for the physical benefits, exercise for the appearance side of things, but trying to force fat loss purely through exercise is probably a bad idea,\u2019 says Dr Milo Wolf (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n Myth two: Gaining muscle while losing fat and losing fat in a calorie surplus<\/p>\n The widely accepted framework for weight change is the idea of calorie balance \u2013 if you burn more calories than you consume (a calorie deficit), you will lose weight, while the inverse (a calorie surplus) will lead to weight gain. This is a solid general rule to follow for most people, says Wolf. <\/p>\n By this logic, many believe you cannot build muscle in a calorie deficit or burn fat in a calorie surplus. But there are many more variables to consider before settling on this conclusion, Wolf says, such as training experience and genetics. <\/p>\n \u201cCalories in, calories out, is a simple heuristic,\u201d says Wolf. \u201cBut when it comes to what actually happens inside your body, you can definitely gain muscle while losing fat. <\/p>\n \u201c[In our research] we measure people all the time \u2013 we measure their muscle growth and fat loss, and so we see this happen in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds that, on rare occasions, it is even possible to lose fat in a calorie surplus, and explains the mechanisms behind this. <\/p>\n \u201cYour body draws energy from a variety of sources,\u201d says Wolf. \u201cThe biggest one in terms of how many calories your body stores is going to be your adipose tissue, or your fat tissue. The second biggest would be your carbohydrate stores, which are in your muscles and your liver. <\/p>\n \u201cThe first thing to recognise is that the size of the calorie surplus matters. Let\u2019s say you\u2019re in a 2,000-calorie surplus and you\u2019re gaining 2kg per week. At that point, it does become less likely that you\u2019re going to be losing fat.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you\u2019re in a relatively modest surplus, let\u2019s say 100 calories, and you\u2019re a beginner in the gym with great genetics, your body might need several hundred calories to build muscle tissue [after your strength training<\/a> workouts]. So it may use your 100-calorie surplus and draw energy from your fat stores in order to grow this muscle tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n He concludes: \u201cAs a very simple rule of thumb, calories in, calories out, does well at predicting whether, overall, you gain weight or you lose weight. But to determine whether you’re re-comping [shortform for the process of changing your body composition, or the ratio of muscle to fat] at the same time? The body is something of a black box, and that question falls somewhere inside.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Five stretches you should be doing every day according to a flexibility expert<\/a><\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n You do not need to reduce your body fat before you start strength training \u2013 this exercise method offers a huge variety of health benefits independent of body composition (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n Myth three: Cutting fat before building muscle<\/p>\n Weight loss is one of, if not the, most common fitness goals. When people start exercising, they often take the approach that losing weight should be priority number one, which can see them spurn strength training in favour of more intensive calorie-burning activities such as running. But Wolf wants to change this.<\/p>\n \u201cThe final myth I want to bust is the idea that you need to be lean to gain muscle, and the idea that you should cut [fat] first,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n \u201cAt one of the places I work, we did an analysis of all the research that had measured participants\u2019 body fat percentages, then also measured how much muscle they gained through a given study where they had participants doing strength training. <\/p>\n \u201cWe found there\u2019s basically no correlation between someone\u2019s initial body fat percentage and how much muscle they tended to gain. For men, that applied to those with anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent body fat. So just because you\u2019re initially overweight, that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re limiting your muscle gain.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, Wolf says, the widespread benefits of strength training \u2013 from \u201cincreasing bone mineral density\u201d to \u201clowering your risk of nearly every conceivable disease\u201d \u2013 have something to offer all-comers, regardless of their existing physique. <\/p>\n \u201c[Knowing that you can gain muscle regardless of your body fat percentage] lowers the barrier to entry for strength training,\u201d he says. \u201cThen if you start at a higher body fat percentage and you eat at maintenance and lift weights, over time you may gradually re-comp without needing to cut first, because that may not necessarily be the best course of action in many circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: A cardiac nurse says these five daily behaviours can reduce your risk of heart disease<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\u2018Exercise](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/iStock-1912105812.jpeg\")
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