Comment by tempestn
3 years ago
Yeah, the article isn't very clear on this. ISTM the claim is not that exercise doesn't increase energy consumption at all, but just that it increases it by much less than the amount of energy expended in the exercise, because the body (partially) compensates elsewhere. Whether the degree of compensation varies based on amount of exercise I'm not sure, and I wish it had explained. I expect it probably would, as presumably there would only be so much 'low hanging fruit' for your body to use when compensating.
I can definitely see how that works. I'm a cyclist and often ride 60-100 miles on a weekend day, plus 3 days pf 20-30 miles during the week. That should be a lot of extra calories. But, after those long rides, I usually need a nap and don't do much else (maybe grocery shopping, but definitely not woodworking or other serious projects).
That said, at the peak of my training (12 hours/week), I can definitely consume more calories without putting on weight. Like, a giant bowl of ice cream most nights. But, if I continue that diet during recovery periods, I'll put on a few pounds. So, it's not that exercise has zero impact, but possibly quite a bit smaller an impact that one might assume.