We Need to Rethink Exercise (Updated Version)

This video was sponsored by Brilliant. Thanks a lot for the support!

It’s lovingly packed with epic quests to get you moving, thinking, and seeing the world in a whole new way.

All changes and the link to the original video are listed in
Sources & further reading:

Exercising doesn’t help you lose weight. In fact, it barely changes your daily calorie burn.
Welcome to the workout paradox!
Let’s dive into the science of how your body actually handles calories and sabotages your best efforts to burn them.

This video was created with scientific advice by Dr. Mike Israetel:

OUR CHANNELS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US?
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
This is how we make our living and it would be a pleasure if you support us!

DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

OUR VOICE
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
The Kurzgesagt voice is from

OUR MUSIC ♬♪
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
700+ minutes of Kurzgesagt Soundtracks by Epic Mountain:

The Soundtrack of this video:

You can find info on what subtitle files work on YouTube here:
Thank you!

🐦🐧🐤 PATREON BIRD ARMY 🐤🐧🐦
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
Stefanie Graham, Michael, Zach, Dualismlover, Gürkan Gökay, D4rkNight, SnoopyBond, Berkan Ipek, Zander Inghram, Foxtrott69, Eragon, Johannes Gehle, Grossfuss, István Varga, Briana Krysiak, russodev, Alex, Jeremy Flandrin, Aaron Torres, mwie, hitchhiker0680, Jacint Vig, cherry berry, Sagwa, Shandy, Thomas, Halloween Guy, Andrew Woods, Illidais, Mandra, Rafaela Oliveira De Menezes, Jordan, Ryan, Isaiah Liljestrand, Cristian Pardo S., Dmitri, Claudio De Martino, Bradley C, Bagwets, Amir Williams, Leonard

CHAPTERS
▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀
0:00 Start
2:10 The Myth of The Workout
5:18 Why Your Body is Sabotaging You
7:47 Why Humans Are so Hungry
10:27 Brilliant Sponsorship
11:58 Curiosity Guide

[kurzgesagt]

⬇PLEASE NOTICE⬇
This experience was uncomfortable, but ultimately encouraging for us. It reminded us that it is a challenge to make ten-minute videos on complex topics without cutting too much and that we need to be constantly aware of this. Thanks again for your honest feedback and for helping us get better. We truly appreciate it.

[rairaur]

A reach shot out to the team for not only acknowledging feedback but taking it seriously, re-reviewing the topic and finally re-releasing an updated version while also providing a link to the previous version for transparency and archival reasons.
To say this is a rare approach for the YT scene is to say nothing. Kudos.

[just_mdd]

Here's what's changed, in case you were wondering:

( ) added or changed content
** ** removed content

01:26
In reality, (focusing on) exercising (is not a reliable way to lose weight.) **a bad way to burn fat.**



01:31
(Some studies show that exercise can lead to some fat loss, others that it is minimal. How can this be? It turns out that until) recently we fundamentally misunderstood what moving around a lot does to our bodies.



01:44
(Disclaimer: The science on fat loss is complicated and many studies compare vastly different populations, different measurements and are complicated to understand. And the online discussion is full of personal anecdotes. This video covers general principles, based on the current state of research. But when you look at the individual, there are variations – it matters if you are an athlete or casually try to lose weight.)


03:12
For some strange reason (in the long term), the amount of calories you burn is **pretty much** (often relatively) unrelated to your lifestyle. Per kilo of **body** (muscle) weight, your body has a (relatively) fixed calorie budget it wants to burn per day.

04:12
You actually do burn more calories and lose fat – so you can lose **a few kilos or pounds** (weight) through exercise! But this is (often) very short-lived. Your body adapts and burns fewer and fewer extra calories each **day** (week) until it restores its original calorie budget. After a few months you burn *basically the same* (a very similar) amount to what you did when you didn’t work out. (If you stay really consistent your burn might increase slightly and your body composition might change, but most people struggle with keeping up the habit, if they don’t love the extra movement. Which is why so many people hit a weight loss plateau.)

04:47
(Objection! What about muscles? Muscles burn 3 times more calories at rest than fat. This sounds impressive, but tissues like your brain, skin or intestines burn way more. In absolute terms, a more muscular body composition makes a difference for how many calories your body burns, but it’s relatively small. Muscles matter a lot for health, longevity and performance, but not that much for weight loss.)


05:21
So your body has an **hardwired** activity budget per day that it wants to stick to.


07:13
This is why you burn **almost the same** (a similar) amount of calories whether you work out or not - **by working out you are not doing anything extra, you are doing what your body is literally made to do.** (A lot of the energy you spend working out is energy you don’t spend on other physical activities and body processes.)


07:46
**Movement is not really made to burn your fat though.**

10:00
If you want to lose fat, (reducing calories is the biggest part of the answer.)


Edit: I don't like editing comments, but the asterisks were emboldening the words, lol. I've just fixed it! 🫡

[Joeri]

This is why this channel is good. You review the criticism, you learn from it and you correct it.

[KenadianKenough]

While such a tiny tweak in the core message, the fact you all care about being accurate and receiving/reviewing feedback is SO VALUABLE and why I love your channel.

[lumberjackofalltrades]

When i was a kid, an old timer told me that your body will give you the best body it can for your lifestyle. If you don't like your body, change how you live

[Jyuille]

They removed this from last video, but honestly it spoke to me a lot

“by working out you are not doing anything extra, you are doing what your body is literally made to do.”

[cinestillsamurai]

The random kid slander was so unexpected but I am here for it lmao

[bitbonsai]

as someone who recently starts working out in a gym the thing i noticed the most is how good i felt. i couldnt stop smiling after the shower and one my way home. i felt like i achived something and it motivated me to come back and do it again
Damn, a 1000

[monkeydrui]

2 steps ahead, i am always 2 steps ahead - kurzgesagt

[Manu-glny]

Basically working out is SO important that it contributes to what our body NEEDS to do, rather than just for a particular purpose as weight loss. If you are disregarding working out just because it won't lower your bodyfat as much as you'd like, you are seriously missing out on years of your life.

[angeloschaloulis]

As a dietitian I was shocked to what was uploaded before but actually this video fixes a lot of the problem, thank you for explaining it in a better way!

[imadork]

Thank you for providing the script changes in the description. I wanted to know what changed, but I did not want to have to comb through each video.

[watermalone]

Really nice stuff to acknowledge this video needed to be updated and having done so. Good work folks

[theleek]

As someone with a research background in nutrition and obesity-related diseases, I feel confident in stating that weight loss studies, beyond sampling issues, are often flawed in their design and include conclusions that are often full of extrapolations. Despite these limitations, one thing is clear from the literature, and that is most people cannot out exercise a "bad" diet, which is to say that the duration and/or intensity of exercise needed to compensate for overnutrition is not realistically achievable.

In the video, 2 points that concerned me the most were related to (1) energy needs for CNS vs skeletal muscle and (2) connecting inflammation from exercise to degenerative diseases. For the former, although the energy demands of the brain represent a considerable part of RMR, it remains relatively constant. In contrast, skeletal muscle, which also contributes considerably to RMR, can be modified (ie, increased or decreased), which has important considerations for RMR and regulation of body weight composition. Thus, maintenance or enhancement of skeletal muscle is an important modifiable factor (via exercise or lack thereof).

As far as inflammation's role in degenerative disease, it is important to note that acute exercise-induced inflammation is important to skeletal muscle hypertrophy. In addition, although chronic inflammation caused through exercise injury is detrimental, the literature is ambiguous on its relationship to degenerative diseases, such as atherosclerosis.

Despite my diatribe, there is a lot of solid points made in the video. Although I might not agree personally with everything, its premise—that our perception of exercise as a solution for weight loss needs to change—is solid. It's a useful tool, but one often mischaracterized.

[FaeZae-McBear]

1:03 where is the "eating less" video?

[yngbld_]

The changes are a bit pedantic considering the message is basically the same. Eat less to lose weight. Exercise more to be healthy. But this is one of those topics that gets certain people absolutely incensed, so respect for listening and revisiting the topic.

[Frank-mtew]

pumping out quality content for over a decade is just insane! Hat off Kurzgesagt! My fav youtube channel for a reason

[TheSupermUniverse]

As someone who's lost 60lbs in the span of 18 months I agree that diet is between 50% and 70% of the journey. I'll share my advice for anyone who's curious:

1. Do not take on big diet plans/ diet pills/ fad diets. Start small and build habits over time. Taking on big changes in a small amount of time is very hard and it becomes easy to relapse. One good example is to try to eat at the same time every day. Your body loves clockwork. Diet pills do work, but they teach you nothing about how to maintain yourself after you're off the pills. The journey of natural weight loss teaches you how to control your weight with your own abilities. Many times, people on diet pills end up regaining the weight they lost because they don't know how to maintain it.

2. Do not make huge lofty goals. Make reasonable goals and put numbers to them. It's easier to track progress by seeing if you're reaching the numbers that you want. A good example is "I want to lose 2lbs evey 2 weeks" or something similar. You can then tie this to a bigger long term goal like "I want to lose 40lbs by the end of the year".

3. This will take time. I remember at first I was getting frustrated by my lack of progress. But then I saw a post somewhere that said something like "you must put as much time into the solution that was put into the problem". In other words, if you were over weight for 3 years, then you should expect your journey to be on the order of years. In my experience, it will take 3 months of consistent work to notice physical changes in the mirror.

4. Excercise goes hand in hand with this. Again, start small. Start with 10 minutes per day of You will slowly build a regiment before you know it.

5. Do not fall for the "new years resolution" trap. Do not wait for a new year, a new month, a new week. Don't even wait for tomorrow. The biggest power you have is that you can start right now. The best time to plant a tree was 50 years ago. The second best time is now.

[AllissonFerreiraSoares]

10:15 I was 99% sure that the woman was going all in into the kids' face LOL