Exercise is ineffective for short-term weight loss because burning one pound of fat requires at least 4,500 kilocalories of exercise, which would require running for more than 15 hours! This is because each gram of fat contains 9 kilocalories, while moderate jogging burns about 300 kilocalories per hour.

　　Is it effective in the long run?

　　Not necessarily, because exercise can increase appetite. If your diet mainly consists of refined grains, exercise will cause your blood sugar to drop even lower two hours after eating, leading you to eat more and potentially gain weight. If you burn 300 calories running for an hour and then eat 100 grams of bread, you'll consume 400 calories, exceeding your calorie limit by 100! Long-term consumption of refined carbohydrates can also lead to insulin resistance, causing muscles to burn sugar less efficiently, resulting in energy deficiency and difficulty exercising effectively.

　　If your diet is primarily meat-based or high in protein, your blood sugar fluctuations are minimal, and exercise won't lead to overeating or insulin resistance. Instead, exercise will increase your muscle mass, decrease fat, and help you become slimmer. There was once a British man named William Banting who loved bread and potatoes. His exercise regimen made him eat even more and gain weight. Later, he switched to a meat-based diet and successfully lost weight. He then wrote a book called "The Meat Diet," which became a bestseller in Europe. His name, Banting, even became a word for "weight loss therapy," evolving into today's low-carbs diet—a diet low in carbohydrates, low in glycemic index, and high in nutritional supplements.

　　Carbohydrates only convert to fat, not muscle. Eating meat (protein) combined with exercise increases muscle mass and reduces fat, thus increasing muscle mass (and decreasing body fat percentage). Maintaining one pound of muscle requires more than ten times the calories needed to maintain one pound of fat. Therefore, increasing muscle mass improves basal metabolic rate. Have you noticed that some people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight, while others seem to gain weight even from drinking water? This is because the former have a high muscle mass percentage, while the latter have an excessively high body fat percentage.

　　Taking L-carnitine 30 minutes before exercise can help burn fat, chromium can increase muscle formation, and coenzyme Q10 can increase exercise energy.

　　The greater benefit of exercise is its comprehensive promotion of health. Humans cannot live without oxygen, water, nutrients, and exercise. For millions of years, our ancestors were constantly active in trees and on the ground; the days spent sitting in cars and offices like we do now are only a few decades. A famous American study on the health of mail carriers found that many office mail carriers were obese, suffered from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, diabetes, and heart disease, while those who went out were slim and healthy. Numerous subsequent studies worldwide have confirmed that appropriate exercise can help with weight loss, lower high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, prevent three diseases (diabetes, heart disease, and cancer), and extend lifespan (by more than 7 years). Appropriate exercise can also improve cardiovascular health and enhance decision-making abilities. This is why people (especially men) often pace back and forth when making important decisions. The reason exercise has such a significant effect is that it can alter hormones; appropriate exercise can lower and stabilize blood sugar, insulin, estrogen, and cortisol.

　　From a physiological perspective, the most suitable exercises for humans are brisk walking or jogging. Running is an aerobic exercise; in addition, we also need anaerobic exercises such as weight-bearing and stretching. Strenuous exercise increases free radicals and reduces immune cells, leading to excessive oxidation and decreased immunity. Two other very suitable aerobic exercises are often overlooked: sex and laughter. Studies have found that men who have sex three times a week for more than twenty minutes each time have a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease; sex can burn 5 kilocalories per minute. Laughter accompanied by deep breathing is as effective as yoga. You don't need to worry about laughter deepening wrinkles unless you consume large amounts of sugar, causing your skin to lose elasticity.

　　When is the best time to exercise?

　　Avoid strenuous exercise in the morning, as your body hasn't warmed up yet, and oxygen levels are lower before sunrise. Ideally, exercise for at least half an hour daily on average; in any case, some exercise is better than none. We often say we simply don't have time to exercise, that we can't even spare 15 minutes. This is actually absurd: self-deception! We have plenty of time to watch TV, play mahjong, drink, smoke, and chat for several hours each day. Think about it: just half an hour of brisk walking each day can create 122,640 half-hours (extending your lifespan by 7 years), netting you approximately 50,000 hours (assuming a lifespan of 70 years without exercise)!

　　Health lies in exercise, and exercise lies in brisk walking! Brisk walking is the easiest, cheapest, and most effective exercise, suitable for all ages and backgrounds. You don't need equipment, coaches, partners, or clubs; you can even go barefoot—relying solely on your own two feet to walk the path to a slim figure and good health!