Exercise? Count on It

Ranch? Um, no, I live in suburban Washington.

"Well, I would say you will maintain your weight for a short while" doing in-and-out math, "but not for the long haul. You'll start to gain weight."

But how? I'm not taking in any excess calories that can be stored as fat, so how will I put on pounds?

"You'll lose muscle mass, your metabolism will slow down," she says. "You gain a lot more things with exercise than just maintenance of weight. You get an increase in energy, an increase in metabolism; you decrease the chance of cardiovascular diseases; you get a reduction in blood pressure, things of that nature. If you don't work out, if you only consume as many calories as you burn, you're missing out on all that."

In other words, I'm missing my endorphins and adrenalin, the body chemicals that make me feel good? Isn't there a supplement I can take so I can get that stuff without exercise?

"I don't even know how to answer that," Hischke says, sounding shocked. And then, "Get on a treadmill!"

Maybe I will.•

Buzz McClain last wrote for the Health section about assisted breathing devices for those with sleep apnea.