How much exercise is enough?

Trinan71

OK. I'm 43, female, been overweight most of my adult life, very fit until I was 20 (had kids, started eating unhealthy, stopped exercising). I have no health problems that I know of except my blood pressure tends to run a little high at 140/90. I'm sure that would change if I lost weight. Right now, I'm at 250 (still can't believe it) and I want to be under 150. So what would you recommend for a work out schedule. I don't belong to a gym. So I can bike ride, walk, zumba and I have a home gym so I can weight lift. Please give me an idea of how often and of which type. I need to feel better.

Thanks,
Trina

NoelFigart1

For improved cardiovascular fitness, you wanna do about a half an hour of moderate exercise a day.

For sustained weight loss, it's really more like an hour.

No, I don't like it, either. But for the sake of Blind Io, don't go from nothing to an hour a day. You'll injure yourself, burn out and hate it. Work up. Don't worry about how long it takes. You really will need to exercise the rest of your life anyway, so there's no timetable.

If you're very tired at first (if I let exercise go a awhile, then get back into it, I find that I am just whipped for the first month even if I start gently) understand that it's temporary. Barring medical conditions, you'll get a flood of energy in 4-6 weeks.

If it were me in your position, I'd probably lift two days a week and walk for three for a month and see how I felt, then go from there.

(Honesty forces me to admit that all I do is swim laps about 40 minutes a weekday, but I am training for something specific)

jacksonpt

First... You don't have to exercise to lose weight.

Second... I don't think anyone can reasonably quantify "enough" exercise. Ultimately, do more than you did last month - be it longer, harder, or faster... just do more. If that's walking more, fine. If that's biking for 20 minutes, fine. Just do something.

Third... make sure you're calorie intake is correct.

Trinan71

jacksonpt wrote: »

First... You don't have to exercise to lose weight.

Second... I don't think anyone can reasonably quantify "enough" exercise. Ultimately, do more than you did last month - be it longer, harder, or faster... just do more. If that's walking more, fine. If that's biking for 20 minutes, fine. Just do something.

Third... make sure you're calorie intake is correct.

Thanks for the advice. I do know I can lose weight without exercise, but when I exercise I sleep better and feel better in general. I think starting with what I can do and increasing it weekly would be a good start. As far as calorie intake is concerned, I am tracking everything. Hopefully, after two to three weeks of this I will be able to notice a difference.

Thanks again!

RHachicho

I would throw out the idea that there is some prescribed amount of exercise that is gonna magically make your fat melt off. The key is to keep pushing yourself. But not till you break. If you can handle what you are doing too easy .. do more. If you are always still sore when it comes to next days exercise consider doing less. It's abound finding your balance for your current level of fitness. There was a time 8 months ago where 15 mins the exercise bike was enough to get me sore. Yesterday I ran 10km and was disappointment with the fact that it was too easy. And I'm clearly going to have to increase my distance soon.

Your body is an adaptive system. It becomes able to do what it needs to do. Exercise is a way of saying .. We need to do this .. but we can't. Your body reacts accordingly. Finding the correct amount of exercise that you can handle is something no one can do for you. You need to experiment and .. indeed make mistakes. And since you are just starting out push hard. You may be surprised to find that your "limits" change surprisingly quickly.

Trinan71

NoelFigart1 wrote: »

If you're very tired at first (if I let exercise go a awhile, then get back into it, I find that I am just whipped for the first month even if I start gently) understand that it's temporary. Barring medical conditions, you'll get a flood of energy in 4-6 weeks.

If it were me in your position, I'd probably lift two days a week and walk for three for a month and see how I felt, then go from there.

(Honesty forces me to admit that all I do is swim laps about 40 minutes a weekday, but I am training for something specific)

Thanks for your reply! I agree that exercise is something I just need to plan on doing the rest of my life but I sure do look forward to more energy. I have never felt so tired in my life. I am sure it is due to the amount of sugar in my diet. That stuff is like a drug. Terrible! It makes my husband grouchy and me sleepy. I cut back from 4 to 5 sodas per day to 2 today. Baby steps, but I'll get there!

cwolfman13

Trinan71 wrote: »

jacksonpt wrote: »

First... You don't have to exercise to lose weight.

Second... I don't think anyone can reasonably quantify "enough" exercise. Ultimately, do more than you did last month - be it longer, harder, or faster... just do more. If that's walking more, fine. If that's biking for 20 minutes, fine. Just do something.

Third... make sure you're calorie intake is correct.

Thanks for the advice. I do know I can lose weight without exercise, but when I exercise I sleep better and feel better in general. I think starting with what I can do and increasing it weekly would be a good start. As far as calorie intake is concerned, I am tracking everything. Hopefully, after two to three weeks of this I will be able to notice a difference.

Thanks again!

To add to my friends post...enough is going to vary from person to person and be highly dependent on fitness goals. The point he was basically trying to make early was to use your diet for weight control; exercise for fitness. Let your fitness goals (independent of weight control goals) dictate what is enough, not enough, or too much. Of course, you'll want to factor in your current fitness level as well.

Don't get caught up in exercising simply to burn calories...it's not fun that way.

50sFit

What's enough exercise? That's different for each person.
I train between 3 and 4 hours daily, and that's just enough for me.
I might play a tennis match in the morning followed by strength training at the gym. In the evening after supper, I might take a 3 mile hike in the woods by my house. Other days it's swimming and a bike ride with calisthenics or an hour at an MMA gym.
I eat around 4000 calories daily to account for this active life. I lost 93 pounds doing my own thing.

What is enough exercise?
That's totally up to you based on your own fitness and health goals.
Good Luck

BramageOMG

I only had "a few pounds to lose".. turned out that was over 60.. but I did the following: Walk 5-10 miles per day. 30-60 minutes gym per day (6 or 7 days a week) Set MPF to -2 lbs per week, and ate under that allotment.

nayers86

Only you can truly determine what's enough. Seeing as you haven't really been active in a while start off slow to avoid injury which will sideline your progress. Listen to your body and do what feels best. At some point, you will want to start lifting as well as incorporating cardio. Strength training is one of the best means to lose body fat (in combination with correct diet of course and some cardio). You will figure it all out, but the best way to start is with diet and some activity.

999tigger

Here are the suggested amounts of exercise as suggested by the NHS in the UK

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults.aspx

The answer is different depending on you and what you wish from it.

Imo you should start off by what you can and have time to reasonably manage. walking, swimming or whatever. Try and build up the amount in time or increased effort, but take it steady. I cant see any harm when you build up to it as half an hour a day, then you cna increase it as you wish.

If you want it to make you fitter, then at some stage you will have to start exerting yourself a bit so you raise your heart rate.

If you want to lose weight then be prepared for the fact you need to do quite a lot to burn off the 3500 calories for 1lb and the diet is an easier way, although when you get into exercise and are doing it consistently you can expect to burn 500-900 an hour imo. Walking is less but a great starter. Up to you to decide whats enough as the others have said. Start with the exercise you can manage and enjoy. Dont burn yourself out and be safe by not overdoing it.

ksheeler13

Hi

I think you should be doing some form of exercise. I agree you will feel better and it will help in the beginning cutting back the cal. It really helped me know I burned more burning the day and whenI would slip I didn't feel so bad.

Trinan71

50sFit wrote: »

What's enough exercise? That's different for each person.
I train between 3 and 4 hours daily, and that's just enough for me.
I might play a tennis match in the morning followed by strength training at the gym. In the evening after supper, I might take a 3 mile hike in the woods by my house. Other days it's swimming and a bike ride with calisthenics or an hour at an MMA gym.
I eat around 4000 calories daily to account for this active life. I lost 93 pounds doing my own thing.

What is enough exercise?
That's totally up to you based on your own fitness and health goals.
Good Luck

Wow! That is a lot of exericse for one day!!! I think "The Rock" spends about the same amount of time in the gym. I think my goal will be an hour of cardio per day and weight training 3 times per week. After I start exercising more I wouldn't mind doing more than an hour as long as it was something different like biking in the morning and zumba in the evening one day and hiking the next day. Mix it up and keep it fun. Believe it or not I actually sweat my buns off once doing yoga so I think I am going to try that again. I loved how I felt afterwards. You are an inspriation by the way. I love the before and after photo. I hope I can do that too in 6-7 months.

FitOldMomma

What's enough? Perhaps starting with the recommended 30 minutes per day, just for good health. I aim for 8 hours a week. I can't believe how much better I feel from exercising. The bonus is that I sleep well on the days I exercise.
Start slow and add minutes as you feel you can. Walking is a great exercise - you can adjust your pace if you want a more vigorous workout.
Try them all and do what you love. Good luck.

bwogilvie

In his recent book The Diet Fix (well worth reading), Dr. Yoni Freedhoff states his exercise mantra: "Some is good. More is better. Everything counts." (Also available on his website.)

If you can get in 30 minutes a day, that's pretty good. If you have less time, look into high-intensity interval training, though if you are tempted by that route, build up to it slowly. I generally get about 50 minutes of cardio exercise a day, on average. Some of that is bike commuting to work, which I do when the weather isn't too crappy; that's 30 minutes a day when I do it, and since driving takes 20 minutes, it's a pretty good deal (30 minutes of exercise for only 10 additional minutes out of my day). The rest is a mix: lots of cycling, some running, some hiking, and some time on my rowing machine. I do a short strength workout a couple times a week, too, just to keep muscle mass.

It's a good idea to work exercise into your routine. If you drive somewhere, park at the far end of the parking lot and walk. Take the stairs rather than the elevator when possible. If you're sitting, stand up from time to time and stretch. Try watching TV while standing, not sitting. Make a habit of moving. It might be tiring at first but you'll adapt to it, and after a while you will feel a lot better. Good luck!

RllyGudTweetr

jacksonpt wrote: »

First... You don't have to exercise to lose weight.

Second... I don't think anyone can reasonably quantify "enough" exercise. Ultimately, do more than you did last month - be it longer, harder, or faster... just do more. If that's walking more, fine. If that's biking for 20 minutes, fine. Just do something.

Third... make sure you're calorie intake is correct.

Bothers me a little that we can 'flag' but not 'like.'

RISEOFPATRIOTS

A 30 minute cardio workout is considered an actual workout and you should at least workout 5 days a week. You should have a day or two where your body can take it easy to recover and get stronger. Begin with a fast walk for now since your body isn't ready for jogging.

dbmata

RllyGudTweetr wrote: »

jacksonpt wrote: »

First... You don't have to exercise to lose weight.

Second... I don't think anyone can reasonably quantify "enough" exercise. Ultimately, do more than you did last month - be it longer, harder, or faster... just do more. If that's walking more, fine. If that's biking for 20 minutes, fine. Just do something.

Third... make sure you're calorie intake is correct.

Bothers me a little that we can 'flag' but not 'like.'

Oh it's ok, just flag it anyway, it's like a nod to awesome with the way this system is designed. lol.

RECowgill

Since your goal is healthy weight loss, you should weight train 3x a week for 45mins per session. Eat at a slight deficit (you will need to learn all about macros, caloric deficits, reading labels, and counting calories). Forget cardio, unless you really enjoy it.

You will need time and patience. Don't expect overnight success, and prepare to make adjustments. You will need to learn how to listen to your body, and make adjustments on your food intake. The process is very personal, one size will not fit all. But if you want to retain your healthy lean mass, do weight training. If you want to lose fat, eat at a caloric deficit. That's it, its simple. You just need to put in the hard work and time.

flatlndr

I lift 3x a week, 35 min cardio 2x a week, and hike 1x (2 hrs) each week. I dropped 105+ lbs in 9 months (on maintenance now). But I'd say (unscientifically) that 80% of my loss was due to nutrition/calorie intake, and 20% due to exercise. Exercise is great for loss and fitness, but if you don't adjust the intake, you're not addressing the whole picture.

ETA: The above routine is what I do now. When I first started, I was so out of shape, walking for 10 mins left me hot and sweaty. I started with walking 10 mins walking, 2-3 times a day. Over time I increased the distance and pace. About 5 months in I started lifting (wish I had started from day 1) at home with bands and dumbbells. A month later, I joined a gym, started "running" on the elliptical, and hitting the weights (mix of machines and free weights).

Best of luck!

RECowgill

flatlndr wrote: »

I lift 3x a week, 35 min cardio 2x a week, and hike (2 hrs) each week. I dropped 105+ lbs in 9 months (on maintenance now). But I'd say (unscientifically) that 80% of my loss was due to nutrition/calorie intake, and 20% due to exercise. Exercise is great for loss and fitness, but if you don't adjust the intake, you're not addressing the whole picture.

It's true weight loss is mostly about food. Stop eating so much and you will lose weight, but don't eat too little either, that's unhealthy. You want to eat the right amount, hence the slight deficit.

Strength train and control your calories, that's the magic formula. It's possible that cardio you did actually didn't help much. A better way to go is to start with controlling food and do 3x a week weight training, then only add in cardio incrementally if the results aren't showing. Build it up over time, make small adjustments to start.

yoovie

I need a better idea of your goals. if you only want to lose weight and dont care about being fit, then you dont need to exercise, but you might hate the results. If you want to be stronger and more fit and wear a smaller size and look better, thats a completely different routine suggestion

higgins8283801

I do what I can fit in. I try for at least 30 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week. I have lost almost 25lbs in a little less than 4 months. These last few weeks have been a struggle for me, so I have been lucky to get in 2 30 minute sessions a week. Today though, I went to the gym at 4am and it was awesome.

Trinan71

Thank you all for all the great advice. I have decided to go with total body weight training 3 days per week and cardio for 30 min on alternating days, for now. It's a start, but boy am I sore!!!! I was told it gets better. Hope so!!