Moderate exercise best for weight loss?

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nxd10
nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This piece just came out in the NYTimes saying that moderate exercise every day (300 calories) had better effects than more rigorous exercise in terms of weight loss (600 calories):

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/is-30-minutes-of-daily-exercise-a-sweet-spot-for-weight-loss/?src=recg

This matches a lot of people's complaints about exercising a lot and gaining or not losing what they think they should.

And certainly my own experience of just very, very brisk walking for 45 minutes a day - just about 300 calories) being very helpful in weight loss and also toning.

More exercise is wonderful in lot and lots and lots of ways. It's just not the be all and end all if your goal is just to hit that fast drop on the scale.

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  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    I do exactly 30 minutes 5 days a week in the form of a walk to work and back - 15 min each way. I drop 1-3lbs a week without any issues. I have been doing this constantly. The only thing exercising harder did for me was mess me up for having to try to eat so much more at the end of my day.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    The only thing exercising harder did for me was mess me up for having to try to eat so much more at the end of my day.

    That's exactly what the article says, along with suggesting that the people who exercise more were also more tired so that they spent more time vegetating, while the people who exercised 30 mins had more energy to keep moving, like taking stairs rather than elevators.

    Interesting to think about.....
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I do exactly 30 minutes 5 days a week in the form of a walk to work and back - 15 min each way. I drop 1-3lbs a week without any issues. I have been doing this constantly. The only thing exercising harder did for me was mess me up for having to try to eat so much more at the end of my day.

    When I live in places where I have to walk (I also walk to work now) I immediately drop 10 pounds with no other changes. I am walking a lot more than that now and it has helped me add muscle and has tightened up all that empty flab were my fat used to be. But weight loss - no.

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