Must we exercise an hour a day??!!??

Wolfena
Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm watching the news... they'd mentioned it yesterday too. Some research they've done saying that a person needs moderate exercise like walking at least an hour EVERY day to maintain their healthy weight. They say exercising EVERY DAY only half an hour or less won't be enough to maintain weight, that a person will inevitably gain weight as they age if that is all that they do.

Wow - maybe I'm lazy.... that just seems like a lot! Granted, my exercise is often more than "moderate" but it's also not EVERY DAY. I typically manage 2-4 good cardio days of 30-60 minutes each, and maybe 1-2 moderate days of exercise 30-45 minutes (like walking or riding my recumbent bike) Sometimes to me, this seems like a lot to expect myself to be able to keep up forever because "life" just gets in the way at times! Yea, I've got those weeks where I exercise every day for an hour but I've also go those kinds of weeks sometimes where I do nothing at all.

This news program is extremely depressing. It makes me feel like I'm just doomed to be fat!

:grumble:

Replies

  • carrieberrie
    carrieberrie Posts: 356 Member
    I never exercise and I keep losing. It all depends on what you eat.
  • jdramage
    jdramage Posts: 37
    I heard that on the news this morning too! They didn't mention anything about eating so I imagine that's for people who just eat whatever they want. If that was the case for me I'd have to exercise an hour a day to lose weight for sure. Personally I like to monitor my caloric intake and I also enjoy exercising. Some days it's 90 minutes, sometimes 30 minutes, and some days not at all. Balance is the key... as always.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    I saw this news story too! Right now I only work out 5 days a week and I'm losing a lot. But once I get to maintenance levels I was hoping to cut back to maybe three days a week. I'm hoping to go back to school soon and it already seems like working out takes up a ton of my life!
  • nbailey2
    nbailey2 Posts: 13
    I saw that on GM. With my schedule, it is highly unlikely, but I try to use every opportunity to workout. For instance, I speed walk in the corridors at work and often times I take the stairs.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    You always have to read the fine print.

    This was a study in which participants did not limit their food intake. Also the definition of "moderate" is "exercise" that I would consider pretty low-level. More like in the 300 Calories/hour range.

    A lot of times you have to look beyond the actual details of a study to appreciate the bigger picture.

    And the bigger picture is this:

    We do not get enough activity in our regular work and daily activities. Therefore, it can take an significant amount of activity in our leisure time to make up for it.

    Think about it--in the last century--even in the last generation or two--we have completely reversed the rhythm of our daily activity patterns. People used to spend long hours doing physical work. Talk to a farmer or factory worker in the days before WWII and they would have scoffed at the idea of doing "exercise" during their leisure time. Exercise? Hell, they were worn out from working all day.

    Now, our work lives require almost no physical effort whatsoever--we have to work our *kitten* off during our leisure time to make up for it. And given the increased demands of our jobs and ever-shrinking paychecks, many people are stuck between a rock and a hard place, healthwise.

    A study was done about 20 years ago that showed this trend. Thousands of adults kept a log of their activity 24 hr a day. Numerical values were assigned to different activities so that an activity index could be established. Even when people were moving, they often were expending hardly any energy. In the end, the study determined that 60%-70% of adult Americans were essentially "motionless" 24 hours a day. And that was 20 years ago.

    Unfortunately, in 21st century America, much of our culture has declared war on our health.

    What's the answer? Take charge, for starters. Tell the junk-food marketers and mass food processors to take a hike. Yeah it takes more time to prepare your own food, but, hey, that's what it takes. There are some quick and easy ways to eat healthy.

    You can also ramp up your exercise intensity. I suspect that many/most people here could burn the same or more calories in 30 min than the women in this study did in an hour.

    And control your food intake. There is no way around healthy eating, in my experience at least. No shortcuts, no magic bullets. Most studies done on the subject for the past 10-15 years have shown that exercise alone is not very effective.

    For those of us in the field who study this stuff, this study doesn't provide any new information--it mostly verifies what has been known for awhile.
  • LuRox
    LuRox Posts: 520 Member
    This is why I said we all need to have an hour of PE at work. I would absolutely love to be able to move and do stuff like I did in high school (and was skinny).

    But in reading the article, it was about people who do not "diet" and also people of normal weights. So all that we are doing is probably equal to or more than what they are suggesting!

    Upon first glance it was a bit discouraging but the more I read it, it wasn't.
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member

    This was a study in which participants did not limit their food intake. Also the definition of "moderate" is "exercise" that I would consider pretty low-level. More like in the 300 Calories/hour range.

    Sorry to get stuck on this particular statement... but there was point and time when I was running regulary (5-ish days a week, 4-6 miles a day) and I only would burn 400-ish calories in an hour. I definitely don't think that was low level exercise for me!!

    :laugh:

    It's still depressing, because my job ISN'T all physical activity, it IS limited... and I DON'T have an hour every single day even for "moderate" exercise - which STILL leaves me feeling like I'll inevitably end up fat again. I just need to not think about it.

    :cry:
  • pkgirrl
    pkgirrl Posts: 587
    Just curious, was anything stated in the the article about the participants? Like their age, weight, body mass composition, daily calorie consumption (more specifically that " whatever they wanted," health conditions, and daily activity?

    Say the average woman eats 2000 a day, I know I wind up around there usually if I don't count. Say She's about 5"5, weighs 135lbs, 30 years old, and works as a secretary. Her BMR is probably about 1400 then. Her job is more or less sedentary, so her daily activity burn is not likely going to make the 600 calorie difference, leaving her with at least 100-200 calories extra. That's an extra pound of fat every month - ish or so, if every day were the same.

    Now let's say she packs a picnic and goes hiking with her husband on the weekend, if she eats closer to 1500, and hikes for a few hours, the weeks extra calories disappear.

    Try not to worry about getting fat again, on your journey your picking up a lot of valuable information about health, nutrition, and balancing it with day to day life. Unless you completely revert to your former ways, I don't think you'll have anything to worry about :flowerforyou:
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    General rule: weight loss is 90% what you eat, exercise and willpower make up the other 10%

    You should try to get in some exercise just because its good for you, releases endorphins, etc. However if you don't do it every day you're not going to suddenly perish or gain 10000 pounds.
  • karenmi
    karenmi Posts: 242 Member
    Personally, I think that daily exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle, something that we all should strive for.

    After all, it's not all about just eating less food for now to lose weight - to be successful long-term it has to be a lifestyle change that is sustainable for the rest of your life.

    I don't find it at all hard to get an hour of moderate exercise in every day. I work out at the gym 5 to 6 times a week doing 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training, and on my off days I walk my dog for an hour or more. The only way I can get my workouts in on week days is to go before work, so I'm at the gym by 5:30 am. I know that time does not work for everyone, but my point is that almost everyone has an hour in their day that they can use to be physically active in some way.
  • dmags
    dmags Posts: 303
    The way I see it, I do a 20 minute dvd, and I sweat more and definatley burn more calories then when I walk for an hour!
  • OddSquid
    OddSquid Posts: 107 Member
    Considering that most news sources are moving to sensationalism to sell themselves, I've learned not to put much faith or stock in TV news or newspapers anymore. Whatever health/fitness info they provide are going to be geared toward the average person and very, very briefly just to fit it into the time slot. Details will be cut or misrepresented, and the audience is unfortunately left with bad info.

    A lot of the diet and exercise clips are also presented out of context, so in a society desperate for vanity, audiences latch onto every small tidbit in the hopes that THAT is the next silver bullet to solve all of our problems in one shot.
  • Crawline
    Crawline Posts: 1,028
    I don't know if I believe this...from what everyone has said is that its people who are not dieting and such.
    My mom has lost 23 lbs and hasn't done a day of exercising.
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