Is frequency or duration more important?

TonyB0588
TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My main exercise is walking. Previously I did one hour, two to three times a week. Now I aim for 45 minutes every day. At the moment i seem to be regaining lost weight. Why is that?

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    CONSISTENCY is the most important.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    I see. So it may not be the change of exercise to blame then?
  • MT1134
    MT1134 Posts: 173 Member
    Frequency and duration have somewhat of a push-pull relationship. Generally the less exercise you do, the more intense it needs to be to drive adaptations but if you're going more frequently than it's not as necessary to go as hard as you would otherwise.

    Unfortunately, for those looking to lose weight, people have managed to gain weight even after partaking in the most intense exercise programs and that comes from the nutritional side of the house and not so much the exercise.

    You can sit around all day and do absolutely nothing and still lose weight so I would advise you to take a look at your nutrition.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    I struggle big time to remain within my calorie deficit goal WITHOUT exercise, but that’s just because I want to eat more than I should. So I exercise so I can eat that extra food.

    The ONLY thing you NEED to do to lose weight is eat fewer calories than you need to maintain. Obviously, something is amiss with your tracking if you are gaining weight.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    I see. So it may not be the change of exercise to blame then?

    Gaining weight only happens by eating more calories than you're burning. Losing it only happens the other way around. It isn't the exercise.

    If the purpose of the exercise is weight loss, then it's the total distance that matters because unless you're walking on really hilly ground, distance and calories burned have a very close relationship.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.
  • MT1134
    MT1134 Posts: 173 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.

    Eyeballing is not accurate.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.
    Obviously NOT since you're gaining weight while burning more calories. See there was a reason we did have to take math class.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    If eyeballing portion sizes worked for you, you probably wouldn’t be trying to lose weight because you probably wouldn’t have gotten overweight in the first place.

    You have NO CLUE how much your eating and then you are confused as to why you are exercising more and gaining weight. Hmmm.... if you don’t have a food scale, get one, NOW and WEIGH AND TRACK YOUR CALORIES.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.

    Has your non-exercise routine changed in any significant way? That's also a potential source of calorie balance variation.
  • B_Plus_Effort
    B_Plus_Effort Posts: 311 Member
    edited October 2020
    i don't want to go all philosophical on you but our bodies are way more complicated than any self proclaimed nutritionist, weight loss coach, or expert says or thinks, and watching the scale will drive you mad, your favorite pair of jeans is a better barometer, you start with your belly hanging over your belt, then your belly disappears into your pants, then the pants fall off you cause they are too loose

    but on a serious note, please get a body fat tester, the kind you hold out in front of you with two hands, it's not super precise but it will show you how your body mass is changing from say 80% lean (muscle, bones, blood, etc.) / 20% fat to say 15% fat because there is a huge difference of being 185 lbs and 20% body fat and being 195 lbs at only 15% body fat, so being heavier is not necessarily bad (ladies see this with dress sizes, they can be heavier and go from a size 12 to a size 8)

    the key is consistency, and like a tell my baby brother rather than doing 3 bootcamp session in one Saturday do one every other day (that kid has no self discipline, ha ha)

    short answer = frequency or as I call it consistency, but with walking, walk every day if you can, make your rest days be dictated by being too busy (and not feeling guilty, or it raining outside, or injury) in other words don't skip walking because of some silly pattern you came up with
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    By the title I was REALLY hoping we'd be talking about another physical activity. Alas, it's walking.

    So to add to the nutrition advice you've gotten this far, I'll add the concept of seasonality.

    For example, in my part of the world when seasons change my access to fresh, local produce changes too. So eyeballing your plate can be different from season to season depending on where you live if part of your eating preferences include fresh, local produce.

    Lastly, you also mentioned that you "aim" to walk every single day but do you actually do it?

    And how long have you noticed your weight increasing?

    It may just be a matter of a few small tweaks before you're back on track to where you want to be
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.

    Has your non-exercise routine changed in any significant way? That's also a potential source of calorie balance variation.

    I don't think so. Didn't gain weight at home during the COVID19 lockdown nor the work from home period. Strangely this reversal started in September after I got back into the office. And no, I don't partake of the office snacks.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    TonyB0588 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal
    lorrpb wrote: »
    For weight gain, the issue is eating too many calories. For fitness, I favor the consistency of walking daily for 30-45 vs 60 two or three times/wk, even if the total Time was equal

    Thanks. I'll have to review that, but I'm not conscious of any eating change. Yes I know the advice is to use a scale for everything, but that's not been happening. Eyeballing portion sizes, everything looks just about the same as before.

    Has your non-exercise routine changed in any significant way? That's also a potential source of calorie balance variation.

    I don't think so. Didn't gain weight at home during the COVID19 lockdown nor the work from home period. Strangely this reversal started in September after I got back into the office. And no, I don't partake of the office snacks.

    You still seem to skipping the most important step. Weigh your food and log it accurately instead of “eyeballing” portions.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    muszyngr wrote: »
    i don't want to go all philosophical on you but our bodies are way more complicated than any self proclaimed nutritionist, weight loss coach, or expert says or thinks, and watching the scale will drive you mad, your favorite pair of jeans is a better barometer, you start with your belly hanging over your belt, then your belly disappears into your pants, then the pants fall off you cause they are too loose

    but on a serious note, please get a body fat tester, the kind you hold out in front of you with two hands, it's not super precise but it will show you how your body mass is changing from say 80% lean (muscle, bones, blood, etc.) / 20% fat to say 15% fat because there is a huge difference of being 185 lbs and 20% body fat and being 195 lbs at only 15% body fat, so being heavier is not necessarily bad (ladies see this with dress sizes, they can be heavier and go from a size 12 to a size 8)

    the key is consistency, and like a tell my baby brother rather than doing 3 bootcamp session in one Saturday do one every other day (that kid has no self discipline, ha ha)

    short answer = frequency or as I call it consistency, but with walking, walk every day if you can, make your rest days be dictated by being too busy (and not feeling guilty, or it raining outside, or injury) in other words don't skip walking because of some silly pattern you came up with

    This is interesting. Will check out the body fat tester. I agree the pants waist is a good measurement, and the waist is getting tight. I'm trying to fix the problem BEFORE the belly actually hangs over.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    MaltedTea wrote: »
    By the title I was REALLY hoping we'd be talking about another physical activity. Alas, it's walking.

    So to add to the nutrition advice you've gotten this far, I'll add the concept of seasonality.

    For example, in my part of the world when seasons change my access to fresh, local produce changes too. So eyeballing your plate can be different from season to season depending on where you live if part of your eating preferences include fresh, local produce.

    Lastly, you also mentioned that you "aim" to walk every single day but do you actually do it?

    And how long have you noticed your weight increasing?

    It may just be a matter of a few small tweaks before you're back on track to where you want to be

    Thanks for your response. Will try and see what can be tweaked.

    Yes, walking every day is fairly consistent. May miss one day in a week sometimes.

    Seasonality not a big issue for me. Its Summer all year round in these parts, but there would be slight fluctuations in availability of some items.
  • elisaddonald
    elisaddonald Posts: 1 Member
    Do different exercises otherwise your body will get adapted and will become more efficient. Mix everything, this rule is also applicable to dieting
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,213 Member
    elisaddonald wrote: »
    Do different exercises otherwise your body will get adapted and will become more efficient. Mix everything, this rule is also applicable to dieting

    If you do the same exercises, your body will become more conditioned (fit) with respect to those movements, so more efficient in that sense. Sure, if a person wants to become even fitter, they need to increase the challenge (not necessarily switch to a whole new exercise mode: They could just go longer, more often, more intensely at the same exercise).

    Also, the same exercise, done at the same intensity, by a person of the same size, burns about the same number of calories, even as fitness increases. As they get fitter, it will feel easier, it's likely that their heart will beat a bit slower (delivering the same blood/oxygen volume to the muscles, by adapting to deliver more blood/oxygen per beat), and it's therefore possible that a heart rate monitor will give a lower calorie estimate (because they're limited in that way, so potentially inaccurate).

    The idea that one has to switch exercise modes (to different types of exercise) to keep getting benefits is pushed by a lot of profit-making entities (example: Beachbody) because they want to sell us new and different programs, equipment, etc.

    I've been doing the same exercise as my main fitness activity for around 18 years now. As it gets easier, I go harder. It keeps delivering benefits. Elite athletes in most traditional sports focus mainly on their sport (possibly with some standard adjuncts such as weight training for conditioning or cross-training). They don't need to switch to whole new sports to progress their performance. The ones in cardiovascular sports eat gargantuan amounts of calories, without gaining weight.

    (FWIW, I also pretty much ate the same nutritious foods when I was obese, then to lose weight, and now to maintain a healthy weight for 5+ years since: Just the portions and proportions changed. There's no need to mix things up on the diet side, either, other than to make sure one gets well-rounded nutrition.)
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    Wow!! Thanks for all the advice, though some conflict with each other. I won't give up. Perhaps just need to be more conscious of the small details.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    elisaddonald wrote: »
    Do different exercises otherwise your body will get adapted and will become more efficient. Mix everything, this rule is also applicable to dieting

    Today I start some abdominal exercises I found on YouTube. Walking will continue as well.

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