HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH???

[Pebbbles]

Okay, i am so tired of different information!!
Someone please clear this up for me. I joined Curves one month ago. The Curves people said that 30 minutes, 3xper week is enough to assist with weight loss. Note: When I do my 30 minutes, I do it rigorously.

I consulted a registered dietician who showed me a study that stated unless you do 45 minutes of aerobic exercise 4-5 times per week, the exercise will not assist in weight loss.

Also note: Before Curves, I was not exercising at all!!!


Comments anyone?????????????????

[2big4mysize]

this is a trick question.

First 30 min 3 times a week is the recommended cardiac health rate.

Any increase in the amount of time or intensity of your exercise will assit you in your weight loss for a while. It will speed up your metabolic rate and help you burn more calories. :yes

However as you lose weight your body needs less calories to do the exact same moving around staying alive. :yikes it is about 9 cals a pound for women. so you are in your normall stayng alive mode burning less cals still eating the same as you were say 10 pounds ago.

Adding new muscle will give you about 25 more calories burned a day per pound of added muscle tissue so it now becomes a balancing act

food in as X amount of energy.
Body needs Y amount for staying alive.
Burns Z amount exercising.
lost W amount do to being smaller.
Gained M amount for building more muscle tissues.

So you have total in from all food X which for weight loss has to be less then Y+Z-W+M. at some point you are going to end up in a balanced equation and weight loss stops. If you are at goal great

However most times thiis happens before you get to goal. SO what do you do? you can increase your exercise and you will burn more energy build more muscles to need more fuel, and also need less fuel cause you got smaller again. SO how much more exercise do you need?? Exercise physiologist determined that 45 min would suffice for what they consider to be a healthy rate of loss. That is 45 min of one type of exercise of your choice.


The curves folks claim that because you use more of your body muscles in their workout you are actually doing 2 workounts in the same amount of time and therefore need will burn more cals and lose weight. it is sort of like if you sprint 100 yrs dribbling a basketball you burn more cals then if you just run. And that will work until you become fit enough to exceed their machine resistance cappacities and are only getting one workout or your eneregy in exceeds your energy out. Don't forget they have established the value for energy in with thier low carb diet plan too and your Atkins energy in plan may be more or less then theirs.

Even doing 45 min as you get fitter you will either have to increase your exercise intensity or lengthen the amount of time spent doing it because you will see your heart rate will not reach your target rate because you've gotten better :yes and are burning less fuel doing that event.
It is a matter of trail and error as you find what amount of trade off you are willing to live with. for example eat 3000 cals and do and hour a day eat 2000 cals and do 45 min a day. Your body and your eating habits will determine how much exercise time you need.

[Pebbbles]

Thx 2big...My Calories are 1600 per day, no less or I go into starvation mode. So, I guess I will try my best to do a 45 minute workout at Curves, which is tough sometimes. If you've been to Curves and have done it rigorously, it's hard!!


Thx again!

[2big4mysize]

you could just push harder and move fast during your normal curves workout and add some free walking exercise on your off days. Park further away take the long way put up the laundry one piece at a time, unload the dishwasher one dish at a time, etc., anything that moves your body more then it was last week will help you lose weight eating the same enegy totals. Just keep increasing the moving or the intensity of the moving and you will keep getting healthier and smaller as you work toward your goal weight.

[snorkelman]

The responses generated above are confusing! Basically cardio for fat loss should be a min of 30 minutes and a max of 60 minutes. 30-45 minutes of cardio is best.

cardio at 3 times/week is only good for fat loss at the beginning when your body has not been doing any cardio. After a few weeks, you need to crank it up to 4-6 days per week if you really want to burn fat.

Once you get to the point where you are happy, you can cut your cardio back to 3 times per week for maintenance.

Basically EVERYONE should be doing cardio 3 times per week. Do it more frequently if your goal is fat loss.

Don't forget about weight training too, because after weight training, your body continues to burn calories for hours afterwards (unlike Cardio, which burns most of your calories DURING the workout (the exception is HIIT cardio)).

[2big4mysize]

Snorkelman you many not be familar with the curves program she was speaking of and while I don'r endorse it it is a ressitance and cardio rolled into 1, 3 sets on their circuit training program for 30 min total.



the burning for hours afterwards has been pretty much dispelled as a given for every body and will depend on the individal person andtheir conditioning some folk only get a few min, others get 15-20 min

[ttdriver]

I do agree that the amount you burn after a workout varies from person to person (unique metabolisms, etc).

But I definitely think 30 minutes of cardio a day is the MINIMUM if you want maximum fat burning .. more is better if you can do it! If your cardio is running (like mine is), then keep in mind that as your miles increase, you need to integrate rest days into your routine ... gotta give those muscle tears time to heal. You'll discover that after a rest day, you'll feel even stronger during your next rigorous workout!

Frankly though, I feel like a slacker on my rest days!! :anger

Hopeless running addict here!

Betty

[2big4mysize]

Frankly though, I feel like a slacker on my rest days!!

I so understand that it is hard to believe we can get addicted to exercising when we begin dragging ourself to start working out in the beginning of our Atkins.