Exercise: frequency, intensity, choice and how it relates to weight loss
 

I have to admit, I'm a little perturbed at some comments I've read on here in the past few weeks.

Over and over again, people are being told "you don't exercise enough, you need to do it more days (often amounting to 6 days or even daily), x minutes is not enough at your size, exercise only tones you and does not help you lose weight, etc" - no, not one particular comment, but several different.

I suppose these comments come from the perspective ("this worked for me, so it must work for you").

Ladies, ALL exercise counts, and all exercise/activity/movement helps create a calorie deficit. Calorie deficits contribute to weight loss - whether it's a minor or major contribution.

I feel that women have been shooting down other women as not doing it "good enough" for weight loss or other goals. Here's the truth - whether you are walking 45 minutes to work or in a power lifting competition, you are helping to create a calorie deficit (whether or not you eat back those calories is your choice to make, but the deficit has been created).

WHY are people being so discouraging? We should encourage exercise and congratulate those for their efforts. I don't think many of us came to 3FC because we were just too fit. We came here because we probably ate too much and did too little. So some work out 7 days, some 3 days, some 1 day. Bottom line, they should all be praised for it.

Me, I exercise 3x per week for 1 hour. If you think that it's not significant, then please squat 130lbs, bench 90lbs, and deadlift 200lbs over the course of an hour and tell me again how you feel. That's right - frequency, intensity, and choice of exercise is very very subjective. So don't write people off for their efforts if you do not truly understand what they are doing!

Congrats to all those who exercised today, or plan to this week or month. In whatever you choose to do! :carrot:

:cp:

Thank you for speaking up! I hope I have not made anyone fell bad and if I have I am so sorry.!!!

Yay! Great post. Some people think it's their way or it's no way, and that's just not true. Exercise does create a calorie deficit (whether it's 20 calories or 200 calories), and everyone is different as far as what they do for exercise and how it affects them.

I love people who say that you have to work out for at least an hour and at least 5-6 times a week in order to lose weight and for it to "count"...really?! Not according to my over 100 pounds lost. I worked out between 3-5 times a week (depending on the week) and for no more than 45 minutes at a time.

Totally agreed! :)

Personally, I'm in the camp that exercise is good for many things, but it's not THE thing that will make you lose weight.... it's what you're eating.

As someone here on 3FC says, "you can't out-exercise poor eating habits."

Thank you! And congrats to you to!

On a slightly related note, I think the one-upmanship or the pressure to work out all the time has manifested itself (at times) in unhealthy ways. I have seen several times people post that they spend "hours" at the gym every day, or most days, or that they feel they are "literally addicted to exercise."

These comments are usually applauded with a "great discipline!" or "good for you!"

I'm really concerned when I see someone is spending hours at the gym most days of the week. I am not here to diagnose disordered behavior, but to me spending multiple hours at the gym every day, going to the gym twice a day most days, etc is not disciplined, it's a potential warning sign, just like not eating enough, or binge behavior.

Again, I am NOT qualified and do NOT know enough about other posters' personal situations to say one way or another. But since this topic was raised,as someone who had close relatives and friends struggle with body image and weight struggles of various sorts growing up, I felt compelled to say something.

YES.

I completely agree that any activity is good for us :yes:

I began back in April walking for five minutes a day on a treadmill. Five. Minutes. Dead serious. And, yet, succeeding at walking for five minutes a day gave me the boost to add up to more. I'm almost at my 30-35 minutes a day goal for walking. By the new year I hope to build up to that.

Even if my goal were still only five minutes a day... five minutes is a lot more than the zero I used to get.

However, it all depends on our individual goals. As said, perspective matters. Where as someone wanting to run a marathon might need to do more than I'm doing, someone who just wants to add in activity to their day and burn a few calories... everything counts!

Great post and I've been having some of those same thoughts myself. For the past few weeks I've been sick and have been able to exercise very, very little (and I have similar workout regime to you, lifting 3x a week for about an hour). I was so scared that I was going to regain some weight but in the end I lost over 5lbs! :carrot:

I definitely plan on getting back to exercise once I'm able to because I think it's extremely important for my health and the body shape that I want BUT I can still lose weight without it (not something I always really accepted/understood earlier in life).

I actually saw a nutritionist yesterday. She gave me some great diet advice and helped me tweak some of my problem areas but then she told me that I HAD to workout 3x per week, 40 min each time and that it should be cardio. :dz: I just sort of smiled and nodded and ignored it. I don't mind adding in more cardio to my current routine but why would I give up weight lifting when it's worked so well for me?

Sorry but you are wrong. Exercise is not just to make a calorie deficient. It also helps to build muscle which takes fewer calories to maintain and keeps you strong, expecially as you get older. And the scientific rule is at least one hour for weight loss and 30 minutes for health. Yes, all movement is good, but if it doesn't raise your heart rate for a sustained time, it's not giving you healthy benefits.

What scientific rule? What is your source? WHY do you continue to dog down on posters here, over and over again, that their efforts are not good enough for weight loss? This is especially disturbing to the vulnerable and desperate new 3FC'ers who are SO PROUD of their lifestyle change and efforts in the gym. Who are you to say that it is a "scientific rule" that unless they work out for at least 1 hour and 6 days a week (as per your other posts) that they aren't doing good enough?

Please, enlighten the rest of us with this scientific source that states that calorie deficits created by exercise cannot result in weight loss unless you have exercised for at least an hour.

I guess Rippetoe, Lyle MacDonald, Alan Aragon, Cassandra Forsythe, Leigh Peele, Layne Norton,are all full of it. You don't to remind me that exercise builds muscle - I've been powerlifting for years.

yes.

and yes.

Activity is good for lots of reasons, and for most people, as you get smaller, it becomes more fun so even if you start small, you are giving yourself the foundation to keep adding additional activities to your life. But movement alone will not get the weight off.

Absolutely agreed that movement alone will not get the weight off, but any calorie deficit contributes to weight loss. It kills me that people are being told that their 40 minute hikes, 60 minute cardio sessions 3x a week, or 4x per week weights sessions contribute nothing to weight loss - this is absolutely untrue. They are creating calorie deficits to assist with weight loss. Whether it is a small deficit (ie. 100-200 calories) or bigger deficit (400-500), it is still a deficit.

And most of all, an effort that should be praised and encouraged, not shot down.