How much exercise a week to lose weight

[CatMumSlave]

Thanks

I lost a shit ton of weight doing 2-3 hour long gym sessions a week. I did couch to 5k on the treadmill, then after my treadmill session I did 15-20 minutes of arm and tummy toning excercises.
^
This is the point that I was-making though!

You were doing a shit ton of exercise to lose that weight. Of course you can lose weight through exercise but you have to do a lot of it.^

I know this is not the same for everyone but for me and one of my dd's (who also has ASD) walking and being physically active has the effect of diminishing hunger. I have no idea why this is, as you would think it would be the other way around!

Exercise can be a good distraction from boredom hunger and can stabilise hormonal levels such as insulin peaks.
Intense exercise can also supress appetite as the body's systems go into recovery- but I'm taking multi-hour runs there which are a bit niche.

I'd always advocate including exercise as part of a lifestyle improvement/ weightloss. It reduces muscle loss alongside fat loss, and good muscle density is essential for long term good health.

However there is naturally a cap on how much exercise you can fit into life in time and recovery, and it's easier to eat calories than burn additional energy. Adjusting diet to meet your body's needs and including a managable amount of exercise works better.

When I did marathon training, on balance I burned pretty much the same energy as I do for half marathons because of the extra recovery and taper times balancing the weekly long run. There was a 6 week window of reduced running with the marathon in the middle. If I'd stuck with 5/10k or HM, it would have been a similar outcome on long term calorie expenditure because the shorter distances require less recovery!

Me too. I walk fast and up hill (and down) for at least an hour a day every day. However, I don’t get the same benefit of an elevated heart rate now, no matter how fast I walk I don’t get puffed any more, so my Fitbit doesn’t show cardio and it certainly used to.

I started exercising in the beginning of June. I need to get fit for a hiking holiday. I eat only lunch and dinner no snacks but I am not counting on calories. I lost 3.2kg in June. I either use exercise bike or run 5k every second day. I can't do more often because need to recover.

Eat shed loads of veg. Do cardio and look to burn minimum 1000-1500 calories doing it. interval training on treadmill or rowing machine. That will shed weight. Assuming you have changed diet.

If you want muscle you will need to consume protein and do weights. Fat is easier to turn into muscle. If you are lean / toned, it harder to gain muscle mass.

good luck

Only make changes you are prepared to continue doing for the rest of your life. Otherwise the weight will just come back on

I have never lost weight thanks to exercise, unless we consider the food I don’t get to eat when busy exercising or, the comfort eating I don’t do when regular exercise is helping me keep calm.

At some point I started cycling to work, 40 minutes cardio a day due to hills. When I calculated the calories lost by exercise, they equated to a custard cream. It us much easier to stop eating custard creams.

OP I agree with the majority here, whilst exercise is great and will help you to lose weight initially , especially as you have gone from doing nothing to doing regular exercise, you will eventually plateau. For longevity , you should continue with the exercise, but also change your diet.

Jacket potatoes are fine, you could consider having a protein based filler such as cottage cheese or tuna, that would be better than cheese. Pasta, just be careful with the portion size, I adore pasta but I can eat loads and rack the calories up, so I only have it as a treat.

You could download an app like myfitnesspal and track your calories, it will help with portion size .

not true. All Depends on how the extra weight has been put on in the first place. My extra weight was put on over a long period. now having lost the weight over 2 years ago i am only very slowly putting a little on.

It allot harder for people that have always been over weight.

Yes you can shed excess body fat by changing your diet.
But no change of diet will address the damage caused by a sedentary lifestyle.

Are you saying that adipose tissue can turn into muscle tissue?

Have I got that right?

Is it like Jesus turning water into wine vibes 😂🤭

I feel the only way that exercise makes me lose weight is that if I’m in the gym I’m not in the fridge. It also feels quite disheartening when you look at the calories burned on a gym machine and realise you’ve been running for eternity to burn off a single biscuit.
I can tell you that for two years , every single day I did an hour of intense cardio at high resistance , half an hour of rowing, an hour of weights, 10.000 steps, half an hour of spin , and although I was v toned the only place I lost weight was my big toes 😄.
low carb for two weeks had better results.

I don’t lose weight from exercise, and had a BMI over 30 for years whilst training for about 6 hours a week (gym - circuits, pump, weight lifting, kettlebells ). I only lost weight when I changed my diet. I am now a healthy weight but to achieve this, I eat 2 healthy meals a day - no bread, white pasta, biscuits etc. No booze. I eat protein, fruit and veg, brown rice, quinoa, pulses etc. Very boring! But I feel healthier and better in myself so I suck it up!

Surely, people reading this are able to understand the context within which that sentence has been made. I am struggling with weight but would not be offended by such an innocent remark. Life throws so many situations one can be offended by. Surely, this can't be one of them.

@Cabbageandcoconut " if I'm in the gym I'm not in the fridge" 🤣 Love this. But do agree with your whole post.

I eat 2 healthy meals a day - no bread, white pasta, biscuits etc. No booze. I eat protein, fruit and veg, brown rice, quinoa, pulses etc. Very boring! But I feel healthier and better in myself so I suck it up!

I eat the same but I'm not bored at all!

But I use lots of herbs, lemon, ginger, spices. Lots of stir-frys and Lebanese recipes.

I lost 20 kg after biking 10 miles every work day. Same happened some years before.
I am not made for cardio. I develop muscles very fast in gym and I am quite fast in sprinting. But verily bad in cardio. I ran often but my best in 5k was 35 mins. I just didn't have the endurance. But surprisingly the cardio helps me loose weight. I find HIIT easy on my exercise bike because I am just using muscles the duration.

Oh yes sorry I eat lots of salad just not much fish or chicken.

@PaminaMozart

Had counselling CBT Silver Cloud etc.

I know this is my concern. Thanks.

nope sorry badly worded

You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, change yr diet and keep active.

I'm still not clear what you are struggling with. You have told us that you exercise an hour a day, you eat salad but little protein, and you've had CBT.

Exercise:

• what exercise do you do
• what type of exercise do you do
• what do you struggle with
• how fit are you

Diet:

• what do you eat in a typical day
• what foods do you like besides salad
• do you avoid UPF, sugar, refined carbs
• what's your TDEE and do you stay below it
• have you tried intermittent fasting

Counselling:

• try some of talking therapy

At the end of the day, as has been said, you need to find a way of eating and exercising that you are happy to stick with long term.

• I strongly recommend a Mediterranean type date, 2 good meals a day, no snacking other than fruit, vegetables, nuts (in moderation).
• Plus exercising 30 minutes a day most days - both cardio and weights/resistance based.