Can you lose weight through exercise?

3 Mar
2009

 

I started my current exercise program on November 1 – The Thanksgiving resolution – year 3.

I had a significant goal which I have just achieved.  I turn 60 on March 15 and I wanted to fit into the pants I was wearing when I turned 50.  10 pounds down and goal 1 achieved (I still have more ambitious goals.)  My BMI is "slightly overweight" – acceptable but I personally want to drop 1 or 2 BMI points more.

This time I have not done any major dieting.  I am trying to eat sensibly, and have decreased portion size.  But primarily I am trying to exercise my way to weight loss.  Despite being a life long exerciser (used to play basketball at least 3 times each week), when I started in November I had to work my way up to vigorous exercise.  Being the obsessed stubborn type, I have slowly increased both my resistance level and my exercise duration.  I was starting to figure this out – and this article supports my current regimen – Weight Loss May Take 250 Minutes of Exercise.

For February (my 4th month on this program) I had 1000 minutes of aerobic exercise.   I favor the elliptical machine (much easier on these old knees) but do some arc trainer for variety.  For the first two months I was a "gentleman exerciser" – getting a good workout, but not really breaking a significant sweat.  Now I am dripping when I finish.

My recommendation if you want to lose weight this way.  Be prepared for a long slow road.  Work out regularly (shoot for at least 5 days each week) and keep records.  Your goal is to increase duration and intensity steadily until you get to at least 250 strong minutes each week.

I believe this strategy makes much sense, but then I am obsessed.

Related posts:

  1. Exercise!
  2. Expresso fitness – my exercise obsession
  3. Thanksgiving resolution – year 4
  4. The Thanksgiving Exercise resolution challenge
  5. Prevention does save money

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12 Responses to Can you lose weight through exercise?

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Weight Loss » Blog Archive » Can you lose weight through exercise?

March 3rd, 2009 at 8:20 am

[...] Original post by DB’s Medical Rants [...]

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Can you lose weight through exercise? | thehealthvideos.com

March 3rd, 2009 at 9:28 am

[...] Go­ here t­o­ see t­he o­ri­gi­n­al: Ca­n y­o­u lo­se w­ei­ght­ t­hr­o­ugh exer­ci… [...]

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Chiropractor Back Blog » DB’s Medical Rants » Can you lose weight through exercise?

March 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 am

[...] bearing posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetBut primarily I am trying to exercise my way to weight loss. Despite being a life long exerciser (used to play basketball at least 3 times each week), when I started in November I had to work my way up to vigorous exercise. … [...]

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The Happy Hospitalist

March 3rd, 2009 at 2:35 pm

Et Tu, Brute?

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TBTAM

March 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm

You are an inspiration. To make broad generalizations, I think when we women want to lose weight we diet, when men want to lose with they lift and run. Clearly you are a guy.

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Posts about Weight Loss as of March 3, 2009 | Weight Loss Diets

March 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm

[...] one of the easiest ways to get rid of your bad eating habits and get rid of any excess weight Can you lose weight through exercise? – medrants.com 03/03/2009 I started my current exercise program on November 1 – The Thanksgiving [...]

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rjh

March 3rd, 2009 at 10:36 pm

I got this good advice for exercise:
1) Schedule to do at least 45min every day
2) Don’t worry if events beyond your control prevent you from exercising. Just be sure that the events really are beyond your control. Adjust your schedule to compensate for predictable conflicts.

The net result for me and most people with busy lives is the 5 days per week that you recommend. It helps prevent the psychological creeping loss from conflicts and other problems.

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CR

March 4th, 2009 at 12:23 pm

I think I lost more weight in the fall by doing 30 pushups followed by 100 jumping jacks every day (along with smaller food portions per meal). Now I’m doing the stationary bike for 20 minutes every day, and the weight is not so fast to come off. I also eat 10g or less of fat per meal. That seems to help a lot.

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GingerB

March 5th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Congradulations on your success!

I think a long-term strategy of adding a consistent amount of exercise/activity to your life and controlling portion size is a solid plan.

I would urge you to branch out on cross-training. You need a broad range of cardio activities including some that are even lower impact like swimming so you aren’t derailed if you develop an injury. I also agree that some weight training is important.

However, I think watching the ‘fork curls’ is also very important. Bad weather, injury, a change in schedule – all these things can gum up an exercise program. You want to have moderate eating habits so a drop-off in activity doesn’t put pounds back on.

One thing I’ve noticed about most medical establishments is that they have stairs and elevators. Try to take the stairs. Working activity into your regular day also protects against scheduling problems.

Keep up the good work! Slow weight loss is always best.

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Chicago Chiropractor Blog » DB’s Medical Rants » Can you lose weight through bexercise/b?

March 7th, 2009 at 5:34 am

[...] unknown posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetBut primarily I am trying to bexercise/b my way to weight loss. Despite being a life long exerciser (used to play basketball at least 3 times each week), when I started in November I had to work my way up to vigorous bexercise/b. b…/b [...]

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Dan

March 12th, 2009 at 10:34 am

The Potential Results Of Obesity

Obesity has been defined as when excess body fat accumulates in one to where their physical overgrowth makes the person unhealthy to varying degrees. Obesity is different than being overweight, as others determine obesity to be of a more serious concern. While obesity is not a disease, it is a serious health risk for one who has this risk.
As measured by one’s body mass index (BMI), one’s BMI of 25 to 30 kg/m is considered overweight. If their BMI is 30 to 35 kg/m, they are class I obese, 35 to 40 BMI would be class II obese, and any BMI above 40 is class III obesity.
Presently, with obesity affecting children progressively more, the issue of obesity has become a serious public health concern. In the United States, greater than one third of all citizens are obese, and this number continues to progress.
Approximately half of all children under the age of 12 are either obese are overweight. About twenty percent of children ages 2 to 5 years old are either obese are overweight. The consequences of these stats on our children are very concerning, considering the health issues they may or likely experience as they get older.
Worldwide, nearly one and a half billion people are either obese or overweight. In the United States, about one third of adults are either obese or overweight.
Women of low socioeconomic status are likely to be twice as obese compared with those who are not at this status. It is now predicted that, for the first time in about 150 years, our life expectancy is suppose to decline because primarily of this obesity problem.
Morbid obesity is defined as one who has a body mass index of 30 kg/m or greater, and this surgery, along with the three other types of surgery for morbid obesity, should be considered a last resort after all other methods to reduce the patient’s weight have chronically failed.
Morbid obesity greatly affects the health of the patient in a very negative way. It has about 10 co-morbidities that can develop if the situation is not corrected. Some if not most of these co-morbidities are life-threatening.
One solution beneficial in many cases of morbid obesity if one’s obesity is not eventually controlled or corrected is what is known as gastric bypass surgery. This is a type of bariatric surgery that essentially reduces the volume of the human stomach in order to correct and treat morbid obesity by surgical re-construction of the stomach and small intestine.
Patients for such surgeries are those with a BMI of greater than 40, or a BMI greater than 35 if the patient has co-morbidities aside from obesity. This surgery should be considered for the severely obese when other treatment options have failed. The standard of care illustrating as to whether this surgery is reasonable and necessary should be clarified.
There are three surgical variations of gastric bypass surgery, and one is chosen by the surgeon based on their experience and success from the variation they will utilize. Generally, these surgeries are procedures related to gastric restrictive operations or mal-absorptive operations.
Over 200,000 gastric bypass surgeries are performed each year, and this surgery being performed continues to progress as a suitable option for the morbidly obese. There is evidence that this surgery is particularly beneficial for those obese patients that have non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus as well.
It is believed that the results of this surgery to correct morbid obesity greatly limits or prevents such co-morbidities associated with those who are obese. Yet about two percent of those who undergo this surgery die as a result from about a half a dozen complications that could occur. However, the surgery reduces the overall mortality of the patient by 40 percent or so, yet this percentage is debatable due to conflicting clinical studies at times.
Age of the patient should be taken into consideration, as to whether or not the risks of this surgery outweigh any potential benefits for the patient who may have existing co-morbidities that have already caused physiological damage to the patient. Also what should be determined by the surgeon is the amount of safety, effectiveness, and rationale for a particular patient regarding those patients who are elderly, for example.
Many feel bariatric surgery such as this should be considered as a last resort when exercise and diet have failed for a great length of time.
If a person or a doctor is considering this type of surgery, there is a website dedicated to bariatric surgery, which is: http://www.asmbs.org,

Dan Abshear

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Fat Chick

April 14th, 2009 at 6:07 pm

What I really found interesting about this is the fact of obsession
I find that I begin to obsess as well. But what I have learned through my 20 diets is to not obsess It leads to expectations that may not be meant. I find if I set easier goals that are reasonably achievable I am more likely to them. So try not to obsess.

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