Be Real with Me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

Enough to lose weight? No. That comes from diet.

I don't understand all the people who keep commenting that diet is the sole source of weight loss. I need to lose weight but eat a healthy diet - and I'm not losing weight. I lost weight when I combined that healthier eating with physical activity.
Depending on the individual and their specific circumstances, sure - some people can lose some weight just by changing their diet. And I don't doubt that anyone currently overweight and not eating a healthy diet will lose at least some weight by changing their diet alone. But 25#? 50#? More?

And why discourage people from exercising? Regardless of weight, physical activity is really important to good health!

Weight loss and gain is all about calories in vs calories out. If you eat 3000 calories of spinach and burn 2000 calories, you will gain weight. If you eat 2000 calories of donuts and burn 3000 calories, you will lose weight. Ideally what you want to do it eat healthy with lots of protein, lift weights/strength train, and be in a caloric deficit so that you not only lose weight but you lose FAT while building muscle. This is actually a bit easier to do if you are new to weight lifting.

So we have no idea if you can lose 8 pounds but if you strength train 3 days a week for an hour each workout and use a good routine and lift to almost failure each set, you will get stronger and add muscle. The weight loss part depends on calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

Enough to lose weight? No. That comes from diet.

I don't understand all the people who keep commenting that diet is the sole source of weight loss. I need to lose weight but eat a healthy diet - and I'm not losing weight. I lost weight when I combined that healthier eating with physical activity.
Depending on the individual and their specific circumstances, sure - some people can lose some weight just by changing their diet. And I don't doubt that anyone currently overweight and not eating a healthy diet will lose at least some weight by changing their diet alone. But 25#? 50#? More?

And why discourage people from exercising? Regardless of weight, physical activity is really important to good health!

I think the issue is that it’s very much easier than people think to eat back the calories you burn from exercise. I remember reading about a professional marathoner’s hundred mile per week training. I was eating a 700 calorie muffin while reading the article, and I realized that she could eat back all her running calories with two muffins a day.

[Anonymous]

Any exercise is better than no exercise. I once challenged myself to 90 days straight on my exercise bike. Most days I got in my planned 20 mins, but some days it was just 10 due to other stuff. Better than 0.

Adjust your diet. I'm down from 179 to 173 since the start of this year, by cutting down on red meat (doctor's orders.. cholesterol) and eating mostly fish and chicken; and giving up all sweets for Lent. After Easter, I'll probably go back to some sweets, but maybe just once a week.

[Anonymous]

You should already be exercising today, instead of just thinking about it. Even if that means a long walk, just get out and do it.

[Anonymous]

“One hour of strength training”

What will occur in that hour? What is the program? How many sets of how many reps? Not all training is the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

That's enough for strength training, but you'll have to address the weight loss with a diet change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

That's enough for strength training, but you'll have to address the weight loss with a diet change.

That depends on her current diet.

OP, that strength training should build muscle, which may increase your weight. How do you plan to measure your "build muscle" goal v. losing weight goal?
Best way to determine if your plan is sufficient is to do it and find out for yourself.

What is your typical diet? If you are already a very healthy eater, then see what the increased exercise and activity will do for you. If there's room, make a dietary tweak along with the exercise plan. Increase water intake and decrease other drinks. Decrease dinner portions. Reduce white breads/pastas/rice. If you only have 8 pounds to lose, I'm assuming you already eat pretty well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

20-30 minutes of strength training three times a week will be fine in addition to the walking that you have scheduled

[Anonymous]

Download MyFitnessPal (it's free) and enter your current weight and goal weight (and timeframe for losing weight). Even though my exercise schedule is similar to yours (walking daily, heavy lifting 2x week), I found that I had to reduce my calories to about 1400 per day to lose weight. I thought I was eating pretty healthy, but only when you start tracking calories (the app makes it simple), do you see how an extra tablespoon of olive oil, a few bites of a bagel add up pretty quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m 50 and I’m just getting back into exercise now that I have some time. Will one hour of strength training 3 days per week and one hour of walking 4 days per week be enough? My goal is to lose 8 pounds and build muscle. Do I need to up the walking to 7 days per week?

20-30 minutes of strength training three times a week will be fine in addition to the walking that you have scheduled

I agree with this. 3 hours of strength a week is a ton, especially for a middle aged beginner. I would start with 20-30 min 2-3x/week and gradually increase it if desired. Since the goal is weight loss, beyond 1-1.5 hours of strength, I’d allocate the extra time to cardio. OP might want to do some cycling to mix it up if the walls get boring. FWIW, I built a ton of muscle in my early 40s as a beginner and never lifted more than 1.5 hours a week. The key is to lift weights that are actually challenging. When I lifted light weights, I didn’t gain much muscle.