Should I Continue To Exercise?

JOSweetHeart

Gold Member
Jun 27, 2012
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I was going to put this question out there in the Health and Lifestyle area of this forum, but then I wasn't sure. On June 1st, it will be two years since I started dieting. I was 240 when I first started then. On March 28th of last year, just ten months into the diet, I dropped to my lowest weight which was 150, a 90 pound loss in another words. I will admit that I have gained back half of my lost weight since then due to my going back some to what I stayed away from for so long. I have also taken a break here and there from being on the treadmill. 30 minutes a day for five days a week is how often I'm on it, but because of how consistent I have been with that part of the diet, I want to know if that part will eventually catch up with me to where it may not help anymore, but instead only make it harder for me to drop the weight that I have gained back. I know that healthy food is what needs to be eaten again, but after two years of exercise, should I continue to do that still? Any advice will be so very much appreciated.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
 
^^^ After a three week break which was partly due to getting sick at one point, I have started again, but what I am afraid of is that it will be nothing but a waste of time due to how much I have done already. Because I've done so much over the last two years, even after a few weeks away, it may not take long for my body to once again become adjusted to the exercising routine to where it no longer makes any kind of positive difference.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
 
I was going to put this question out there in the Health and Lifestyle area of this forum, but then I wasn't sure. On June 1st, it will be two years since I started dieting. I was 240 when I first started then. On March 28th of last year, just ten months into the diet, I dropped to my lowest weight which was 150, a 90 pound loss in another words. I will admit that I have gained back half of my lost weight since then due to my going back some to what I stayed away from for so long. I have also taken a break here and there from being on the treadmill. 30 minutes a day for five days a week is how often I'm on it, but because of how consistent I have been with that part of the diet, I want to know if that part will eventually catch up with me to where it may not help anymore, but instead only make it harder for me to drop the weight that I have gained back. I know that healthy food is what needs to be eaten again, but after two years of exercise, should I continue to do that still? Any advice will be so very much appreciated.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
Sounds like you need a eating lifestyle change. I only eat when i need energy for my body, not eat for pleasure. If you want to learn about a great way to stay away from yo yo dieting, here is the link. The eating part is boring, but the vigor of having a healthy body is well worth it.

 
^^^ Thank you. :) :) :)

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. Anything else that can be shared will be appreciated too. I may need all of the help that I can get.
 
While exercise is beneficial (1/2 hour per day is not a lot), its connection with weight loss is not all that significant. Unless you are doing the "keto thing," it's all about calories consumed and burned.

Keep doing the treadmill. It couldn't hurt and it might help.
 
^^^ Thank you. I do however have to disagree about half an hour a day not being a lot. 30 minutes a day for five days a week is how I was able to drop the 90 pounds that I was able to lose in just ten months of dieting.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
 
As someone who watched his Father die an early death from not taking care of himself, I implore you to keep excercising even if it's just 10 or 15 minutes a day. There are multiple benefits including keeping your muscles and joints loose. Also take a close look at how many calories you consume and then compare that to what it takes to "break even" with body weight. For my height and weight that is 2850 calories per day. Yours will be less than that. Good luck take care of yourself!
 
^^^ After a three week break which was partly due to getting sick at one point, I have started again, but what I am afraid of is that it will be nothing but a waste of time due to how much I have done already. Because I've done so much over the last two years, even after a few weeks away, it may not take long for my body to once again become adjusted to the exercising routine to where it no longer makes any kind of positive difference.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

I think maybe you're viewing exercise in the wrong light? The differences exercise makes are not solely in weight loss but in a wide variety of things from cardiovascular functioning to mood. Even a small amount daily is good for you.

I think that maybe, as you become more fit, you just re-assess your exercise goals and maybe increase it a little until you reach a point where you feel good and are satisfied with it.
 
I agree that exercise isn't the biggest determinant of weight loss. A typical man needs about 2500 calories a day. Walking an hour a day burns 300 calories. Cycling for an hour burns 700 calories. A bagel is 250 calories and a Big Mac is 550. So when you start adding that up, exercise helps but doesn't drive weight loss.

The big benefits to exercise is everything else it offers. It helps cover up many health sins.

I don't mind exercise unto itself, but it can get boring. So I pop in my ear buds and listen to podcasts. That makes it much easier. In fact, it makes you look forward to exercise because you get to listen to awesome podcasts!
 
As someone who watched his Father die an early death from not taking care of himself, I implore you to keep excercising even if it's just 10 or 15 minutes a day. There are multiple benefits including keeping your muscles and joints loose. Also take a close look at how many calories you consume and then compare that to what it takes to "break even" with body weight. For my height and weight that is 2850 calories per day. Yours will be less than that. Good luck take care of yourself!
Thank you. Today I did 30 minutes, but if doing a little less is what will keep the exercise from becoming too predictable, I guess doing less is the way to go. After all doing more a day compared to what I have been doing will only make me burn out again even sooner?

God bless you always!!!

Holly
 
The health benefits of exercise is more important than the weight loss.... Good for your heart health, good for bone health, good for sleeping better, good to prevent diabetes, and helps release things that make the vitamins that you need, go to the right places....be absorbed...also releases endorphins...happy cells! :)

I'd keep up the exercise Sweetheart, regardless of weight loss or gain...
 
Thank you. Today I did 30 minutes, but if doing a little less is what will keep the exercise from becoming too predictable, I guess doing less is the way to go. After all doing more a day compared to what I have been doing will only make me burn out again even sooner?

God bless you always!!!

Holly
Excellent! So this is really important. There are many videos with simple and short exercises you can do instead of doing the same treadmill every day. That keeps it interesting for you and also brings in different muscle groups that you may not be exercising with doing treadmill only. My wife and I do a 10 minutes beginner yoga program and an Ab exercise video that is a bit more advanced. But the point is we also bike and do short run/walks. So variety is good for you mentally and physically.
 
^^^ I already listen to music while I work out.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
About 10 years ago I weighed 385lbs at 6'1". Hypertension, back, neck and joint pain was common as was depression. I'd lost and regained 100lbs on more than 2 occasions. About the age of 50 I developed some serious shortness of breath and finally had to go to the ER. I had tiny blood clots scattered through BOTH lungs. I'm not talking about the kind of breathlessness that comes with climbing stairs. This was HORRIBLE and it was like drowning. I actually began having anxiety attacks because I couldn't get a deep breath.
The doctor put me on blood thinners and suggested I get active if I wanted to live. I started walking because I couldn't manage any other exercise. My first walk took about 15 minutes and covered about 150 yards.
5 years later I was walking 6-8 miles DAILY and weighed 235lbs.
Walking and cutting back on carbs saved my life. I wish you all success!
ETA:
I've listened to a huge number of audio books :)
 
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I find that I stick better to a healthy diet if I exercise than if I don't. If nothing else, the time I spend exercising plus the rest/recovery time afterward is time I don't spend eating.
 
^^^ After a three week break which was partly due to getting sick at one point, I have started again, but what I am afraid of is that it will be nothing but a waste of time due to how much I have done already. Because I've done so much over the last two years, even after a few weeks away, it may not take long for my body to once again become adjusted to the exercising routine to where it no longer makes any kind of positive difference.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
You are missing the while point of what you are trying to accomplish. You can be thin and unhealthy. Focus on strength and stamina. Feeling good and being healthy is the point. The way you look is a fortunate by product. Eat healthy and exercise you will be healthy and look good. I have been at 230 and was healthy. I am currently 180 and not as healthy. At 230 I was a professional athlete. Those days are past. It was easier when there was a paycheck in it . If I had the time I would strive for 230 and muscle. I just no longer have the time.
 
Thank you. Today I did 30 minutes, but if doing a little less is what will keep the exercise from becoming too predictable, I guess doing less is the way to go. After all doing more a day compared to what I have been doing will only make me burn out again even sooner?

God bless you always!!!

Holly
Excellent! So this is really important. There are many videos with simple and short exercises you can do instead of doing the same treadmill every day. That keeps it interesting for you and also brings in different muscle groups that you may not be exercising with doing treadmill only. My wife and I do a 10 minutes beginner yoga program and an Ab exercise video that is a bit more advanced. But the point is we also bike and do short run/walks. So variety is good for you mentally and physically.

One thing I'm thinking of starting is light weight training.

Many people focus on cardio - which is important. But as you get older, your muscles deteriorate. Light weight training really helps offset this.
 
Also, change it up so it's not boring....try walking outside, a nature walk occasionally....I just love seeing the animal and bird creatures on my walks, like squirrels, and racoons, or wild turkey, or porcupines or a deer, or a bald eagle, hawk, or raven.... Or whatever creatures are in your neck of the woods.... It's soothing to see God's nature for me...before I know it I'm a half mile down the road and at the Beaver dam that is flooding one of my neighbor's farm....every year he has to go down to the Brook and tear the Beaver dam apart, and in less than a week... they are rebuilding it!
 
Also, change it up so it's not boring....try walking outside, a nature walk occasionally....I just love seeing the animal and bird creatures on my walks, like squirrels, and racoons, or wild turkey, or porcupines or a deer, or a bald eagle, hawk, or raven.... Or whatever creatures are in your neck of the woods.... It's soothing to see God's nature for me...before I know it I'm a half mile down the road and at the Beaver dam that is flooding one of my neighbor's farm....every year he has to go down to the Brook and tear the Beaver dam apart, and in less than a week... they are rebuilding it!

Yes, this is very important.

I used to cycle pretty regularly. I had 4-5 routes I'd use.

Then I moved into a neighborhood that made access to different routes more difficult. So I began to lose interest.

Then I crashed, broke many bones, and punctured my lung! lol
 

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