Weight Loss and Exercise - How Much is Enough?

Weight loss programs vary in many ways, but they all have this in common: diet must be accompanied by exercise. Either one by itself is not sufficient. I have a good friend who bemoans the fact that no matter how carefully he eats, he can't get his weight down where it should be. He also refuses to get any exercise. Although this is a common scenario, the reverse is also true. I have seen lots of guys in the gym who work out like maniacs, but they don't reach their target weight because they refuse to give up poor eating habits.

Granted, a balance of diet and exercise must be present in your weight loss program. But between the extremes of the couch potato and the body builder, how much exercise is enough?

The good news is you don't have to work out like a maniac, you don't have to swallow fistfuls of weight loss medication, and you don't have to eat like a fashion model. A middle-path of reasonable eating patterns (the right foods at the right times) and moderate, but consistent exercise will promote quick healthy weight loss and long-term weight control.

I am presently testing a weight loss supplement and diet program called The Cheia Vida Slim 10 Day Slim Down Challenge, and reporting the results on my blog. (See below.) The simple, anyone-can-do-it exercise regimen that the creator of the program, Dr. Charles Rouse, recommends is this: just get 10 to 15 minutes of exercise twice per day. I know that some of you are thinking that this isn't enough to make a difference, and that's the worst thing you could think. Inevitably, this frame of mind leads to inactivity, and the calories keep turning into fat.

In fact, that's one of my stumbling blocks. I'm an old athlete who's accustomed to spending intense hour-long sessions in the gym 4-5 days per week. (But I haven't had a gym membership in 4 years, which has really helped my weight gain.) So when I hear about doing something for 10 minutes twice per day, it doesn't seem to me that it would be worth the effort to lace up my shoes.

This kind of all or nothing thinking is exactly what allows the weight gain to sneak up on us over time, as it did in my case, aided by the aging process. Instead of doing a little, we choose to do nothing, and so the extra grams of fat add up and eventually become pounds. Think of it as caloric compound interest.

So take a look at this: even 10 minutes twice per day adds up to 200 minutes in 10 days, or 3 hours and 20 minutes! Do it everyday for a month, and you have 10 hours of exercise with just two 10-minute sessions per day. 10 hours of fat-burning for just 20 minutes per day. I can do that. In fact, that's ridiculously easy.

It's ironic that we gain weight (fat) by adding on small amounts of extra calories (that our bodies don't need) on a daily basis, but we're so reluctant to reverse the process and add up the exercise in small daily amounts to burn some of those extra calories and negate the added weight. Incremental weight loss is just as possible as incremental weight gain.

Everybody, EVERYBODY, can find 10 minutes twice per day to simply walk briskly. (Just 15 minutes of brisk walking burns about 100 calories.) Dr. Rouse recommends starting the day, even before leaving for work if possible, by walking away from your home for 5 minutes, then walking back. If possible do it before you eat breakfast for best calorie -burning results.

Another way to get in some walking time: just park farther away from your place of work, or from the front of the mall or the grocery store. Anytime you have the chance to walk an extra 50 or 100 feet or more, do it. I started doing this several years ago, and now I don't even think about it. (Though often a friend will ask, "Why are we parking way out here?") Again, it's terribly easy to do. If I hadn't been doing this over the last few years, I'd probably be carrying an additional 5 pounds right now.

If you take a long-term view with this approach, you'll really benefit. Instead of the extra weight we add on over the weeks and months and years, do the same with a little exercise. Taking advantage of these mini-workouts will add up to serious calorie burning if done consistently. Sure, sometimes you'll have to miss a day, but you can make it up when you have more time.

That's the beauty of this little bit here, and little bit there approach: it's easy, and it works, if you'll just do it. Step up your activity level and burn some fat. Admittedly, during my product test, I'm attempting fast weight loss. For this to happen, the Cheia Vida Slim weight loss pill (capsule actually) has to do its job and burn fat, suppress my appetite, and help clean some of the gunk out of my system. We'll see if it does.

And heres more good news: when you exercise, you feel better immediately. Instant gratification! And the good feeling you experience makes you want to do it again. Then when you start dropping a few pounds, you feel even better! Now you're excited to keep it going.

What you've done is create a process that feeds on itself. Momentum. Sort of like pushing a car on a slight down-hill grade: the difficult part is getting it moving. Once you do, it wants to keep on going. So although it may be hard to get started, do it! Get moving, a little bit here and a little bit there, and start burning some calories. Within a few weeks, it will become a healthy weight loss habit you can be proud of.

See Paul's test of the Cheia Vida Slim 10 Day Slim Down Challenge, with videos and weight loss tips on his blog at http://fasthealthyweightloss.wordpress.com

Paul W. Whitten is a life-long nutrition, health, & fitness enthusiast. He writes about his fat burning dietary exploits to help others lose weight too.