Whether we want to accept it or not, exercise for weight loss is vital, and no effective dieting program should be followed without the additional activity level of some form of fitness-appropriate exercises.
However, one of the things that can feel difficult to determine is exactly how much is enough when it comes to being able to not only be healthy, but also to lose excess weight.
New guidelines have now been issued by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that suggest that the previous rule of thumb – which was 30 minutes of exercise for weight loss, five days per week – might not actually be enough. The recommendations of the ACSM from 2001 were that an overweight or obese adult participate in moderate intensity exercises for at least 150 minutes every week in order to achieve better overall health. For long term weight loss, the recommendation was for between 200 and 300 minutes per week.
However, what dieters now want to know is whether or not these recommendations are still considered to be adequate, and what they need to do in order to achieve the best results. Moreover, they also want to know how much they need to do once the weight is gone, when they want to keep it from coming back.
New research has indicated that when it comes to moderate intensity physical activity, between 150 minutes and 250 minutes is an effective amount to prevent a person from gaining more than 3 percent of body weight in the majority of adults. However, that same amount of exercise will produce only “modest” weight loss among those who have that goal.
For that reason, the ACSM has now released a new publication that has updated its recommendations for physical activity when it comes to the intention to lose weight and keep it off. These recommendations were published within the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal.
They now say that people who are overweight and obese have a greater likelihood of losing weight and stopping it from coming back if they exercise for a minimum of 250 minutes every week. They also stated that by exercising for over 250 minutes every week, overweight and obese adults are likely to achieve “significant” weight loss.
What this means is that for five days a week, you should likely aim to get at least 50 minutes of cardio exercise for weight loss, while taking part in some regular strength training a few times per week, as well.
