RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—If you’re looking to lose weight through exercise, the standard advice of 30 minutes a day isn’t going to do the trick, according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s new weight loss guidelines. The recommendations were published in this month’s Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise journal.
THE DETAILS: ACSM published “Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults,” updating its previous guidelines. The paper compliments the American Dietetic Association’s Weight Management recommendations through nutrition.
Here’s what the researchers found:
1. To prevent weight gain, people need to engage in moderate-intensity physical activity for 150 to 250 minutes a week. Which is 30-50 minutes a day, five days a week.
2. If you want to lose weight, you’ll need at least 250 minutes of exercise a week.
3. To keep the weight off after you shed a few pounds, you may have to work out even more. Some evidence suggests more than 250 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity will prevent the weight from returning.
WHAT IT MEANS: This news means you may have to amp up your workout routine (or bring it back from the dead). But experts warn of making excuses to get out of breaking a good sweat. “Get a reality check. If presidents find time to do it, anyone can. It’s all about priorities,” says Joseph Donnelly, PhD, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management at Kansas University’s Life Span Institute in Lawrence. He helped developed the new guidelines.
Don’t get discouraged by the new guidelines—get motivated.
• You can break it up, but…From an energy perspective, there’s nothing wrong with four or five 10-minute bouts versus one 50-minute bout, Donnelly says. But he found people become hassled by leaving their desk every hour for a 10-minute walk at work. So you may find it more convenient to plan one chunk of exercise in the morning, during your lunch break, or when you get home from work.
• Shoot for planned exercise. It’s important to be as active as you can, but Smith says it’s hard for us to accurately assess how much energy we exerting during “lifestyle activities” like working in the garden or mowing the lawn. Instead, he advises people to schedule formal exercise activities like walking or jogging, and then add on the yard and garden work as a bonus.
• Kill two birds with one stone. If you’re scratching your head, wondering how you’ll ever be able to cram five 50-minute exercise sessions into your week, consider multitasking or substituting. For instance, walk to work or to the store instead of driving. Find a gym near the supermarket so you don’t have to make an extra trip. Replace one evening’s TV time with a family bike ride or swim.
• Don’t underestimate your plate. If you’re putting in the time for workouts, make sure you’re eating well, too. Replace processed foods with whole foods, and be realistic about your eating and exercise habits. “People overestimate exercise and underestimate eating,” Donnelly says.