Confused as to how often I need to exercise to lose weight

I always thought that the more you exercised the more weight you would lose but lately I am told this is not true. I have read and have heard friends say that if you exercised every day that your body expects that and doesn't recognize it as burning off extra calories and that it is supposedly the "extra" exercise we do that burns calories. Some have said that working out every other day is more beneficial than every day and to also alternate times of the day to work out and to also do different exersises to change things up. Should I exercise everyday or every other day? Should I alternate forms of excersise? At this point I am not looking to build muscle I am trying to lose pounds. I have lost 24 pounds so far and need to lose 12 more before I can get approval from the insurance company. What do you all do? I would appreciate any and all tips to get this 12 pounds off of me. Thanks, Melissa

I'll just start by saying that I am not a personal trainer, but I will tell you what helped me lose some preop weight.  I worked out at least four times per week, preferably five times per week.  I did cardio only - walking and aerobics.  Like you, I as not looking to build muscle at that point, I was looking to burn fat, burn calories, and shed pounds before surgery.  Cardio does that for you. 

Since you are trying to shed the last 12 pounds to qualify for surgery, I would NOT, NOT, NOT do any weight lifting, weight training, or resistance training at this time.  Save that for when you're post-op.  Weights and resistance training will cause you to build muscle, which under normal cir****tances is a "very" good thing.  However, you will be building muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat, you might see a short-term weight gain due to your newly increased muscle mass.  Like I said, under "normal" cir****tances that would be fine since everything would balance out in time.  However, since you need to lose the 12 pounds for insurance approval, stick with the cardio for now and add in weights after you have your approval letter in your hot little hands.

I am not sure that I ever heard that "extra" exercise burns calories.  Everything we do burns calories, even sleeping and breathing. 

Good luck!

I'm echoing Tracy here and saying I'm not a trainer either, but I have been involved in fitness since I was a college student (many years ago!) and some of what you have been told I have never heard before. When it comes to weight training, absolutely you are suppose to do it every other day. But aerobic exercise is fine every day - as a matter of fact, the government has put out guidelines that says you should exercise 4-6 days a week. I don't think it will hurt you, exercising is great for you no matter how often you do it. I do know that if you do the same exercise everyday that your body can get use to that certain exercise and sometimes you need to mix it up - try something different, do it at a different intensity, etc. It just helps to keep your body going at a good rate. There is a great article on exercising by the OH Expert trainer that has great info on how to design your workouts. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/fitness/cmsID,2277/mode,co ntent/  I've pretty much followed most of his suggestions and it has made a difference in my weight lose - I average about 4 pounds a week and I think it's because of my workouts. Good luck with those last 12 pounds! Hugs Pam

Thanks for the helpful information. I am trying really hard to get rid of the weight so I can have surgery. I am more of a lurker than a poster. I get a lot out of your posts and whether you know it or not you have been a lot of help to me on my journey. God bless! Melissa 

Unlike the other posters...i would recommend light resistence band or light weight training 3 days a week in addition to aerobics.  Weight training burns more calories then aerobics does..and it builds lean muscles which boosts your metabolism...which makes you lose weight faster.   Aerobics is good, but there is a train of thought that overtrainning in aerobics makes you more hungry...which makes you eat more...which slows down weight loss.  There is a book on this subject called the Cardio free diet.   Also overtraining (training 7 days a week), will cause your weight loss to slow down.  The body metabolizes calories when it's "healing" itself after exercise.  When you exercise you basically are ripping your muscles...on your off days your body spends energy (calories) repairing those muscles.    In addition you will reduce the effectiveness of your work out, if you constantly do the same exercises every time you work out.  Therefore you should change your routine often. So what would I recommend? Train monday through friday, alternate your exercises. If your doing aerobics....do the step master monday, the treadmill tuesday, the stationary bike wed, a non impact aerobics calss on thursday and swim on friday.   If you want to start doing "light" weight lifting do 15 minutes after your aerobics no monday, wed, and friday...alternating between upper body and lower body.  Hope this helps Scott