The Spectrum by Dean Ornish M.D

Author:Dean Ornish, M.D. [Ornish, Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-345-50584-2
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-25T16:00:00+00:00

THE EXERCISE SPECTRUM

Again, you have more flexibility here if you’re just trying to lose a few pounds than if you’re trying to reverse a serious illness. This is the cure of pound, not the pound of cure.

As described in chapter 8, the frequency, intensity, and duration of exercise are the primary determinants of how much weight it causes you to lose and how quickly. The more frequently, intensely, and longer you exercise, the more calories you burn and the more weight you lose. How far you want to go in that direction on the Spectrum is up to you.

One pound equals 3,500 calories. To lose one pound, you have to change your calorie balance by 3,500 calories. You can eliminate some of those calories by eating a lower-fat, higher-fiber diet—more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and less meat, whole-milk dairy products, fried foods, and junk foods.

But for weight control, regular exercise is also crucial. Regular exercise not only burns calories, it also raises your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you burn while at rest. Thus, exercise helps you lose weight even when you’re not exercising.

If you haven’t been exercising, work your way up to 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic and resistance-training exercise a week—just slightly more than twenty minutes a day. If, after a few months, you are not reaching your goal or moving toward it as quickly as you’d like, increase the amount of time you exercise—to thirty to sixty minutes a day of combined aerobic and resistance exercise. This is the level of exercise that appears to be most successful in losing weight and maintaining the weight loss.

Aerobic exercise is helpful in losing weight, and strength training also helps. It burns calories, and it makes you stronger, which makes everyday activities feel easier. It’s more fun to do something when you feel strong doing it. And if what you do is fun, you’ll be more likely to keep doing it.

And remember: everything counts. Every physical activity, from walking to climbing stairs to unloading your groceries, is exercise that helps you control your weight.

Here is a helpful table published by the American College of Sports Medicine that estimates how long you need to exercise to expend 300 calories.

Minutes of Continuous Activity Necessary to Expend 300 Kcal Based on Body Weight

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