I was kinda suprised yesterday when my doctor told me that my walking 30 minuets or so a day was not enough. They told me they want me walking everyday for 60 minuets at least. I really do not like to exercize so its not suprise that I am not excited about kicking it up an extra 30 minuets. But I will do what I have to do. I just didnt realize the exercise recommendations were so much. It used to be that when I was walking only a few days a week they were happy with me, maybe that was because I was just getting started.

30 minutes daily is minimum. MINIMUM. A great place to start. Bump it up by 10 minutes for a couple weeks. Then bump it up by another 10. I wouldn't just jump from 30 to 60 all at once. You'll end up hating it. And you don't necessarily have to walk. Try an exercise video, get some toning bands, do some pushups and situps, it all counts....

I stated walking 30 min a day for awhile now and I just bumped it up to 45 min and it really wasn't that bad. I think I will try this for a week and then see about doing 60 min. I think the key is not doing it all at once. Good luck Gummibear I know you can do it!!! I don't really like to exercise but since I have had my body bugg and can see what it is doing for me it is a little more tolorable and I am really starting to enjoy it the more I loose and the less my joints hurt:)

Banded 7/21/07

Starting weight 270/ now 228

Its not enough, sad to say. 30 minutes a day may keep you out of the cardiac ward but to really lose fat you need more like an hour of harder cardio six days a week or so. Once you see the results it brings you its not so hard to do.

Start with walking, do what you can. Plan on building up, you dont ever have to run if you dont want to but you will have to walk very HARD. You really need to get the heart rate up and sweat.

Take some music, or a friend or try something else if you dont enjoy walking all the time.

Jacqui - I have to laugh everytime I see your glittermaker sign!

Nope 30 minutes of cardio isn't enough at all. Hard as it is to hear.

At least 60 minutes of really, really fast walking is needed to get any sort of a work out (you need to be sweating, and you need to be breathing harder than usual)

Good luck.

This is where I need to be! I had my first post surgery appointment today and was told that I need to start doing some regular exercise. I think they do just get you going by starting you off with a goal of 30 minutes a day. That is what was suggested for me at this point. I am up this morning and ready to go. I use to enjoy walking and will have to get back into it again if I want to see better results. It is hard and the encourgement helps.

this is just the thread I was looking for.

I joined a gym pre-surg and have been going 3-4 x a week, once there I cant get beyond 30 mins on the treadmill, or bike or elliptical.

I am only a few weeks post-op and would like to move beyond just 30mins. I use an ipod and there are flat screens. But I just hate to do more than 25-30 mins its like I cant wait to get out of there.

Should I work try to increase my intensity or try to work out longer?

this is just the thread I was looking for.

I joined a gym pre-surg and have been going 3-4 x a week, once there I cant get beyond 30 mins on the treadmill, or bike or elliptical.

I am only a few weeks post-op and would like to move beyond just 30mins. I use an ipod and there are flat screens. But I just hate to do more than 25-30 mins its like I cant wait to get out of there.

Should I work try to increase my intensity or try to work out longer?

If you get bored easily, try 20 minutes on one machine, then jump over for 20 minutes on another.

About intesity verses duration, I'd shoot for duration. Up it by a minute a visit. Today is 30, tomorrow is 31. With cycling I know the idea is to get the distance than bulid the speed.

The biggest thing IMHO is to have a plan to reach for. Don't ever think that what you are doing today is going to be the same effective workout a month from today.

Keep your eyes open for things that might get your interest, dance, spinning, boxing, swimming...

Good luck.

My PCP told me the current recommendations are 60 minutes of aerobic exercise every day, 7 days a week. I'm doing about 5 days a week. But she said it's a good goal to have. Once you've gotten to 30 minutes, you can start adding a minute or two every day until you get to your new goal.

It's good to change what you are doing so your body doesn't get used to it. I never do the same workout 2 days in a row. I usually do some combination of treadmill, elliptical and upright bike, sometimes only 2, sometimes all 3, for 45-60 minutes. Some days I swim for part of it, some days I do a recumbant bike. Just so I'm not doing the exact same thing every day. It seems to help keep the weight loss going. That was a tip my trainer gave me, and I think it's a good one.

My trainer told me the same thing. I recently asked him about intensity vs. longer cardio. He told me the first 20 minutes you

are not burning fat. So if you only exercise for 30 min. you are only burning fat for 10. You need to figure out your target heart rate.

You do that by taking your pulse. The standard way to figure out your heart rate is 220 subtract your age, and multiply that by

70-75%. That is the fat burning stage. If nothing else, it gives you something to do while you are working out. I take my pulse

several times while I am doing cardio.