How Long Do I Have to Exercise Before I See Changes?
Short answer: probably a lot longer than you want.
Long answer: I tend to cover a lot of nutrition, food marketing and diet issues, but fitness is also a crucial factor in overall health, so I’m eager to discuss exercise issues in greater detail. Truth is I spend a fair amount of time coaching, speaking and writing in the fitness world, particularly triathlon but weight loss to some extent.
Exercise is a vital component of not just weight loss and weight management, but stress relief, energy, sleep, aging, disease prevention, bone health, and on and on it goes…but it’s easy (and maybe more fun) to exclusively focus on the nutrition and diet issues and forget that we have to move our lazy buns once in a while. Leaving exercise out of the wellness equation is far more destructive to your health than any number of diet “sins” you might commit. Notwithstanding the fact that I believe our standard American diet is largely responsible for most of our health problems and most common causes of death, the importance of exercise cannot be overstated.
We don’t exercise for many reasons.
Eating is not a habit, but a necessity. After all, no one really forgets to eat for very long. And it’s usually rather enjoyable to change food selections and to modify our diets for the better, for we get immediate psychological rewards: control, accomplishment, tangibility. Exercise is also a necessity, but as it’s no longer integral to our daily lives – few people plow an acre of sod nowadays – it feels like a chore. No one likes a chore, and establishing a chore as an ingrained habit is tough. Life’s rewards require elbow grease, and that will never change. If exercise were easy or yielded quick results, I suppose everyone would be doing it. Exercise is certainly worth the effort, and not in spite of the challenge, but because it is a challenge. The long-term health rewards of exercise – outside of the brief blast of endorphins following your workout – are not always initially apparent and certainly not immediate.
If we don’t view exercise as an unpleasant chore, we view it as a means to an end: getting a leaner or sexier body. Those fitness infomercials feature guys with six-packs and Christie Brinkley for a reason – we all want to look like that. But the reality is that even the fittest folks are not necessarily going to end up looking “like that”. You can only maximize what you’ve got. I believe that we have to stop thinking of exercise as a vanity tool and remember that it’s simply a basic necessity of life. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be excited about using exercise to lose weight if you hope to shed some extra pounds. But we fall off the proverbial treadmill over and over again because we’re getting on it for the wrong reasons in the first place – exercise is about far more than weight loss.
So, how long before you see results?
You really can’t fight your genes. I witnessed one young woman I coach become sleek and toned after seemingly two sessions with weights and a few rounds of yoga – it’s easier when you’re young, of course. Another guy I work with exercises day in, day out, and has for two years now; although he’s fit and lean, he will never look like Bruce Lee no matter how hard he tries. (It’s worth noting that if you start your children on exercise – such as a sport – from an early age, they’ll develop muscles that will stay with them for a lifetime, even if they gain a little weight down the road as we all tend to do.)
There is some justice: the longer you exercise, the easier it will be to make changes to your shape. That said, results are different for everyone. It’s a complex equation of existing muscles, your natural build, metabolism, fat distribution and many other factors. You actually do get an immediate health boost from exercise, but let’s be honest: how many are really after that? Most of us give up on exercise after a few weeks or even a few days because we don’t see the desired physical results. People like the aforementioned young lady are rare; most of us have to put in months before seeing any real improvement.
The point is, if you’re asking that question – how long before I see results – the answer is almost always: much longer than you want. Hang in there; change will happen. We all want to look good, and many of us want or need to lose weight. Those are healthy and admirable goals. But while exercise can and does help with these goals, at the end of the day, we’ve got to realign our thinking and remember that exercise, more than anything, is just a necessity for health, and despite what the marketers would have us feel, that is reason enough.
Please share your thoughts on exercise, your challenges, and your successes, with me in the forum. I’d love to hear your perspective.
Technorati Tags: motivation, reasons to exercise, health benefits of exercise
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I love your input and appreciate your honesty. I agree 100% with what you said and I admire your positive attitude. That is the most professional, concerned advice I have read so far and I want to thank you for such a great response. Nice job! Keep up the good work. I can tell, you are a leader and are very knowledgable & honest in your science and that is hard to come by nowadays.
Oink, oink!
Hi, I’m 18 years old, 5.3 1/2, and I weigh about 136 lbs. I’m getting married in about 3 months and I really want to lose 15-20 lbs. I’m taking a martial arts workout 4 times a week, and eating 3 small meals a day (1300 calories a day). Does anyone know if losing 15-20 lbs. in 3 months is possible?! I’m desperate and in need of encouragement! Can I lose that much in only 3 months?
Exercise has gotten a lot more challenging for me since i’ve turned thirty. I must admit that now due to a heavier work load i’ve become less inclined to exercise. It’s been two months since i’ve been to the gym, feel very sluggish but will get back on track starting this Friday. Love sweating and feeling good, nothing like it , though it’s the hardest thing to get back in sync with.
Omg – what blog am I on…?! Did I just read that someone is suggesting pretzels instead of crisps, say buh bye to red meat and many repetitions at a light weight for fat loss? Kinda silly of me to think I was on MDA reading about the PB…
@Weezerie – at the top of the page, hover your mouse over about, and click on Primal Blue Print 101. Here you will learn everything you can do to make positive changes for yourself. From Soup to nutz, it covers just about anything you can think of food and fitness wise, as well as many other topics. You should become thoroughly versed in the definitive guide to the Primal Blueprint and aim to comply at least 80% with its teachings. It is the first link in the second section (which is full of other definitive guides). As you just got married (or did at the time of the post), best guess as to why you may have put on some fat is because you started eating like your new spouse. Take my advice & put a little extra time into your meals to ensure that you are only eating the healthy parts of dinner and add in additional items for yourself (including big ol’ steaks) and veggies, and don’t eat what the hubby does. (for instance: steak and mashed for dinner, and cake for dessert? eat the steak, make your self a healthier veggie, skip dessert, or have a piece of fruit or nuts in its place) Unless of course he’s primal, in which case you should be following in his footsteps. A great read if your totally new to taking up healthy living: http://www.stumptuous.com/how-to-dump-sugar – start here. Best of luck to you. Also, if your husband is genuinly concerned, he should have no problem helping with cooking or coming along for a walk.
Hi Guys..I am very new at the work out scene. I have gotten myself a personal trainer and started working out 3 days back..I am 23 and weigh 75 kilos!!i have been working out 2 hours everyday and every muscle in my body is sore!!shuffle between cardio, strength training and mat excercises.My trainer guarentees significant inch loss in a months time!!lets wait and watch..theres no giving up now!
Hi, I am enjoying your website. I am 26 and I weigh 186 pounds. I recently lost ten pounds by adding water and watching what I eat (keeping it under 1200 calories.) I use a website called myfitnesspal.com and it keeps track of food intake and exercise. My question is.. Everytime I workout I enter the number of calories I burned and it adds that number to my daily calorie intake.. syaing “YOu have earned an extra 300 calories today” I feel like if I eat an excess 300 calories for burning 300 calories then I am where I started. Do you have any ideas on this? Should I just enter my exercise and ignore the extra calories it is saying I have “earned.” Thanks, Jess
Jess – lose that site if it tells you that you “earned” extra calories. If you really feel like you must track calories and nutrients, my fav. is fitday. Also, FYI, I used to weigh 250, now I weigh 150 (5’4″) – I got that way by eating between 2000 to 2500 calories a DAY eating primal foods. You are starving yourself. I am still losing weight (a little slower now) but my calorie intake is the same. When you log your excercise, you should really only be logging it for your own knowledge, so that you can continue to make improvements with your training – not to see how many calories you burned, this number means NOTHING. When you log your food, you should only be doing it to ensure you stay on track with your nutrient content. Please also keep in mind that just living day to day without even working out burns more than 1200 calories (I have a desk job and I think without checking that my lifestyle calories burned are 2600 a day) – you will not get anywhere in your fitness journey if you are not giving your body enough fuel to even make it through the day to day. Sorry to sound harsh – if you would like more info, plz write back! *just don’t want to see anyone starving themselves, when one of the beautiful things about this way of eating and living is that you should feel great, and being hungry will not get you there.
No, not harsh at all. I need that information. Thank You! My thought was that maybe the reason it was saying you “earned” so many extra calories is because doing that type of workout requires more energy. I am keeping track of my food intake only because I am trying to keep it at a healthy level with healthy foods and because this is a new lifestyle for me, I am just trying to figure out what a healthy amount is for me. I do also on that website keep track of how I am feeling that day with regards to my hunger, anxiety, energy, etc. I joined a gym and have been going for about 45 to 60 minutes a day. I really do feel better after my workout and am more productive throughout the day. Do you have any suggestions on what types of exercise would aid me in my goals. I am looking to lose 30-40 pounds or just lose the fat and gain muscle so I can keep up with my kids! LOL. I am on my feet most of the day because I have a three year old and a five year old who keep me pretty busy. I am 5’5 and 186 pounds. I recently lost 8 pounds just adding water and watching what I ate (before I began exercising.) I will not starve myself, I know when I am hungry and when I NEED something to eat. My calorie count will not keep me from eating… Just so you know I am not starving myself. Thanks for your help! I love your website!
Hello again Jessica – I wish this was my brilliant website! I am just a follower
Welcome to the community! You will SO find that everyone here is very helpful and speaking for myself, I really am so happy when new people find there way here and decide that this is for them! As far as workout advice, forget everything you know lol! These are the things that have helped me change my body the most: Diet: as long as you stick to the allowed foods, you shouldn’t have to track calories. I can tell you that about 65% of my calories come from FAT, with almost all the rest from protien. I only get about 20-70 grams of carbs on any given day, aiming to stay under 50 for weight loss, and a little higher after a particularly active day. Once I finally reach my fat loss goals (about 10 pounds away), I will try to get up to 100grams. Having a hard time with knowing what to eat? It’s as easy as consistantly only reaching for food with no packaging (or food that closely resembles what it looked like when it came from whatever plant or animal. Additionally on diet – Intermittent fasting is really speeding things up for me, by at least 2 pounds a month – not easy for me as I am really down to the very last little bits of fat. The easiest way I have found is I do a 24-28 hour fast from my late lunch on Friday afternoon, and I eat again late afternoon Saturday. It sounds rough, but once you have adjusted to this way of eating, I highly suggest you give it a shot. My schedule goes like so: wake up friday, hit the gym, once I get to work I eat breakfast, and then a late lunch. I keep active friday night, hit the gym late on sat. morning, go home clean up, and make myself food (a late lunch early dinner) – it’s like it never even happened it’s so easy! Find more info in the definitive guides, or check out leangains.com for more info on IF’ing. It’s amazing the energy I have in a fasted state, and I can practically feel changes happening while I work out. Ok, for the workout part. I would have to check exactly what the protocol is here for working out, but I do the following and think it’s close to what’s recommended. walk every day – I do any cardio machine for this and just keep a “sort-of” walking pace, at a really high resistance, for at least a half hour 5 days a week. additionally, I run sprints either on the treadmill or outside twice a week. I never used to sprint, and used to spend enough time on a cardio machine to burn 1000 calories – glad thats over, as the sprinting is much more efficient! also, lift heavy things: my choices of strength training are always pushups, pullups, dips, squats, deadlifts, lunges, and I love to row, and will alternate different styles a couple times a week. Also, overhead lifts (like a baby, lol) are great. This is all pretty basic info, just remember to always try to beat your last workout, wheather you up the weight, reps, or add a set – that’s how you know you’re making progress -even if it’s tiny progress! Also, if you’ve never lifted heavy weights in the gym – don’t be scared! I currently squat and deadlift my weight, and can row 120 pounds for reps, but I don’t look nearly as muscular as one might think, and for weighing 150 lbs at my height, I’m kind of tiny! Please check out the definitive guides on primal movement (in the about section up top) – there is a lot of great info on exactly how to do all the things I just said with proper form so you don’t get hurt and I think there was a recent post with videos showing you how to advance each move if you are a beginner. Okay, that was a book! Good luck! Oh yeah, check out the forum too (I spend too much time on there when I get on so I don’t get on lol)
i think you should leave it all alone u no what u are doing and eating just keep it up only weigh once a mounth and reamber u may not be loosing the weight at 1st because u building muscle .stay away from all pre-pkg foods i have a whey proten shack after every work out adding a banna two my strawberry one i get it from -wal-mart and use it with skim milk 1 cup milk to i cup ice-1 banna and 2 scoops mix blend well i have this with pop corn i pop with some times hot sauce on it for flavor (it is good)you can add frozen fruit to the vanilla mix and penut butter to the chocklet mix to tsp add sesame oil to yr veg for great flavor and use salad spritzer,sols fashion oitmeal with cinnomon and a bit of honey and a dash of milk with a slice of 100 % hole wheat it hase to have the word whole wheat being the 1st ing on the pkg sara-lee and use ginger in yr food it stops hunger well i could go on and on with things i have been doing and they have all worked so far u can google good foods to eat on a diet and it will give u lots of great ideas good luck
I am 22 I had a child 2 years ago and my weight is still the same 138lbs I would love to be 125, but after having my child I am not tone I at least want to tighten up , Im a Latina so I have very thick thighs that I hate and really want to build muscle on them. But I have been running for 2 wks and 4 days a week for 45 mins and i dont want to give up I just want to be sure that I will atleast see results .
It’s funny I think I might be one of those rare cases, I left working out for a little less than a year picked it back up a week ago I’ve ran a couple of miles and done situps 3 times and I actually look more toned. I was actually worried there was something wrong with me…
have been off to the gym everyday doing at least a 2 hr work out with treadmill-weights of all kind,s i feel great but at the same time i have built muscle and lost inc but still weigh the same . i no muscle is heavy,r . i am in no way giving up on my health i am 52 i eat good as in good food fruits-veg-whey protens shakes after my work out-fiber in the morning red meat once a week i how ever have no energy after my work out what can i do to bust this?i am 190 lbs-5/2 and want to drop 60lbs i hope you can give me a few idea,s to not only build muscle as i seem to be doing this but to drop weight so i feel better i use to be a 120lbs small frame lady and the extra weight is hard on my body i have high blood press and bipolor
I am 21 and just started going to the gym on a regular basis. I made this decision after I noticed a slight gut starting to form (I am up twenty pounds from last year at 172lbs). I am now making the trip up to the gym three times a week. I do ten minutes on an elliptical as my warm up and then run through all the machines doing two reps of ten (starting at 40lbs for my arms, 60lbs for legs, and 80lbs for abs) droping the weight in my second rep (depending on the machine by 5-10lbs). My goal is really just to get rid of my gut but I figured while I’m there I might as well do everything. Is there anything I can or should change in my workout to help move along this process?
Hi Ryan,
So here is a quick list of stuff that works. First, read the following definitive guides on this site under the about section, primal blueprint 101: The Definitive Guide to the Primal Blueprint. This is just a start – on that page, there are a TON of usefull links and information…read as much as you can….
But here are some basics:
The Definitive Guide to the Primal Eating Plan
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#ixzz1lcwLtiqD
The Definitive Guide to Low Level Aerobic Activity
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#ixzz1lcwl61VT
Primal Blueprint fitness:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/introducing-primal-blueprint-fitness/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-intermittent-fasting/.
From Experience:
Walk, whenever and where-ever you can. Lose the cardio, it does nothing except prepare you to be able to handle more cardio.
Sprint Intervals – I do these twice a week, but have been working out for many years. This is very taxing on your joints and body if you do too much. If you don’t run and are not used to sprinting, a good method to try would be to walk for one minute, run with everything you’ve got for 30 seconds and repeat till you have completed 10 sprints. Use your judgement and level of fitness to determine how many sprints & how long to run for. There is a lot of great info on the internet about different styles of interval training that you could get more info on. I like to sprint for 60 seconds and walk for 75 seconds (Little Method) Till 20 minutes is up.
Lift Heavy Weights – I can easily squat and deadlift my weight for many reps, and so should everyone else (barring physical injury/illness). Here are the most effective things you can do in the weight room – everything else is just fluff!
Squats, Deadlifts, Pushups, Pullups, Parallel dips, low seated row or inverted row, bench press. MASTER THESE MOVES! Make each workout count, and focus on your preformance. try to perform better each week by either adding weight (ideal progress), or adding additional reps. Once you have mastered these things, then you can start to throw in some of the more glamorized gym rat workouts (such as calf raise, and minor core training such as renegade rows), although you’ll find you don’t need them and your body will look great with just the compound movements I noted above.
Nutrition: I do hope that you follow the primal eating guidlines. Grains REALLY are bad for you. Eating products that come from packages and not from a plant or animal really is bad for you. (case in point, my superbowl food consumption from yesterday was not horrific – MOSTLY real food. However there was FAKE velveeta cheese product in my nacho dip and that has had me sick all day today). So follow the guidelines of allowable food and you will do fine.
Want more nutrition advice? I would. I believe Nutrition is 90% (not 80% as experts suggest) of body composition and health. The only way to truly loose the gut is to get your nutrition in check and keep it that way for life. My most important Nutrition advice (which comes much easier if you eat primal foods) is to still be mindful of your calories because you simply cannot lose weight if you are eating 4000 calories of meat and fat everyday AND most importantly, intermittent fasting. I currently only eat for 8 hours a day (noon to 8pm) and fast for 16 (8pm-noon the next day) THIS has helped me lose 4.8 pounds in January. You can choose to eat very low carb or not. If you decide to eat carbs, save them for your heaviest workout days, and eat them late in the day to avoid craving more of them because you’ll be going to sleep. Non workout days should be mostly fat and protein, and again save any signifigant carbs for later in the day. I work out in a fasted state (when I wake up) and don’t eat until about 5 hours after my workout.
Hope all this info helps
Cheers and good luck – Lisa
i keep reading alot of comments about females loosing weight and the more they exersice the more weight they seem to gain.
you have to remember your loosing fat and building muscle so the weight loss is fat and the muscle is gain if your a few extra pounds of toned muscle then thats a good thing. keep eating a balanced diet everything in moderation. i have one treat a week where i will eat one main meal of anything i like. and whatever i may be doing must be working AS IN THE last 3 years ive gone from 196lbs to 112lbs. good luck
I started my fitness journey on 12th Dec 2011 and 3 months down the line I’ve lost 26lbs. The thing that probably helped me the most was finding a website where I could track my calories and exercise daily. I thought that eating healthy food and exercising would be all I needed, I was soooo wrong!!! What I really needed was to calculate accurately what my consumption and expenditure was to get results. So I bought a heart rate monitor and a food scale, joined myfitnesspal and joined the gym. I’ve since learned that weight training is extremely good for fat metabolisim, not only because it increases your metabolic rate but because of the energy expenditure that takes place. Meanwhile,cardiovascular training can enhance muscle gains by improving growth hormone secretion, fitness and lactate threshold. So I try to get both forms in because these different forms of training are not mutually exclusive. Also dont eat under 1200 cals a day(for woman)1700cals(for men) And thats before the exercise calories. You should eat your exercise calories as well this way your body wont go into “starvation mode” and slow your metabolisim. And lastly we are all different, so one size doesn’t fit all. This line of thinking does not account for differences in peoples’ goal, lifestyles, preferences, injuries, body types, genetic make-ups and so on. An approach that suits one person may not necessarily suit another.
I’m on my 8 week of training for a fitness competition. I have a coach who has gave me a workout plan and eating plan. I have only 9 weeks left to go. I am 150 at 5’7 and I haven’t seen any changes other than getting a ‘tad’ more lean and stronger with weights and my legs have ballooned but nothing else. I haven’t seen any changes on the scale or with measurements – my jeans are tighter because of my thighs but weird the measurements haven’t changed. I am getting so frustrated, I’m training 6 day/week – doing 6o min cardio/day and weights. My coach says my body is being stubborn because I was on a low carb diet prior – and my body is fighting everything and holding on to everything. My gf is on the same program and her transformation is amazing – she will def be ready for the show. For me on the other hand, I’m really doubting being stage ready. I haven’t missed a workout nor cheated on my strict protein, veg, low carb dieet. I just don’t get it and my gf and I just don’t know why since I’m burning more calories than I am consuming. I’ve been even mixing up my cardio doing HITT but still nothing. Help : (
“I haven’t seen any changes other than getting a ‘tad’ more lean and stronger with weights”
I think you answered your question :p
You’re getting muscle and it weights more than fat – which is good! Because the toning you’re doing along with having the muscle is going to reduce the chance of you getting flabby.
My family bought an elliptical in December, I weighed almost 160 lbs and the time. I’m 5’6 tall, and 16 years old. I work out on the elliptical at least 5 days a week, and I have since December. Its now March, near the end of March and I’m only down to 153. I’ve been going up and down the scale and I hate how I look. I wanted to get to at least 140 before June for a wedding and prom. Is this possible? I eat healthy, I don’t know whats wrong with me. I practically hate myself I feel obese… I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT
People lose weight at different rates but you you still got plenty of time before June hits. I would recommend cutting back on the elliptical (5 days seems a lot) and start doing exercising the primal way, which essentially is whatever way makes you happy. I know, for me anyway, it’s usually one dedicated day of for sprints/heavy cardio, two days of strength training (pullups/pushups/planks/squats) and the rest of the time time walk, rest, or play. Walk/rest/play is the basis for Primal fitness; go out for a walk, play a game of baseketball, or just take the day off. Your call.
Also, I think relaxing a bit would help you out. The tone of your post seems to indicate you’re pretty stressed about the lack of progress (7 pounds is still good though, you’re on your way!) and stress doesn’t help with weight loss, it prevents it really.
Also maybe you should look into intermittent fasting. It really helps get things moving in my experience, especially when I hit a rut.
Hope that helps.
You need to add in weight training. I know you don’t want to “bulk up”, thats my biggest fear as well, but pick a low number of weight and do high reps, 20+
you will be building some muscle, so don’t consistently check your weight, instead go by how clothes feel on you and physical differences you see in the mirror.
I got comfortable after I got married, and like others, started cooking a lot, eating worse, etc. Then, I had two children in 3 years. I am now to the point where I need to get in shape so I can be comfortable, confident, and healthy for my family. I’m only 28 but I’ve got 50lbs to lose. People are right when they say you have to watch your diet and exercise. My physician suggested I download a calorie counting app on my phone. I downloaded “Lose It!” and it is amazing. I never realized how bad I actually ate. No wonder I got fat! This app is great because it guides you to weight loss and helps you track your calories and exercises. In the first two weeks, only working out once, I lost 10.6lbs! And that was from simply logging my calories. It’s easier than I thought it would be becasue the database of foods is pretty extensive so you can estimate the calories. There is also a barcode scanner that is pretty cool because you scan your food item and it brings up the nutrition info. You can also put in ingredients and get the calories of a recipe. I work in healthcare and there is a scale outside my office. I weigh myself every morning, which may seem a bit excessive, but I track that daily as well. It’s become a game for me, to see how I can improve my eating habits to keep the calories low while filling me up and to log in my exercise data and see how that affects my daily stats. It’s exciting and encouraging to monitor it. It may not be for everyone but I’m the type of person who decides to accomplish something and goes full force to meet that goal. I am on week three and even if the weight loss isn’t going to be as great this week, I know I did good by working out for 30m-2h five times this week. I’m very optimistic that I am going to be the slim, healthy mommy I want to be! Best of luck to you all!