When I ask my Lap Band patients if they exercise, I hear a lot stories. Stop your excuses. These 7 things don’t count as exercise. I have heard all of these stories.
1) I have kids (or grandkids) that I chase around.
Nope, sorry that is not exercise unless your 4 year old is running around a track for 2 miles.
2) I’ve got a lot of acres on my property and I clean brush and tree limbs.
Not going to cut it, that’s not exercise. Before you tell me I’m a city slicker that doesn’t understand manual labor, as a high school student and college student in Los Angeles I had summer jobs with contractors and landscapers and worked in 110 degree heat digging, building, cutting, sawing, and everything else in between.
3) My workplace is in a large plant and I do a lot of walking.
Unless you are walking for about 30 minutes straight at 3 miles per hour, that doesn’t cut it.
4) I do [fill in the blank] and I know it is good exercise because I sweat a lot.
Sweat doesn’t mean it is good exercise. Get a heart rate monitor instead. A high heart rate indicates adequate exertion.
5) I mow my lawn on a riding mower and it is very bouncy.
Are you freaking serious? Bouncing is not exercise.
6) I clean my house.
Once again, not exercise. If you think it is such great exercise, I will give you my address and you can clean up after my 7 and 5 year old daughters.
7) I walk with friend.
If you walk with your friends and catch up on the latest gossip, you aren’t walking fast enough. Remember, exercise is supposed to be hard. If you can easily carry on a conversation during your activity, it probably isn’t adequate exercise.
In order to reach your weight loss goal with the Lap Band, you need to exercise. Enough said for now.
12. September 2009 at 1:39 pm
Wow, what timing. My dear hubby and I were just dicussing the exercise factor. You banded me the first part of Feb. 09 and I have lost almost 60 lbs from my heaviest weight prior to surgery. I am hit and miss on the exercise and he commented “think how much more I might have lost, if I exercised more”. I don’t think I will share your post with him, I hate it when he’s right. I make lots of excuses that what I do is exercise. I’ll try to do better, lol.
12. September 2009 at 10:24 pm
I tell all my patients that the “secret” to increasing your weight loss and speeding up your results is exercise. I promise not to tell your husband he is right, but it’s OK. My wife says I was once right too. She emphasizes “once.”
15. September 2009 at 9:38 am
I am doing the prediet and scheduled for surgery 9/23, I am concerned I have been following the prediet to the T but have only lost 5 pounds since 9/9/09, is this normal and am I on schedule. I am really worried that is I don’t lose more prior to my surgery date my surgery will be rescheduled.
15. September 2009 at 8:24 pm
Stick with the guidelines (the grown in the ground diet) and you will be fine.
20. September 2009 at 9:28 pm
Question, Is roller skating 4 hours a week enough excercise?
20. September 2009 at 11:12 pm
You want to pick an exercise regimen that really makes you work.
I think everyone should do some resistance training. That means weights, machines at a gym, exercise bands, whatever makes your muscles strain.
Also see our previous posts such as
http://blog.noscales.com/get-your-exercise-bang-for-the-buck.html
http://blog.noscales.com/the-myth-of-bulking-up-with-exercise.html
http://blog.noscales.com/exercise-for-weight-loss-ii.html
http://blog.noscales.com/exercise-for-weight-loss-iii.html
Roller skating, like any other cardiovascular exercise, should be done at an intensity level high enough to really count as exertion.
23. February 2010 at 5:38 pm
Nice points you made throughout your post. I’ve never really thought about is like that.