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Most people who attempt to lose weight understand that weight loss is dependant upon the amount of calories we consume and the amount of exercise we perform to burn off those calories. But how much exercise do we need to lose weight? The popular belief is that the more exercise we do the more weight we will lose.

According to recent research however this theory is being challenged and it is being suggested that we could in fact be exercising too much. So how much exercise do we really need?

Most people who start working out in hopes of shedding pounds wind up disappointed, a lamentable circumstance familiar to both exercisers and scientists. Multiple studies, many of them covered in this column, have found that without major changes to diet, exercise typically results in only modest weight loss at best (although it generally makes people much healthier). Quite a few exercisers lose no weight. Some gain.

Exercise does seem to contribute to waist-tightening, provided that the amount of exercise is neither too little nor, more strikingly, too much.ᔥ For Weight Loss, Less Exercise May Be More – NYTimes.com

The second of the reports examines the relationship between diet and exercise. Simply embarking on an exercise regime does not necessarily guarantee that you will lose weight. The answer to the question ‘how much exercise shouls we be taking?’ is quite complex.

Two groundbreaking new studies address the irksome question of why so many of us who work out remain so heavy, a concern that carries special resonance at the moment, as lean Olympians slip through the air and water, inspiring countless viewers to want to become similarly sleek.

And in a just world, frequent physical activity should make us slim. But repeated studies have shown that many people who begin an exercise program lose little or no weight. Some gain.ᔥ Dieting vs. Exercise for Weight Loss – NYTimes.com

The final article discusses the type of exercise that we should be doing. If we are going to exercise then it is essential that cardiovascular exercises are included.

Counting calories and trying to stick to a strict diet simply doesn’t work as a weight loss plan for most people. In the end, many of those people end up losing a bit of weight, but tend to put it all back on again the moment; they stop their diet. These people then get stuck in a cycle of ‘yo-yo dieting’, which isn’t good for long-term weight loss or your health. However there are a few other routes you can take to lose weight and keep it off. It’s possible all down to one thing: cardiovascular exercise.ᔥ The Key To Weight Loss – Cardiovascular Exercise