Depressing Exercise Report
Posted 1/3/2010
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A recent study, "Longterm Weight Loss Requires Almost Double the Suggested Amount of Exercise" by John M. Jakicic, Ph.D. appears in the July 28th edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine: Click here to view the article.
Very discouragingly, this study found that women needed to exercise for 55 minutes/day 5 days/week rather than the commonly recommended 30 minutes/day 5 days/week in order to maintain a 10% of body weight loss over two years. And this article did not mention or take into account the impact of chemotherapy or hormonal therapies. We all know that standard treatments for breast cancer often/usually result in some weight gain, and we have all discovered that it is not easy to lose those new pounds. I remember when skipping desset for a week resulted in the melting away of five pounds. Since cancer and treatment (and ongoing hormonal treatment), dessert is an infrequent treat, and I work really hard just to stay at the same weight--let alone lose any.
Since I am stubborn and persistent, I go to the gym almost every morning. Weekdays, however, I am pushing the limits of my schedule to stay there for thirty minutes. There is no way that I could work out for almost an hour and still get to work on time. On the week-ends, I do spend about an hour at the gym, and the difference in the way I feel proves that the additional time does make an impact. The obvious solution would be to awaken half an hour earlier, but I also need my sleep.
Once again, this information proves that having had breast cancer makes much about life and normal aging more difficult. While our luckier/non-breast cancer friends have to work hard to stay slim, we have to work even harder--and still may well not succeed.
It's enough to make me reach for a bag of potato chips.
Happy New Year and, if exercise is one of your resolutions, do what you can and don't be hard on yourself!
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