Am I exercising enough?

[Kopfschuss]

Hi guys,

I am wondering whether I exercise enough. At the moment I usually do a 6.5km walk at a fairly brisk pace (45-50 mins) 3-4 times a week. I also run 3-4 times a week for about 20 minutes (about 10km/h). I am 6,4 75kg. I don't have a car so I walk everywhere.

I have a fairly sedentary job (High school teacher) so I usually try and sneak in the walk in my spare periods or lunch break (say I'm going to the post office etc.). Also, we are given a school lunch that is about 850-1000 calories daily which is supposedly "dieticianally (word?) optimal" I think it's ok for the kids who are more active but a bit excessive for someone doing my job.

Anyways, is this enough exercise to stay healthy, and around how many calories should I be consuming a day to maintain my current weight or lose a little? (Ideally i'd like to drop down to 73kg).

Thanks for any help!

 

[PLB_old]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

The amount of aerobic activity that you're doing follows the current guidelines for health. Plus you're doing a mixture of low intensity and high intensity throughout the week, which is fantastic! If you could incorporate even 20-30 minutes of strength training 2 or 3 days per week, you would benefit from even greater long-term health benefits! For beginners, 1 or 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions is usually sufficient. Also, you want to chose 8-10 exercises to make up a whole-body workout.

In terms of the lunches that you're served at school... that does sound a little high calorie-wise. If you want to lose a bit of weight, I would suggest maybe not finishing the whole meal if there are large portions (never skip the fruit or veggies!). Even just cutting a portion down by 1/3 or 1/2 can make a big difference in calories in the long run. If there are any sauces, ask to have them on the side, so you can control how much makes it onto your plate. Also, if they serve anything other than water for a drink, skip it. Have a glass or two of water instead. Is it possible for you to pack your own lunch? This might be a good option for you if the food being served isn't all that healthy.

Hope that helps!

 

[Clinton]

hi guys,

i am wondering whether i exercise enough. At the moment i usually do a 6.5km walk at a fairly brisk pace (45-50 mins) 3-4 times a week. I also run 3-4 times a week for about 20 minutes (about 10km/h). I am 6,4 75kg. I don't have a car so i walk everywhere.

I have a fairly sedentary job (high school teacher) so i usually try and sneak in the walk in my spare periods or lunch break (say i'm going to the post office etc.). Also, we are given a school lunch that is about 850-1000 calories daily which is supposedly "dieticianally (word?) optimal" i think it's ok for the kids who are more active but a bit excessive for someone doing my job.

Anyways, is this enough exercise to stay healthy, and around how many calories should i be consuming a day to maintain my current weight or lose a little? (ideally i'd like to drop down to 73kg).

Thanks for any help!

heck yeah!