Lucky Number 7

Exercise is the only long-term solution to weight management.  And people need to exercise more than they think if they want to lose weight at a decent pace.  A good target to shoot for is seven hours of total exercise per week, which will yield roughly one pound of fat loss per week.  Most of this can be walking, with a bit of weights and interval training also included to maintain/grow muscle mass and boost cardiovascular fitness.

Is it possible to get the general population to exercise 7 hours a week?  The American Council on Exercise already recommends this, saying Americans need 60 minutes minimum of exercise per day.  But information and recommendations alone aren't enough: people need motivation and more conducive exercise environments to take action.

In the upcoming year, I hope to focus more on this issue in the blog.  I love the details of diet and exercise, but the big picture is important, and I do want to focus more on that in 2007.