God, that's disheartening. I can't moderately exercise 68 minutes a day. I just CAN'T. - Andy DeSoto

I cannot stress how true this is. I didn't lose weight till I dropped intake significantly, and worked up to 2hrs of intense exercise a day. For me it was undertaking HIIT(High Intensity Interval Cardio Training) on my treadmill and gym bike. I currently burn between 1250 and 1750cal a night in 45min to 1hr sessions to continue the loss. - Mo Kargas

So one week They tell us They have discovered "exercise in a pill," and the next week They tell us it's a newly discovered fact we are wasting our time exercising unless we are killing ourselves 5 days a week. Hurm.... - Karim

+1 Karim - Yolanda

About time someone important let people know that the 30/3 exercise plan was for maintaining current state and not bettering your state. There is so much misinformation about diet and exercise I'm surprised anyone can lose excess fat or increase performance. - xero

Grain of salt guys. Find your sweet spot. For me its 25 - 30 minutes a day (sometimes i do an hour), everyday. 55% cardio 45% strength. I get most of my cardio from boxing. But that's not the trick, I feel that the secret lies in what you put into your body and how much of it. I eat between 6 and 8 times a day. And i eat the right stuff including starting my day with a 1000 calorie fruit and protein shake. I eat healthy and I dont eat fast food or HFCS. Skip the sodas (except seltzer). - Carlos Ayala

Also, join Gyminee, track your intake, and your workouts. Its makes all the difference in the world. If you decide to join: @cma3. - Carlos Ayala

I really wish they'd spend more time talking about the genetics and biology of it, because truth is some people simply do have a higher metabolism than others. The loss or maintenance regimine that works for them will not work for someone with a slower metabolism. As for the 30/3 idea, that's more overall health maintenance not even weight maintenance. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Andy - I know!!! It really is disheartening. I mean, maybe if we were all still in school...! - edythe

Oh, and not only that but the men have it easy compared to us women -- you guys have the advantage metabolically and no need for extra fat. - edythe

You read any of the weight-loss posts on Digg and all the commenters say, "All you lazy fat-asses just need to stop eating donuts and stand up for a change." I bet if any of them ever had to exercise like this just to make progress they'd bust a gourd. - Andy DeSoto

**sigh** - Cheryl Jones

if only i could jump rope... I mean, i know I technically *could,* but... i am very uncoordinated. very. (I cannot emphasize that enough.) - edythe

@Edythe: the shorter life expectancy makes up for it - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Stupid Blogger: ha. well, you make a decent point there. - edythe

I have a theory that slow metabolism was originally an evolutionary advantage for nomadic populations. Makes since to me at least. - FFing Enigma (aka Tina)

Hm. This just reinforces my conviction that I'm going to kick the bucket at 55. - Nathan Rein

High intensity for shorter durations has always been effective, in my experience. Of course, it depends on what you are trying to achieve. - Bren, Not Grinchy

nathan! no. Bren - thank you for making all of this complete. Anytime exercise and diet come up, there's always someone who says: "Of course, it depends on what you are trying to achieve." :D - edythe

Blogged it here: http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archive... - James Joyner

polly you brought up a great exercise. one that most people dont even consider. jumping rope. all my routines start with the rope. i do 3 solid minutes just to get my heart up to about 150bpm. that said, i never jumped rope in my life. i started when i started working out again this year. its incredibly easy and you can jump at what ever pace you want. its also one of the best-fun-easy(technically) exercises that you can do. get yourself a good rope preferably with bearings in the handles... - Carlos Ayala

...and jump with both feet. it will be a while before you can switch feet and jump fast. start really slow and you'll see that your body/legs will actually want to jump faster. find your pace and go with that. there are plenty of really good videos on youtube as well. i hope you try it. dont let the "iam too uncoordinated for this" stop you. - Carlos Ayala

well, carlos, i appreciate the encouragement and I will try, but...it's not what I would call an "easy" exercise by any means. - edythe

aw, james joyner. :) there's no need to put a link to me for blogging it! i thought it was interesting, but I didn't write it. you're the one who had original ontent to add. :p but that was very sweet of you. - edythe

Strange. I've been losing weight exercising 30 mins a day with a reduced diet. - Lindsey is Fierce!

Although I heartily agree with this line: "For the obese, the end goal should not be thinness, but health and self-acceptance, which are more realistic and beneficial objectives." - Lindsey is Fierce!

Edythe: sorry if it sounds like a cliche, but it really is true. Like anything else, different goals require different paths. Not only that, but different people have different requirements, even if the goal is the same. My personal feeling is this: find exercise that you either a) enjoy or b) can tolerate, then do it consistently (and work hard, nothing worth having comes cheap). Beyond that, eat healthfully...and don't worry too much about it...you look great - Bren, Not Grinchy