The Exercise Enigma - both genders

[atomic sagebrush]

If you're using it as a sway tactic I would try to make it 5 days a week if possible!! If you're jsut wanting to use it for fun, I would not worry about occasionally having a leisurely ride with the kiddos as long s you are ok on diet.

[cpsvlc08]

I'm really confused about what would actually work for me with DS1 I wasn't exercising barely at all but with DS2 I actually was at the lowest weight I had been since high school due to running 5-6 days a week pretty long distances (at least I think so)... I was running about 8-10km and sometimes up to 15-16kms. I didn't do any weights at all. Right now, I run between 7-10 km 5 days/week and this usually takes 45mins (give or take depending on the distance). I am soaked with sweat (I know gross! )afterwards as it's usually inside on the treadmill. I really don't want to give my running up as I find it a huge stress reliever for me. I just don't know what I should do as I've done the couch potato route and then the other extreme. It would be hard for me to be more intense on a daily basis.... ugggh I'm so confused on what I should do and wondering if I can get suggestions on exercising and swaying pink.

[atomic sagebrush]

exercise does not exist in a vaccuum; it is the whole package with diet, exercise, and other lifestyle things that sway (and even then not anywhere near 100%). I think the stats show clearly that exercise is the way to go and so I recommend it to anyone who is able to do it, even if you got a boy before. You got a boy in SPITE of the exercise, not because of it, whether it was down to luck or the other things in your life that were swaying blue or both. It would be a step in the wrong direction to leave it out because of some need to "do the opposite" when that wasn't even why you got a boy to begin with.

[maidentomother]

Is this the place to say how unreliable I personally believe BMI to be as your fat indicator? I am athletic and muscular. When I enter my BMI (just by height and weight) it says I am borderline overweight. I really am not though. I think the only reliable methods are the under water measurement, etc. Anyway, it's not that important I just felt like voicing it somewhere.

I agree and I'm at the opposite end. Even with a BMI of 16 (my all time 'high' is 18), I have more body fat by % than many of my 'heavier' friends who are very fit & muscular. I'm hoping that will help me sway pink...

I'm so naturally un-muscular that I think not exercising will be better for me, as I'm inevitably more muscular whenever I'm exercising, even with long distance running. But I have seen very muscular women lose major muscle with the same type of running, so I do believe it would probably help them sway.

[atomic sagebrush]

It is literally impossible for women to add muscle without gaining (significant) amounts of weight. When people start exercise, they often worry that they are becoming more muscular when in reality they are simply losing body fat that was covering muscle. So the msucles may appear more defined but if you've lost weight, you've lost muscle.

All that having been said, anyone with BMI of 16-18 shoudl not be doing exercise anyway and I totally agree that you should not include it in your plan.

[maidentomother]

True, but if you are burning more fat than muscle, you lower your overall body fat % so really you are becoming more muscular, even without gaining actual new muscle (which really IS difficult for women and would require much more protein intake than the LE diet allows).

[atomic sagebrush]

You may be increasing the % of your body that is muscle in proportion to fat, but you aren't gaining muscle, at lower weights you will have LESS muscle. Since muscle (in a very roundabout way) helps to raise testosterone levels, when you lose muscle, you will have lower testosterone levels, even if a higher proportion of your body is muscle.

There are a lot of very skinny men who have a high % muscle to fat ratio, but as a general rule they are going to be lower in testosterone than a guy who weighs 250 lbs even if he does have a higher % body fat.

[Dutchgirl]

Hi Atomic,

I started dieting for TTC a girl jan 6, so 9 days now. I allready lost nearly 3 kg.
I can't exercise for 6 days for 60min. Is it ok to do now just my usual exercise like walking the dogs, and start with the exercise from AF-O when we are trying to conceive?

[atomic sagebrush]

I just honestly can't say what is ok and what isn't. I don't have the level of data I would need to pin it down any closer than I already have.

We have seen people on here who have done much less exercise and gotten girls.

If the weight is coming off very quickly, I would probably not even do exercise. You are going to end up stopping ovulation.

[deb]

Hi all, I will be trying to sway pink this year. Have about 40 lbs to loose and have never exercised on a regular basis. Should I try to do the 60 minutes a day 6 days a week exercising or just continue not exercising? I work 12 hr shifts so I am a bit worried about working out on the days I work. I can work out 4 days in a row for sure because I always have at least 4 days off after I work my set of shifts. Also, I am worried I won't be able to keep up high intensity cardio for a full 60 minutes. Would walking/jogging on the treadmill for 60 minutes be good enough for a couch potato type like me or is it better to not work out at all?
Any opinions appreciated