Daily Dish for Wednesday 7/13

[Denise85]

The 30-Minute Rule

The following is an excerpt from the June issue of The South Beach Diet™ Newsletter — a publication printed monthly and packed with exclusive in-depth articles, diet tips, and brand-new, delicious recipes. Act now and get 2 issues risk-free!

Adding exercise to your South Beach Diet™ lifestyle is an essential part of losing weight and getting healthier.

A well-rounded beginning exercise routine will include at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity plus 10 minutes of stretching most days — a mere 30 minutes total. Such a routine will allow you to acclimate to physical activity while improving blood chemistry and burning calories. When combined with a healthy lifestyle plan like The South Beach Diet™, a regular dose of daily exercise goes a long way toward helping you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

If you can't set aside 30 consecutive minutes each day, try breaking up your workouts into three 10-minute or two 15-minute sessions. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that exercise does not need to be consecutive to be beneficial.

In January 2005, the federal government released new dietary guidelines that call for a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise each day to maintain health and 60 to 90 minutes for weight loss. Do you really need one hour of exercise most days to see results? "I'm very happy that they're putting an emphasis on exercise," Dr. Agatson says, "but for a lot of people it's not a realistic amount. Thirty minutes will help with weight loss and weight maintenance over the long term." That's not to say that more isn't better, but those who are just getting started need to set goals they can meet without feeling overwhelmed. Ultimately some exercise is better than none at all.