Last Updated on December 19, 2021 by David Vause
I have long suspected that there was something special happening to the human body when we train daily for 1 to 1.5 hours. Initially, I noticed the transformation in myself: I dropped 40 lbs and more than 30 lbs has stayed off me for 15 years, even as I now approach 70. Then, I read Daniel Lieberman’s book, The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. As is often the case with me, I cannot find the book at the moment, but he writes that our ancestor hunter-gathers foraged for the equivalent of 5 or 8 miles a day. Recently, I became aware of The National Weight Control Registry, a study of over 10,000 individuals who have lost 30 lbs and kept it off for at least one year. 90% of these individuals exercise an average of 1 hour per day
On 12/9/2020, The New York Times ran a story, To Lose Weight With Exercise, Aim for 300 Minutes a Week. It refers to two really important papers that indicate successful weight loss and maintenance occurs when individuals burn over 3000 calories a week: Energy compensation in response to aerobic exercise training in overweight adults and Exercise for Weight Loss: Further Evaluating Energy Compensation with Exercise.
3000 calories is roughly a 30 mile week of running. That’s a bit over 4 miles a day at a very easy pace. An hour per day……maybe because that how we evolved to be.
Daniel Lieberman
Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease
The National Weight Control Registry
Energy compensation in response to aerobic exercise training in overweight adults
