Is it true that the people on The Biggest Loser workout for up to 8 hours per day? How is that humanly possible? Also, how long do you workout each day to lose your weight, and do you have to "up the ante" once you've lost the weight and want to keep it off?
For those of you who work out over an hour DAILY, how do you do it? What thoughts are going through your mind as you spend minute after minute after ... well, you get it, on the treadmill?
It takes me about 42 minutes to run 3 miles and I want to do it at least 3 - 4 times a week, but how do I maintain my will to continue?

Thanks

I walk for about 40 minutes just about every single day or I should say evening usually after work. I do Pilates three times a week also for about 40 minutes and I lift weights every other day (mistakenly put every in another post) for about ten minutes.
Eight hours is ridiculous!

You just have to convince yourself to do it each time. My cell phone alarm rings for my Pilates so I HAVE to do it right? It's like you're supposed to go to work you don't just say "I'm not doing it today" (well most of us don't) so make it like your job.
And you know as well as I and everyone else does that once you start it will feel so good it'll be easy to continue!

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

On the biggest loser, they have nothing else to do. They don't have to work, clean, cook....their entire life is about losing weight while they are on the ranch. I am sure that they don't go and spend 8 hours on the treadmill. I have a feeling that swimming, walking, sports...other ways to get exercise are included. I think one of the reasons so many of the people fail when they return home is that in the real world, you do have to cook, clean, work and raise kids. Reality can be very harsh..
I do the treadmill Mon, Wed and Friday for 45 minutes. On Tues, Thur, and Saturday I lift weights for about 20-30 minutes. I also try to do some form of aerobics on Saturday. I do my ab work all six days. Sunday is my day of rest.
I try to stay within 1200 calories Mon-Fri. Saturday I eat/drink whatever I want.
I agree with the previous poster that you have to make exercise a priority. When I get home from work I go change into my workout clothes and hop on the treadmill that way....I am not tempted to skip it. I am very lucky because I am generally home from work by 3 pm, so I can get it done before dinner!

My workout routine sounds similar to tammyleeb's

Mon- 50 min plus on the treadmill. ()
Tues- 30 min. Strength training routine followed by a few min of gentle yoga.
Wed - 30 min on treadmill doing interval training
Thurs - 30 min. Strength training routine followed by a few min of gentle yoga.
Fri- 30-40 min on treadmill with a steep incline.
Sat - Whatever I feel like treadmill, strength training, or a video (yoga, pilates, tae-bo, dancing)
Sun- No workout but I usually do alot of housework on sun's.

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"Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile. Life may not be the party we hoped for but while we're here we should dance."

Peace.

I workout 6 days a week. Usually it's a mile or 2 on the treadmill, an hour of Wii Fit, 50 Ab crunches and then about 5-10 minutes of stretching (yoga style). Periodically I'll add lifting to the routine...maybe once a week.

I walk on the treadmill 2-3 times a week for an hour (at around 3.5 MPH and 2 incline) while I watch TV. Sometimes I put in a movie but usually it's HGTV or something. I can't just walk and not watch something. I also try to do Wii Fit a few times a week. I got the Wii Fitness Trainer and it's great! I've been swamped this week with family stuff but once things are "back to normal" (whatever that is right LOL), I'll do that 2 times a week.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I walk every day on the treadmill. 3-4 incline 3-4 mph. I start slower and work my way up. I walk 2 times a day, 30 minutes at 5am before I get ready for work and 45-60 minutes at night. I am on WW, and so far have lost about 30 pounds in 12 weeks. Every day I have to push myself, to get my fat butt on the treadmill, but I do it because I am tired of being fat.

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Freedom Stands...Because HEROS Serve

Mary

I workout 5 days a week. . .sometimes only 4. I used to train strongman and have many friends in fitness (ie. bodybuilders, fitness girls and strongmen.) You really don't need to do a lot of cardio. . .that's a myth. What you do need to do is lift heavy and eat clean. Bodybuilder's and their coaches will tell you that what your body looks like is 90% diet. I know this to be true because strongmen only care about how strong they are. . .they workout and lift weights a lot, but eat whatever they like. This was my training partner. She went to World's in Poland last year and placed 5th. She works out religiously and is crazy strong. . . .but she eats whatever she feels because she is only interested in gaining strength:




On the other hand. . .if you really want to lose fat, you have to tighten the diet. . .it's the only way. My friend coached a married couple (bodybuilding and figure competing). The transformation was unbelievable!!! They worked out 5 days a week. . .lifting, with just about 20mins of cardio after. Usually the week before they get on stage they increase their cardio to look really cut, but most of the fat is already gone. Let's see if I can find their before and after shots.



and his wife:



Mind you, the before pics were taken in Jan 07 and the after pics are July 07. Yeah! Only 6 months!!! BUT. . .their diet was very controlled (and when I say diet, I don't mean crazy restricted calories, but what kinds of food, how often, the timing, etc.)

Soooo. . .I guess what I meant to say is that it's not really how long you workout. . .but how you feed your body to maximize fat loss.

ETA: Oh yeah. . .I almost never do stand alone cardio. I'll do circuits to get my heart rate up. . .but honest, a good full body lift day is good cardio in itself. . . .I know I'm huffing and puffing. lol

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

Oh yeah. . .I wanted to add this link. I don't know her personally, but she is a friend of an online friend. I LOVE her philosophy! It's so true. . .she hates working out and eating right, but she does it anyway. On days I don't feel like doing it. . .I go to her site. She looks amazing!

ChickenTuna

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"No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
- George Orwell Animal Farm

She may have a good body but those water balloons look ridiculous!

My computer's net nanny blocked the pics...

Kudos to the Net Nanny. You're not missing anything but pictures of really bad fake "water balloons."