Strenuous Exercise To Lose Weight Can Be Demotivating, Study Finds

People who engage in moderate exercise – e.g., walking briskly for 30 minutes a day – are more likely to be motivated to continue their routines than people who engage in strenuous training, a Danish study has found. For 13 weeks, researchers monitored 60 moderately overweight, but healthy, Danish men who either exercised 30 minutes a day or worked out strenuously for one hour. The moderate exercisers lost an average of 3.6 kg; the strenuous exercisers lost only 2.7 kg. Interviews revealed that the men who exercised the least had higher energy levels and were more motivated to exercise and pursue a healthy lifestyle.  But the men who exercised for an hour a day felt exhausted and demotivated after their workouts.