Originally Posted by myrridin

While I am not quite to 50 pounds of loss yet, I'll chime in anyway.

The only form of exercise I perform is cycling. When I first started (which was about two months before I even thought about loosing weight, I could barely manage 10 minutes per day. During the course of most of that weight loss, I was performing at least 30-45 minutes per day six times a week. For the last month or so (six months total) I have been riding about a hour a day, six days a week. Unlike the beggining where duration was limited by my ability, now the limit is simply the time I have available for the exercise.

As I have become more active, I have noticed that I am not as sedentary as I had been in the past. So, while not exercise per se, I find I am more likely to take the stairs, rather then an elevator, and when I go somewhere, I usually park in the back of the lot and walk more. Even just around the house I find I move more... Even though this is not exercise, I believe it contributes to a better metabolism.

Personally, I believe any form of activity (that gets the heart pumping) in the 45 - 60 minute a day, 5-6 days a week is sufficient for simple weight loss purposes. Greater levels of activity are mostly a means to improve performance, and not really needed for simple weight loss or general health. The real key is to manage the caloric input.