Losing weight comes down to burning more calories than you take in on a daily basis and doing so consistently. Every extra 3,500 calories you burn equals one pound of weight lost. It's advisable for most people to ease into new fitness plans gradually so that their bodies can adjust, but those who are already healthy and can handle vigorous activity may want to try methods that will accelerate weight loss.
High Impact Aerobics
Brisk walking, light jogging, leisure biking and other low impact aerobic activities burn calories constantly, but bigger results come from high impact activities such as quick jogging, running, sprinting or mountain biking. According to the Mayo Clinic, high impact aerobics burn an average of about 150 more calories per hour than low impact aerobics. Each exercise burns an amount of calories that's proportionate to its intensity, so walking burns almost 300 calories per hour, jogging burns almost 600, and running burns close to 1,000. With aerobics, try to exceed the American College of Sports Medicine's minimum guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
Strength Training
The Cleveland Clinic notes that any complete workout routine should include strength training along with aerobics and flexibility exercises. Strength training burns fewer calories than aerobic exercise, but it's more effective at building muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories at a resting heart rate than body fat does, so strength training is an integral part of an accelerated weight loss plan. Try doing rows, dead lifts and curls with medium hand weights or using your own body weight to strengthen with exercises such as the plank.
Interval Training
Interval training alternates bursts of intense exercise with periods of more moderate exercise. It's effective at burning more calories over a standard period of time than exercising at one consistently modest pace. An example of interval training is alternating five minutes of jogging with one minute of sprinting. Even though the more intense activity is for only a short period of time, the total number of calories burned increases. The Mayo Clinic notes that interval training also helps to improve your overall aerobic capacity and reduce waste products in the muscles.
Reduced Calorie Diet
One way to lose weight without burning extra calories is to reduce the number of calories that you eat on a daily basis. Generally, following a diet doesn't result in rapid weight loss in the same way that vigorous exercise can, but it's still a helpful strategy, especially when combined with regular workouts. HelpGuide.org recommends forming a diet that uses substitutions, such as drinking water instead of soda and choosing oatmeal for breakfast instead of pancakes. Focusing on fresh, whole and unprocessed or minimally processed foods is also likely to cut your daily calorie totals, since fresh foods tend to have more nutrients and fewer calories.
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