Losing weight slowly is the safest and typically most successful approach. Reaching a healthy weight requires the incorporation of an overall change in your lifestyle. You will be more likely to stick with a weight loss program if you make your changes gradually, instead of focusing on losing a significant amount of weight right away. Incorporating both consistent exercise and healthy eating habits are necessary to effectively lose weight slowly.
Function
To lose body fat over time, you must burn more calories than you consume. Every day you should contribute to this caloric deficit, which will eventually add up to pounds of fat loss. You need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound. An aggressive exercise program typically promotes a 500-calorie difference per day, allowing you to lose one pound per week. A less intrusive exercise plan can work more slowly if you gradually incorporate exercise into your routine.
Immediate Calorie-Burning Exercise
Every exercise activity you participate in will cause an increase in calorie burning than if you were at rest. There are some exercises that are more efficient than others. More intense activities--such as running, rollerblading and jumping rope--burn more calories per unit of time than less intense activities such as walking and low-impact aerobics. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends 2 1/2 hours of moderate aerobic activity or 1 1/4 hours of vigorous aerobic activity per week. Ideally, to lose weight gradually, get in 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise four to five days per week to burn calories.
Strength Training
A consistent strength training program will result in the increase of lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have on your body, the higher your metabolism is. Your muscles require a constant flow of fuel for maintenance, so calories are continuously provided and burned. The weight loss effects from strength training are long-term and are seen over time.
Increased Metabolism
Besides lean muscle mass having an effect on your metabolism, participating in cardiovascular exercise will also increase your metabolism for a period even after you're finished. This means that taking time to do short bouts of exercise throughout your day will keep your metabolism raised and facilitate eventual weight loss. When you're schedule allows, get up and take 10 minute breaks in the middle of your work day to walk and recharge your metabolism.
Considerations
It's important to remember the impact that your nutritional habits have on weight loss. Consuming more calories than you need to maintain your weight will cancel out any deficit that you've created via exercise. Make healthy eating and drinking choices to make your weight loss efforts with exercise successful.
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