Exercise is vital to maintaining a healthy, fit physique. Many people don't have time to exercise after a hard day at school or the office. On the other hand, you don't have to spend every evening doing strenuous routines at the gym. You can maintain and lose weight by incorporating simple exercises and light physical exertion into your daily schedule. Keeping track of calories consumed and the number of calories burned per activity will help you develop a fitness program to suit your busy lifestyle.
Weight Loss
There is only one formula for weight loss: Calories burned must be greater than calories consumed. According to the Mayo Clinic, a single pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. In order to lose one pound in a week, you would need to create a daily deficit of 500 calories. You can do this by eating less, burning calories through exercise, or a combination of both.
Exercise Benefits
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that regular physical exercise maintains weight, and reduces high blood pressure and the risk of type II diabetes, heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis, and cancer. Physical activity also helps to alleviate arthritis pain, depression and anxiety.
Burn Calories at Home
It's time to adjust your attitude about household chores--they're good for you! Cleaning the house from top to bottom can help you maintain your weight and lose those excess pounds. Mop floors for only 30 minutes to burn about 112 calories. Painting a room is hard work that gets results--288 calories burned every hour. The CDC considers light gardening work as moderate activity. You can burn 165 calories for every 30 minutes that you spend landscaping or maintaining a flower, herb or vegetable garden. Heavy yard work burns 220 calories per half-hour.
Calorie Burning Hobbies
Many of the things that you do for pleasure are also beneficial to your health. Hike, dance and play golf to burn off about 165 calories per half-hour.(reference 2) Ballroom dancing burns about 219 calories every hour. A leisurely walk at two miles per hour reduces your caloric intake by 183 each hour. Step it up to a moderate pace and eliminate about 280 calories for every 60 minutes you walk.
Vigorous Sports and Aerobic Activity
If you want to lose weight quickly, eat fewer calories and burn excess calories through a rigorous exercise program. If you are not already fit and trim, first obtain approval from your doctor. Consider a personal trainer to assess fitness and avoid injury before enlisting in any vigorous weight loss plan.
Running or jog faster than 5 miles-per-hour for one half-hour and cut about 295 calories. Thirty minutes of slow, freestyle swimming burns 255 calories. High-impact aerobics exercises will burn 511 calories in sixty minutes.
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