Technically speaking, you can lose weight by only altering your diet, no exercise needed. All you have to do is consume fewer calories than you burn through everyday activities. But limit your calorie intake too much and you might actually slow your metabolism, making weight loss harder. If you want to lose weight quickly, pairing a healthy diet with increased physical activity is the only healthy way to do it.
Statistics
Eating a healthy diet is a big part of weight loss: The fewer excess calories you take in, the fewer calories you have to burn to lose weight. But losing weight with diet alone is a struggle. According to the American Council on Exercise, only 10 percent of the people in the National Weight Control Registry -- a list of people who have lost weight and kept it off for at least a year -- managed it with diet alone. By comparison, 89 percent lost weight and kept it off with a combination of diet and exercise.
Types of Exercise
You don't have to exercise in a gym if you don't want to. Anything that burns calories counts as exercise. Try home workout videos, or outdoor recreation like kayaking, hiking, rock climbing and inline skating. You can also take up an active hobby like dance or martial arts. These classes might not focus on calorie burning as a primary goal, but you still burn calories anyway -- and getting involved in group classes is a good way to find encouragement and motivation to keep going.
Misconceptions
You don't have to imitate the body-shredding workouts you see on television to help you lose weight. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend aiming for a sustainable weight loss goal of 1 to 2 lbs. per week. Just 60 to 90 minutes of exercise on most days, combined with a healthy diet, is enough to establish the daily caloric deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories you need to meet this goal.
Modifications
Although you don't have to work out to within an inch of your life to lose weight, hard workouts make the pounds come off faster. If you want to maximize your calorie burn but don't have time for all-day workouts, use appropriate modifications to make your exercise time as challenging as possible. Intersperse high-speed intervals with normal-speed recovery bouts throughout your workout, walk, bike, run or hike uphill instead of on flat ground, or wear a weight vest during low-impact, weight-bearing activities like walking.
Benefits
Using exercise as part of your weight loss program helps reshape your body, sculpting a lean, muscular look that becomes more visible as the fat comes off. Exercise also gives you the strength and endurance to manage everyday tasks more easily. Doing physical things you never thought you could manage can leave you feeling accomplished. But exercise offers even more benefits: It boosts your immune system, improves your mood, reduces your risk of developing some diseases and helps you stay independent as you get older.
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