Any exercise burns calories, and swimming is a low-impact form of exercise that does not burn you out while you burn calories. Fitness swimmers sometimes keep a swim journal to write down weekly yardage and interval times, which helps with motivation between workouts. You can swim on your own, or join a swimming group to enjoy healthy competition and the camaraderie of fellow fitness enthusiasts.
Calories and Weight
Even if you swim miles each day, you will not lose weight unless you control your food intake. To lose weight, you need a calorie deficit, and eating fewer calories than you burn each day results in your body making up for the difference by burning excess body weight. You need to eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and some lean protein. Eating fewer calories to help weight loss, but enough to keep your endurance and fitness levels up during exercise is an important balancing act. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website explains that a modest cutback of just 500 calories per day from your daily caloric requirements results in one pound of excess weight lost in a week.
Calories and Swimming
You increase the number of calories you need each day by engaging in aerobic exercise such as swimming. Swimming engages your entire body in motion, working out all your major muscle groups. The number of calories you burn depends on how much you weigh, how long you swim, and the intensity with which you work out. You burn 761 calories swimming freestyle fast, for one hour, if you weigh 145 lbs. The energy you expend increases to 971 calories if you weigh 185 lbs.
Building Muscle
You might not lose weight when you swim, yet you may like the way you look, and you may feel better than before. Swimming tones your legs and upper body, building strength and replacing fat with muscle. Muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, so you might not lose weight, or might even gain some weight when you start working out. Concentrating on how you feel and how your clothes fit is an appropriate way to gauge the success of your diet, along with weight loss.
Exercise Duration
You benefit from exercising at least 30 minutes per day at least five times per week, say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Moderately intense physical activity improves your heart and lung function and assists in weight control. To lose weight, or burn fat swimming, you should increase the time you spend in the pool and swim more often, in addition to eating a healthy diet, says the CDC. Mixing up your routine to include both sprints and endurance swims helps to keep your interest level high and your metabolism burning calories.
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