Aerobic exercise can help you burn the calories necessary to reach a healthy weight. Regular physical activity can also benefit your health in many other ways, including lowering your risk of heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, improving your mood and promoting better sleep, according to the CDC. Adding exercise to your routine can help you achieve your weight loss goals in a gradual, healthy way.
How Fast Can I Lose Weight With Exercise?
Exercising regularly can help you burn enough calories to lose weight gradually over a period of weeks or months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends trying to lose weight at a rate of about 1 or 2 lbs. each week. People who lose weight at this gradual pace tend to keep it off more successfully than those who lose weight unhealthily, quickly.
How Many Calories Do I Need to Burn to Lose a Pound?
To lose 1 lb., you must create a calorie deficit of 3,500 over a period of days. This means you must consume 3,500 calories fewer than you burn. Exercise and a reduced-calorie diet can help you create that deficit. To lose 1 lb. a week, you'll need to burn 500 calories more than you take in each day; to lose 2 lbs. a week, you'll need to burn 1,000 calories more than you take in each day. If you burn 500 calories through exercise each day but eat 500 calories more than your body needs to fuel its activity, you will remain in caloric balance, and you will not lose weight. Consult a nutritionist to determine how many calories you should eat each day.
Which Types of Exercise Burn the Most Calories?
Moderate to intense aerobic workouts burn the most calories the quickest. The more intense the workout and the longer its duration, the more calories you will burn. Running provides one of the most efficient calorie-burning exercises, according to MayoClinic.com. A 160-lb. person can burn 584 calories by running at 5 mph for one hour, or 986 calories by running at 8 mph for one hour. A 240-lb. person can burn 872 calories in one hour of running at 5 mph and 1,472 in one hour of running at 8 mph. An hour of playing singles tennis burns calories at about the same rate as jogging at 5 mph, according to MayoClinic.com. An hour of playing basketball can burn 584 calories for a 160-lb. adult and 872 calories for a 240-lb. adult, and an hour on the stair treadmill can burn 657 calories or 981 calories for adults of the same weights.
How Should I Supplement My Exercise?
Supplement exercise with a nutritious, reduced-calorie diet to help you lose weight. Instead of crash dieting or restricting yourself dramatically, try to make permanent changes to your eating habits. Replace high-calorie, high-fat and high-sugar snacks with healthy alternatives, like fruits, vegetables and nonfat yogurt. Avoid adding unnecessary calories to your diet with sodas, sugar-sweetened teas and alcoholic beverages. Watch your portion sizes to avoid eating too much of anything. Eat at least three meals a day, including breakfast. Your meals should emphasize whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and lean meat.
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