Losing weight and toning your muscles can be easy if you make permanent changes to your lifestyle. To lose weight, you must alter your caloric intake by burning more calories daily than you eat. Adding exercise to your daily routine will help you burn calories and tone.
Calories
One pound of fat is equal to roughly 3,500 calories. Over the course of a week, through exercise, you could achieve one pound of weight loss by burning 500 excess calories daily. A 180-lb. person, for example, can lose around 323 calories biking at a leisurely pace for an hour, according to ProHealth online exercise calorie calculator.
Exercise
Exercise is important to overall health and especially in weight loss because of the high amount of calories that are burned. According to the 2005 USDA guidelines, to help manage body weight and prevent gradual weight gain, you should engage in 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Moderate physical activities include things such as bicycling, running, jogging, recreational sports and using a rowing machine.
Water
Water flushes your system of toxins and promotes healthy kidney function. It also is important when exercising to keep muscles hydrated. Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of water and make you feel full without adding extra calories. Aim to drink at least eight glasses per day and eat foods high in water content such as oranges, apples, pears, carrots and grapefruit.
Toning
You also can tone your muscle through exercise. Jogging, running and biking can tone your muscles. Lifting weights also is effective. Pick a weight of which you can complete 12 repetitions. To tone your arms, use weights to do biceps curls. To tone your legs, use a machine to do knee extensions or knee bends on your stomach. Squats also are an effective exercise for a broad area of muscles including your back, leg and arm muscles. According to MayoClinic.com, you only need to strength train two or three times a week to see results.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics
- Health.gov: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
- MayoClinic.com: Energy Density and Weight Loss: Feel Full on Fewer Calories
- ProHealth: Exercise & Activity Calculator
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
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