Exercise burns calories, and a deficit in calories can lead to weight loss. How many calories you burn depends on your age, size and the type and intensity level of the exercise in which you engage. Slow, consistent weight loss is a better choice than fast weight loss, which is often quickly regained. Regular exercise, coupled with a healthy diet, can improve your health and lead to lasting weight loss; consult your doctor before beginning any new weight-loss program.
Calories and Weight Loss
There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of fat. To lose 1 pound, you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. If you burn 500 calories a day by exercising, at the end of a week you would lose 1 pound. If you reduce your dietary intake by 500 calories per day along with exercising, you would lose 2 pounds a week. Although you could do more, 1 to 2 pounds a week is considered a healthy weight-loss pace, according to the MedlinePlus online medical encyclopedia.
Exercise and Weight Loss
Although the number of calories you will expend depend on the intensity level and your individual situation, the following activities burn a high number of calories for a 160-pound person, the Mayo Clinic calculates: High-impact aerobics burns 511 calories per hour; jogging at 5 miles per hour burns 584; running at 8 mph burns 986; playing singles tennis burns 584. Activities that burn calories more slowly for a 200-lb. person in one hour, meanwhile, include walking at 2 mph, which burns 228 calories; weightlifting using free weights or Nautilus machines, which burns 273; and bowling, which burns 273.
Recommendations
To lose weight, the American College of Sports Medicine suggests 200 to 300 minutes of activity per week, or about 2,000 calories burned. To achieve this, you would need to engage in 60 minutes of activity five days a week, burning around 300 to 400 calories each exercise session. To prevent weight regain, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends 60 to 90 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week, or 400 to 500 calories per exercise session. The National Weight Control Registry, which tracks individuals who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for more than one year, seconds this suggestion, noting that its participants reported burning more than 2,500 calories weekly, or 400 to 500 per session, doing physical activity.
Research
Research published in 2008 in the journal "Archives of Internal Medicine" tracked attempts by overweight and obese women to sustain weight loss. In addition to limiting calories, the study reported that these women may need to exercise 55 minutes a day for five days per week to sustain a weight loss of 10 percent of their body weight over two years. Recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services as of 2011 are for two hours and 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. A growing consensus suggests more exercise may be needed to boost long-term weight loss, the ScienceDaily website reports.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise for Weight Loss: Calories Burned in 1 Hour
- Weight Watchers: Exercise Recommendations for Calorie-Burning Activity
- ScienceDaily: Current Exercise Recommendations May Not Be Sufficent For Overweight Women to Sustain Weight Loss
- American College of Sports Medicine: Physical Activity & Public Health Guidelines
- MedlinePlus: Tips for Losing Weight
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