Many health organizations, including the Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health, advise dieters to combine healthy nutrition with exercise to optimize weight loss. Regular exercise can lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar levels, reducing risk of heart disease and diabetes. Many dieters also experience increases in energy and better muscle tone, giving them an improved sense of physical health and wellness. You should consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise or diet program.
Significance
Weight loss occurs when your calorie output is greater than your intake. When you decrease your caloric intake and engage in physical activity, you can often burn more calories, which results in weight loss. Exercise will also speed up your body's metabolism, so over time you will burn calories faster than when you were sedentary. Healthy diet and exercise combined can jump-start a weight-loss program and keep it successful over the long term.
Aerobic Activity
Aerobic activities such as jogging, swimming, and biking all increase breathing and heart rate. These activities improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance. The NIH suggests that people do two to three hours of aerobic exercise per week, and activities should be done for a minimum of 10 minutes at a time. To promote effective weight loss, you should gradually increase the length of the aerobic workouts and their intensity. For example, run for a longer time period and choose a route that has steep, hilly stretches.
Strength Training
Strength training, or anaerobic exercise, includes activities that increase muscle mass and strength. Activities such as weightlifting, resistance training and pushups or situps are all anaerobic exercises. The NIH explains that alternating strength training with aerobic workouts ensures that an individual will increase muscle tone and reduce body fat. Muscle weighs more than fat, so dieters may see a slight weight gain as they tone up, and measurements in the hips, chest, and waist typically reduce in size.
Mind/Body, and Flexibility Activities
Yoga, Pilates and tai chi all increase flexibility and assist with relaxation and stress reduction. While these activities are not always done at a vigorous level, they can improve muscle tone and energy levels. These exercises can be a valuable complement to any weight-loss plan, as they promote relaxation and can help dieters avoid food cravings and unhealthy eating habits that often accompany stress.
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