The amount of exercise you need to do to lose weight depends on how much you reduce your calorie intake. The more you cut calories, the less exercise you will need. It is very difficult to lose a significant amount of weight through exercise alone, however. Finding a sustainable balance between dieting and exercise is the most effective way to lose weight quickly. Check with your doctor before making changes in your exercise or diet plan.
Setting Your Goal
Moderate your weight-loss goal to no more than 2 lbs. per week. This is not only considered healthy, it also keeps you from starting to a rigorous plan that you can't sustain over the long term. Since 1 lb. of fat contains 3,500 calories, losing 2 lbs. a week requires a calorie deficit of 7,000 calories, or 1,000 calories a day. Decide how may calories per day you want to cut from your diet, and you will know how about many calories per day you need to burn through exercise. Do not cut your total daily caloric intake below 1,300.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is sustained exercise, such as jogging or swimming, that raises your heart rate to 60 to 80 percent of its maximum. How many calories you burn per hour of aerobic exercise depends on your body weight and the intensity of your exercise.
Jogging at 5 mph will burn about 584 calories per hour if you weigh 160 lbs., for example, and 872 calories per hour if you weight 240 lbs. -- representing less than a quarter of a pound of fat. A brisk walk, by contrast, will burn only 414 calories even of you weigh 240 lbs., according to MayoClinic.com
Muscle Building
Progressive muscle-building activities such as weightlifting burn only 200 or 300 calories per hour, because intense exertion is followed by frequent rests. However, since muscle tissue is denser in blood vessels than fat tissue, a significant increase in muscle mass will force your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day, simply to supply your new muscles with blood and oxygen. Therefore, the long-term payoff of regular bodybuilding might be greater than the payoff for aerobic exercise, and could result in a net weight loss even with new muscle tissue.
Water
When you exercise, you get thirsty. You might be tempted to avoid drinking too much water for fear of gaining "water weight." Water weight, however, is caused by water retention, and drinking a lot of water will keep water circulating through your system, actually decreasing water weight. In addition, a study reported on the Discovery News website found that drinking 2 cups of water before each meal can help people who are middle-aged or older lose weight permanently.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise for Weight Loss: Calories Burned in One Hour
- MayoClinic.com: Weight Loss: Six Strategies for Success
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
- Cleveland Clinic: Exercise and Weight Control
- MayoClinic.com: Weight-Loss Goals: 10 Tips for Success
- Discovery News; Drinking Water Proven to Help Weight Loss; Emily Sohn; 2010
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