When you engage in little physical inactivity, fatty deposits, cholesterol and calcium can block the inner lining of the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle and cause coronary artery disease. A regular exercise routine can decrease your risk for this and other heart complication as well as boost your metabolism, which will help you reach your weight loss goals. The amount of exercise will depend on your fitness level, age and health status. Consult your doctor before engaging in an exercise routine if you are under medical care or taking medication.
Start Off Slowly
If you are not accustomed to doing exercise on a regular basis, start off slowly so you can gradually build up your fitness level. Low-impact cardiovascular workouts, such as swimming, dancing and brisk walking, serve as a useful starting point to incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Do at least 25 to 30 minutes of cardio every day of the week, taking the weekends to rest and recover. Power yoga is another low-impact cardio type of exercise that helps you keep your body flexible. As you incorporate these exercises into your lifestyle, your metabolism will quicken, and your body will be more apt to convert the fuel available in food into usable energy instead of having it stored as fat, helping you lose unwanted pounds.
Resistance Exercises
At least three times a week, follow your cardiovascular workout with a set of resistance exercises, such as lifting hand weights or strapping on ankle weights as you perform a series of lunges. If you are a member of a gym, you can ask the trainers to teach you how to use their weightlifting machines, where you will be able to work on isolated muscle groups. As you strengthen your muscles, you will also lose fat.
Follow Your Chart
As you begin your simple exercise program to lose weight, keeping a chart will be useful to help you stay focused and engaged. Write down your exercise goals for the day and buy small stickers that you can place on the day and activities that you complete. Write down your weight on the first day, and update your progress every 10 days. This will help you stay motivated and will allow you to see if you need to incorporate more exercise into your daily routine to meet your weight loss goals.
Variety
Even when your exercise program is simple, try to incorporate a variety of low-impact cardio workouts so you don't get bored and become unmotivated to continue with your program. Your diet also plays an important role in losing weight, and you should aim to eat fewer calories than what you burn each day for faster weight loss.
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