Weight Loss During Exercise

Weight Loss During Exercise
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Weight loss during exercise depends upon your intensity level, age, gender, current weight, health condition and exercise duration. Any exercise is better than no exercise for weight loss. Burning more calories by exercising than you consume results in weight loss. In addition to exercising, weight loss occurs only when eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet. Remember to start out slow and gradually increase time and intensity levels. Check with your doctor first.

Low Level

Exercise done at low-level intensities burns fewer calories than other forms of exercise. Low levels suit individuals new to exercising or those recuperating from an illness or surgery. Light-level exercises do not cause you to break a sweat, breathe harder or experience changes in the ability to carry on a conversation or sing. Exercising at this level appears easy and is recommended for individuals new to exercising. An example of a light-intensity exercise is taking a leisurely walk or stroll.

Moderate Level

Moderate-intensity levels provide you with a degree of challenge in your weight loss during exercise. Moderate levels involve working up a sweat after 10 minutes of exercise, increasing your heart rate, affecting your ability to sing, but not carry on a conversation, and boosting your breathing rate. Examples include brisk walking, swimming laps at a moderate pace, water aerobics and bicycling.

In order to achieve as many health benefits as possible, engage in moderately-intense levels of exercise for at least 150 minutes weekly or 30 minutes on at least five days per week. Breaking up the 30 minutes into 10-minute increments can provide cardiovascular benefits for time-constrained individuals.

Vigorous Level

High-intensity levels of exercise, also known as vigorous, burn the highest amount of calories and help the most with weight loss. Exercising at a high intensity level increases breathing rate to rapid and deep, makes it challenging to carry on a conversation of more than a few words and increases your heart rate enough to work up a sweat in only a few minutes.

In order to achieve the greatest level of cardiovascular benefits and weight loss, you need to engage in vigorous levels of exercise for at least 75 minutes weekly. Vigorous-level exercises include running, jogging, varieties of skiing, competitive swimming and bicycling.

Benefits

Weight loss during exercise provides many benefits. Weight loss takes stress off your joints, thereby increasing joint flexibility and mobility while decreasing pain levels. Movement becomes enhanced. Weight loss and exercise also lower risks of developing other health ailments including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and uncontrolled cholesterol levels.

Exercise also enhances mental outlook and sleep by being a natural stress-reliever. It operates as a weight-management tool that suppresses appetite and improves self-confidence and independence levels. Activity also increases energy levels, providing more stamina and endurance to stimulate exercise and movement, and improves muscle and bone strength.

References

Article reviewed by Lauren Fritsky Last updated on: May 26, 2011

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