Health and Fitness

 

Exercise and Weight Loss

 

Exercise means being more physically active. Although people appropriately focus on diet when they're trying to lose weight, being active also is an essential component of a weight-loss program. When you're active, your body uses energy (calories) to move, helping to burn the calories you take in with food you eat. 

When losing weight, more physical activity increases the number of calories your body uses for energy or “burns off.” The burning of calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the number of calories you eat, creates a “calorie deficit” that results in weight loss.

Carrying around too much weight feels uncomfortable, and it can also damage your health. To reap the health benefits of exercise, it is recommended that you to perform some form of aerobic exercise at least three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes per session. However, more than 20 minutes is better if you want to actually lose weight. Incorporating just 15 minutes of moderate exercise — such as walking one mile — on a daily basis will burn up to 100 extra calories (assuming you don’t consume excess calories in your diet afterwards). Burning 700 calories a week can equals 10 lbs. of weight loss over the course of a year.

Some examples of the different types of exercise

Aerobic

No matter what exercise program you implement, it should include some form of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. Aerobic exercises get your heart rate up and your blood pumping. Aerobic exercises may include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and dancing. You can also work out on a fitness machine such as a treadmill, elliptical, or stair stepper.

Weight Training

A big advantage of working out with weights is that, in addition to shedding fat, you’ll build muscle. Muscle, in turn, burns calories. Talk about a healthy feedback loop! Experts recommend working all the major muscle groups three times per week. This includes:

abs

back

biceps

calves

chest

forearms

hamstrings

quads

shoulders

traps

triceps

Yoga

Yoga is not as intense as other types of exercise, but it can help you lose weight in other ways, according to a recent study by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The study found that people who practice yoga are more mindful about what they eat and, therefore, less likely to have obesity.