Experts agree: The best exercise to lose weight quickly is the one you will do and keep doing. You will lose more weight twiddling your thumbs than not doing a cardio workout! Start your exercise program with an activity you can and will actually do.
In fact, your best bet is to start with an activity you already do and enjoy. Just figure out how you can use up more calories doing it. Weight loss is about creating a calorie deficit, which means using up more calories than you take in. So, if you like to play golf, walk the course instead of riding in a cart. If you like to take a stroll in the evening, take a longer route, go faster, or both. If you enjoy shopping, park at the far end of the parking lot and use the stairs instead of the escalator.
A reasonable weight loss goal for most people is one or two pounds per week. (This can vary according to your metabolism, your age, and your current weight.) You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound. In other words, to lose one pound in a week you need to burn 500 more calories per day. Eating nutritious food and exercising more is a healthy approach to quick weight loss. If you don’t eat enough healthy food your metabolism will slow down and so will your weight loss. Starving yourself is not a healthy or effective way to lose weight.
Weight loss experts recommend at least 200 minutes of moderately intense exercise a week–about three hours and twenty minutes a week. If you are new to regular exercise, start with 50 minutes a week and work up to 200 minutes.
You will burn more calories with a cardio (or aerobic) workout than with resistance (or strength) training. Strength training, while important for health and conditioning, does not burn enough calories for quick weight loss. Interval cardio work is a good option for many people; it involves a variety of activities that use different muscle groups. With interval training you move from one exercise to another exercise in set time intervals (hence the name “interval training”). You might, for example, start with 15 minutes on the stationary bike, followed by 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer, and ending with 15 minutes on the treadmill. (For a person who weighs about 145 pounds, 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer alone will burn 150 calories.) The variety in interval training helps reduce both boredom and injuries—the two major reasons people stop exercising.
More Great Ways to Exercise to Lose Weight
The amount of calories you will burn in any given exercise depends on a number of factors, including your age, physical condition, and weight.
Walking. Walking is a safe exercise for most people, and an excellent way to start a weight loss routine. Walking at a moderately brisk pace of one mile in 15 minutes burns up about 175 calories in half an hour. For many people the best exercise to lose weight quickly is walking uphill at a 15-degree incline for 20 minutes a day, five days a week.
Running. Running is an excellent cardio exercise. Depending on your speed you can burn up to 300 calories in half an hour. The faster you move, the more calories you burn.
Cross-country skiing. Whether in the snow or on a machine, cross-country skiing gets the upper and lower body going in a terrific cardio workout. Expect to burn off over 300 calories in 30 minutes.
Bicycling. Like cross-country skiing, you can bicycle outdoors or inside on a machine. Depending on the speed and incline, you can burn about 250-500 calories in half an hour.
Swimming. Swimming is a cardio workout that uses the entire body. You can burn 400 calories in half an hour doing the breaststroke.
Step aerobics. Burn 400 calories in 30 minutes as you exercise your legs, hips, and glutes in a step aerobics class.
Rock climbing. Not just good for your arm and leg muscles, rock climbing is a great cardio exercise. You can burn nearly 400 calories in half an hour.
Nine Terrific Tips for Exercising for Weight Loss
1. Exercising with a buddy will keep you at it. It’s harder to skip your exercise routine if someone is counting on you.
2. Schedule your workouts. Make appointments for your workouts and keep an exercise calendar with your appointments written down—even if the appointments are just with yourself.
3. Keep an exercise log to keep a record of your workouts. This will help you reach your goals and inspire you to keep at it.
4. Weigh yourself daily to help stay on track.
5. Take weekly photos of yourself to see if you are losing weight. If you are not, maybe you need to change your routine. If you are, congratulations and keep it up!
6. Cook at home more often and eat out less. When you cook it yourself you can control the calories. Don’t forget that losing weight requires both calorie control and exercise.
7. Get together with friends for a walk instead of a dinner out. Walking and talking is a great way to keep exercise interesting and fun.
8. Cut back on liquor. Sorry, but it has a lot of calories, and the more calories you take in the more you have to exercise to lose that weight.
9. If you are not used to aerobic exercise, talk to your doctor before you start a vigorous exercise program. Your doctor can advise you how to exercise safely and effectively given your age, physical condition, and general health.
Successful weight loss means taking it off and keeping it off. Remember, it took time to gain the weight, so it will take time to lose it. Find your own best exercise to lose weight quickly, and keep at it for long-term weight control.