How Does Working Out Make You Lose Weight?
Contents
The answer to this question may seem pretty simple – working out makes you lose weight because it burns calories. But there’s a little more to it than that. Find out how working out can help you lose weight and keep it off for good.
Introduction
Exercise and physical activity can help you to achieve a healthy weight and prevent weight gain. To lose weight, there’s no quick fix — you must eat fewer calories than you burn each day. Burning more calories through exercise can help you create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight. When coupled with changes to your eating habits, such as decreasing calorie intake or increasing your intake of nutritious foods, working out regularly can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.
How Exercise Helps You Burn Calories
Exercise is one of the best ways to help you lose weight. It not only helps to burn calories, but it also strengthens your muscles, increases your energy levels, and boosts your overall health. But how does working out make you lose weight? Let’s explore the different ways that exercise can help you shed those extra pounds.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise is one of the most effective types of exercise when it comes to burning calories. This type of physical activity uses large muscle groups to involve your cardiovascular and muscular systems which results in increased heart rate, allowing you to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. In aerobic exercise, oxygen is delivered to the muscles so they can produce energy for a longer period of time without becoming fatigued.
Examples of aerobic exercises include running, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, kickboxing and any other type of activity that keeps your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time. It is important to slowly build up your level of intensity – start with low-impact activities such as walking and then gradually increase the intensity as your fitness level increases over time.
In order to fully benefit from aerobic exercise you should aim for thirty minutes or more per session at least three times per week. It is also beneficial to mix variable levels of intensity within each session; alternating between high and low-intensity intervals can help boost fat burning results and allow you to hit your target calorie expenditure goals faster while also making each workout more interesting and enjoyable.
Resistance Training
Resistance training is an important aspect of physical fitness that can help you to increase lean muscle mass and boost your metabolism, which in turn will help you to burn more calories. Resistance training includes exercises that involve weights or resistance bands to increase the amount of force required by your muscles during a workout. Resistance training also helps improve bone density and joint flexibility, as well as strengthening your ligaments and tendons. You can expect to burn between 6-15 calories per minute while participating in resistance training activities such as weight lifting, kettlebells, bodyweight exercises, Pilates or TRX Suspension Training. To maximize the amount of calories that you are able to burn during resistance-based workouts, aim for 3-4 sessions per week at moderate intensity levels for around 20 minutes each session.
High Intensity Interval Training
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a type of exercise that alternates between intense bursts of activity and periods of lighter activity or rest. This type of training strengthens and improves cardiovascular fitness, and is known to burn more calories than other types of exercise. By varying the intensity, you push your body into an oxygen deficit during the intense intervals which raises your metabolic rate for several hours after you are done working out, helping to increase the number of calories burned. HIIT workouts are usually shorter in duration compared with traditional endurance training sessions and can include activities such as running or cycling intervals, or circuit training with resistance exercises.
Other Benefits of Exercise
Working out can do a lot more than just help you lose weight. Exercise has many other health benefits that can improve your quality of life. Let’s take a deeper look into the lesser-known benefits of exercise and why it is important to incorporate it into your daily routine.
Improved Metabolism
Regular physical activity can help you to boost your metabolism, which is the rate at which your body converts calories into energy. A higher metabolism helps your body to be more efficient in processing food into energy, meaning that you are able to burn more calories while maintaining your current weight. This not only allows you to lose weight but also makes it easier for you to maintain a healthy weight in the long-term. Additionally, exercise can also have a positive impact on hormones responsible for regulating appetite and hunger levels. When these hormones are balanced, it can make it easier for you to control your cravings and feel fuller for longer periods of time, promoting efficient and healthy weight loss.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Exercise can help improve insulin sensitivity, allowing your body to better manage levels of glucose in the bloodstream. Improved insulin sensitivity means that less insulin needs to be produced in order to lower glucose levels. Regular exercise helps your body more efficiently store and break down sugars in the blood, leaving more energy available for other bodily functions. Regular cardiovascular exercise can also reduce overall blood sugar by helping to use up available energy sources, like stored fat. This can lead to an improved resting metabolic rate and ultimately result in weight loss.
Increased Muscle Mass
In addition to helping you reach your weight loss goals, increasing your muscle mass can also provide numerous other health benefits. Building muscles through regular physical activity can help improve strength and endurance, and it has even been shown to reduce the risk of age-related muscle loss. Improving your muscle mass can also positively affect other important aspects of good health, such as balance and flexibility. When done properly and with adequate rest in between sessions, any type of exercise can be effective at building muscles. Weight lifting or resistance training is typically recommended for optimal results, but you can also achieve gains by combining aerobic exercise with body weight exercises such as planks or push-ups.
Tips for Weight Loss
Regular physical activity and exercise play an important role when it comes to weight loss. Exercise helps you burn more calories, increase your metabolism, and build muscle. In addition, it improves your mental wellbeing and helps you maintain a healthy lifestyle. In this section, we will discuss some tips for successful weight loss through working out.
Increase Activity Level
One of the most important things someone can do when trying to lose weight is to increase their activity level. Adding physical activity and exercise into your daily routine can be a great way to burn extra calories and build muscle. Regular exercise regimens help to keep your metabolism going strong, helping you maintain an efficient rate of calorie burning throughout the day. Aim for 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activities such as walking, jogging, swimming or biking as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Other beneficial physical activities for weight loss include strength training exercises and yoga or other stretching regimens that help build lean muscle, improve posture and reduce stress levels.
Reduce Calorie Intake
Reducing calorie intake is an important part of any weight loss program. To lose weight, you need to create a energy deficit in your diet — that is, you need to burn more calories than you consume. The simplest and most effective way to do this is by cutting down on the number of calories that you eat. It’s important to find a diet regimen that fits your lifestyle and needs while supporting healthy eating habits.
Start by familiarizing yourself with nutrition labels so you know exactly how many calories are in each food item. Knowing the calorie content of things like breakfast cereals, olive oil and avocado can be very helpful in reducing your daily caloric intake. Additionally, meal planning can help make sure that what you’re eating is balanced and healthy- it helps to stagger nutrient levels within foods throughout each day rather than overloading at one meal or snack time. However, keep in mind that no two people’s caloric needs are the same; consult a registered dietitian if needed to understand how much energy (calories) your body requires for proper functioning when losing weight or maintaining a healthy body composition goal!
Track Progress
In order to reach any health-related goal, it is important to monitor your progress. This includes tracking your exercise activities and maintaining a food diary. You can use technology and apps to track your workouts, meals, and water intake in one convenient spot. Additionally, keeping track of your health journey will show you where you had successes as well as how far you have come. Tracking your progress will also help identify areas for improvement such as adjusting the type or intensity of workouts or balancing out the types of foods consumed. This can create an extremely helpful motivation for continuing on a path towards weight loss success.
Conclusion
Exercise can help you lose weight by burning calories and gradually increasing the amount of physical activity in your daily routine. While areas like portion control and healthy eating are important for sustainable weight loss, exercise is also vital to reaching your goals. Regular physical activity will also increase your metabolism, build muscle mass, and improve overall health.
Finding ways to work in a variety of activities or different types of exercises can help keep you motivated and make exercise fun. You should start slowly and gradually increase intensity based on your strength level, taking regular breaks if needed. You may need to try different activities to find a style that you enjoy, as exercising in a way that’s enjoyable will make it easier for you to stick with it. With commitment and hard work, exercising regularly can certainly play an important role in helping you reach your long-term fitness goals.
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