How should I exercise if I want to lose weight?

Any movement, above and beyond what you do currently will help you lose weight. Losing weight is a very simple formula (not necessarily a simple task), you need to burn more calories than you are eating. So if you are maintaining your current weight with your current activity level, than by eating less than you do now and moving more you than you do now, you should lose weight.

Exercise of any form, resistance training or cardiovascular exercise, provides the means to expend energy, creating potential for a negative energy balance that will result in weight loss.  

A great way to exercise is to perform a circuit training program. Circuit training consists of several stations in which the client performs an exercise for a set amount of time or repetitions. Once time or repetitions have been achieved, then the client moves on to the next exercise in the station. Circuits can have as few as 3 exercises but can be as much as desired.  

Circuit style resistance training may be better suited for burning calories and thus losing fat. Recently, several studies have compared the effects of circuit resistance training to traditional cardio forms of exercise. It was shown that circuit training was just as beneficial as traditional cardiorespiratory exercise for improving and/or contributing to improved fitness levels. The following benefits of circuit training were stated:

• Produced equal to or greater caloric expenditure for the same given time span as cardiorespiratory exercise
• Produced greater levels of calories expended after exercise
• Increased overall strength.

Based upon this information, it appears that circuit training is a viable means for producing caloric expenditure, increasing strength levels, and maintaining or increasing fat-free  mass while cutting down on the overall time of a complete workout.   

You will achieve weight loss when you burn more calories than you consume. You can burn more calories by simply moving more. Exercising does not necessarily have to be going to a gym and running on a treadmill. If you have kids or grandkids try going outside more often and running around with them. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Simple things like that along with healthy eating will give you the results you are looking for.

A safe and effective exercise program for weight loss will have cardio and resistance training. Depending on your goal and how much weight you have to lose you should consider doing at least 30 minutes of cardio 5-7 days per week. If your present state of health and your schedule allows it, I would suggest getting up to 60 total minutes on at least 3 of those days. Remember, what is important, is that you make your body a fat burning machine so don’t worry if you cannot do all 60 minutes in one block of time because your schedule will not allow it. If necessary, you can break up the 60 minutes in the following manner: 20 minutes in the early am, 20 minutes at lunchtime and 20 minutes in the evening.

Next you must add resistance training to your weight loss plan. Basically, more muscle = higher metabolism! Higher metabolism = more calories burned all day long, even when your body is at rest. Resistance training 3 days a week will help burn more calories, improve posture, improve muscle imbalances and postural deviations, improve endurance, and of course add muscle tone. You should consult a qualifed fitness professional before starting any resistance training program. Since you are allready here on Sharecare, obviously my colleagues and myself would be happy to assist in putting together a program.

Bottom line: Eating well and doing your cardio will help you lose weight BUT a safe and effective resistance training program can be the difference between you looking “ok” and looking amazing!

Exercise is very important to your overall health. It is important for the purpose of maintaining functional strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness however the process of losing weight is controlled by the total caloric picture. 

What this means is your calories in; when they are greater than what you need everyday you gain weight, when they are the same as what you need everyday you maintain weight and when they are less than what you need everyday you lose weight. To lose weight you simply must have an intake of calories that is less than what you need everyday. Exercise of course burns calories and gives you all the benefits listed above when done correctly and part of a smart fitness program but weight loss is totally dependent on the caloric intake/outgo picture.

When you don't exercise, you don't burn extra calories. But skipped workouts hurt your weight loss efforts in another way: You're more likely to give in to temptation. Research reveals that physical activity boosts your brain's ability to resist tempting caloric fare. That's right, exercising not only helps you burn calories, it also makes it easier to say "no" to that chocolate cake.