When it comes to weight loss the advice we receive is often contradictory. One day we are told to lose weight quickly for best long term results, then it is slow weight loss for healthy results. Should you do more exercise or eat less, or a bit of both?
Increasing the amount of exercise you do every day has many other benefits than just helping you to lose weight, so really more exercise is the best way to lose weight. By doing more exercise you increase the amount of calories you burn even when resting, this is the metabolic function that you have probably heard about.
So what is a healthy rate at which to lose weight? Most guidelines say that you should not lose more than 2 pounds per week, although if you have watched Celebrity Fit Club or The Biggest Loser you will have seen very overweight people advised to aim for up to 4 pounds or more weight loss in a week. However, for most people 2 pounds a week is a good number to aim for to avoid losing essential lean muscle tissue. You want to lose fat and nothing else.
So how much exercise should you do? Some say 20 minutes 3 to 5 times a week. Others say at least 45 minutes 5 times a week? There is not really an upper limit, and the more you do the fitter you get. We recommend that you aim to do 45 minutes 5 times a week, with two 30 minute easy sessions on the other days. This may seem a lot, but it is designed to get you into the habit of being active every day.
Exercise can take the form of various activities though, so you do not need to do 45 minutes of jogging each day. You could go for a 15 minute run in the morning, then do 15 minutes of circuit training in the afternoon, then 15 minutes of weight training in the evening.
Find exercises that you enjoy as this always keeps you motivated. People that enjoy their exercise do not feel like they are even working. They just have some fun and get fitter and healthier for it. This is why so many young athletes and sports players are so fit and healthy – they just love their exercise.
It is important to ensure that you are always progressing in any form of exercise you do, whether it is just walking further, jogging faster, lifting heavier weights of performing more circuit training exercises.
Getting into a routine really helps although it is equally important not to restrict yourself to a set routine each week. Mix things up. Starting the day with exercise is a good idea as this means that distractions later in the day cannot stop you from getting your daily workout. Wake up and exercise, but ensure you warm up. Many athletes like a morning run to get them fired up for the day. This works just as well if you are losing weight.
The most important thing is to not give up, always do something and learn to enjoy your exercise time. Good luck!
Speed of weight loss isn’t as important as making sure that the changes you are making are both healthy and sustainable. However, to lose a few pounds quite quickly at the beginning also adds to building your belief that you can do it.
Yes, that is important too. I guess the results of a study on fast weight loss probably just show that the people that are most dedicated to lose weight have more success sooner and are also of the same mindset to stick with the new healthy lifestyle for the long term.
Yes. I think it is an important piece of research, the outcome of which makes sense; confidence is what leads to success in everything, and so if you can build your belief at the beginning you set out on the right track and are more likely to continue to be successful.
I made the mistake of rushing into a new exercise regime too quickly a few years ago. Before I gave my body any time to get fitter and stronger I was doing 60 minutes of boot camp style workouts and ended up with a bad groin strain that meant I did nothing for about a month. Back exercising again though, but learnt to pace myself.