Does Exercise Actually Help You Lose Weight?
There is no doubt that regular exercise is good for your health, but how much does exercise actually influence weight loss? The answer might surprise you!
While exercise can certainly help you to burn more calories and build muscle, exercise alone will not lead to significant weight loss. Let’s talk about why.
Exercise, what is it good for?
Exercise burns calories, which is a good thing! But the flip side is that it may actually make you hungrier, especially long cardio sessions. If you aren’t monitoring your calorie intake, you could potentially end up consuming far more than you burn, even with added exercise.
In addition to eating more, the calories your burn are actually pretty minimal compared to what you burn just by going about your day. For example, walking or jogging for one hour can burn between 250-550 calories while your base metabolic rate is somewhere around 2000 calories per day.
Some studies have shown that going too hard on exercise can also make you more sedentary throughout the day. If you are super sore, you’re less likely to take the stairs or even get up off the couch after work.
Finally, when it comes to weight loss, changing your diet is much more important, because it all boils down to calories in vs. calories out. Check out my article on how to safely and effectively achieve a calorie deficit to learn more!
So why should you exercise?
Cardio might not be that effective at building muscle, but it does burn quite a few calories! In fact, cardio exercise is the most effective method of burning calories.
What’s more is that studies have shown that cardio can actually burn fat too, particularly belly fat which has been shown to lead to health issues like Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Don’t forget about strength training! Building bigger, stronger muscles can help support weight management. Having more muscle mass raises your metabolism and burns more fat, counteracting the drop in metabolism that follows weight loss.
The literature is conflicting, but more experts are now finding that exercise can actually be an appetite supressant. Researchers have observed that folks who exercise in the morning tend to eat less throughout the day, subverting what many previously thought about exercise and hunger.
Unrelated to weight loss, exercise also improves your blood sugar, bone strength, cardiovascular health, and even can improve your overall mood and lessen anxiety.
So, regardless of whether it’s directly helping your weight loss journey, exercise is amazingly beneficial for your overall health and you should consider how to introduce more activity to your routine.
How much exercise you really need.
No need to overcomplicate things!
The CDC recommends a minimum of
150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week,
OR 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week,
AND 2 days of strength training using all muscle groups.
While that sounds like a lot, it gets easier when you break it up! For example, you could do 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day for 5 days per week, incorporating at least 2 days of strength training.
Moderate exercise looks like a brisk walk where your heart rate is elevated but you can still carry a conversation. Vigorous exercise is closer to a jog, where breathing is labored and it is difficult to speak.
Strength training could involve weight lifting or body-weight exercises such as squats, pushups, lunges, etc.
However you choose to move, make it work for you! Not a morning person? Go for a walk after work! You hate running? You never have to run!
A good routine is one that is sustainable for you and one you enjoy.
