Weight Loss Tips Using Only Exercise

You don’t have to diet to lose weight if you boost your calorie expenditure exercising. However, your rate of weight loss may be slower using only exercise than combining diet with exercise. To lose 2 pounds weekly, which is the maximum safe amount recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increase your calorie expenditure by 1,000 calories each day.

  1. Include Cardiovascular Exercise

    • Walking, jogging, biking, swimming, rowing and using an elliptical machine, all examples of cardiovascular exercises, are effective for weight loss. These workouts all burn a significant number of calories. For example, a 185-pound adult burns about 710 calories running for one hour at a pace of 5 mph, and 888 calories per hour swimming the breaststroke. Getting more than four hours of exercise each week is associated with weight loss, note authors of a 2009 review in “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.”

    Add Resistance Training

    • Resistance training – such as weightlifting – helps burn fat and increase lean muscle mass. This means your body burns more calories throughout the day, even when you’re resting. To increase muscular endurance for effective weight loss, aim to complete 15 to 20 repetitions for each weightlifting exercise you perform, recommends the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The ACSM suggests lifting weights two to three days weekly, and waiting 48 hours between weightlifting sessions.

    Get Enough Rest

    • Getting plenty of sleep each night is important when using exercise only for weight loss. Your muscles need rest to recover from each workout, and to prevent muscle fatigue. A study published in 2013 in “Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America” found that sleep deprivation leads to increased food intake and may contribute to obesity. Another study published in 2008 in the journal “Sleep” found that getting seven to eight hours of sleep nightly is ideal, and can help decrease weight and fat gain in adults.

    Increase Protein

    • Even in the absence of dieting, an increased protein intake helps your body burn more calories throughout the day, according to a study published in 2009 in the “Journal of Nutrition.” Protein also helps your body heal after long workouts. Foods rich in protein include legumes, nuts, seeds, low-fat dairy foods, soy products, eggs, seafood, poultry and lean red meat. Aim to eat at least one high-protein food at each meal.