Exercise For Weight Loss - A Great Way To Take It Off And Keep It Off

Everyone probably needs to lose a little weight, especially this time of year. Summer is almost here. It's hard to cover that winter weight gain under sweaters and coats when the weather starts to get warm. The problem is that while it's easy to pack on the pounds, it's a little harder to take them off, especially as you get older. A good way to lose weight is to exercise. When you exercise for weight loss, you're taking the first steps toward a healthier life and a healthier you.

When you exercise for weight loss, remember that it takes a lot of movement to burn calories. On average, it takes 3500 calories to eat up one pound of fat. This means that in order to lose a single pound you have to burn 3500 calories over and above the calories you take in every day by eating and drinking. This goal is easier to meet than it looks and exercise can help you get there.

If you cut 500 calories out of your diet every day, either through exercise or a combination of diet and exercise, you'll lose one pound of weight in a single week. It's easy to burn these extra 500 calories though when you exercise for weight loss. The average person in good health needs about 150 to 250 minutes of exercise a week. This can be accomplished by doing 30 to 50 minutes of exercise five days a week. (You never want to exercise every day. Your body needs time to recuperate and recharge after exercising.)

Most common exercises burn a decent amount of calories per hour. For example, a brisk walk burns 277 calories per hour, swimming burns 511 calories per hour and jogging burns 584 calories per hour. Looking at these figures, it's easy to see that 5 days of moderate exercise goes a long way towards burning the 3500 calories that's required to lose one pound of weight per week. This means that it's easier, and healthier, using exercise for weight loss than by simply cutting calories or dieting.