WFN) Yes. OK, now that we’ve made our point you can read on. No matter how you cut it, there is just no substitute for exercise when it comes to losing weight. Diet is, of course, extremely important and there are other factors also weigh in. But for permanent weigh loss – pounds that you keep off – some sort of aerobic exercise is necessary.
America is weight conscious and millions are obsessed with losing unwanted pounds. Of course, everyone wants it to be easy. Well, it’s not; it means you have to do something. There is no secret to weight loss. If you want to lose pounds you must burn more calories than you consume. That means cut down on excessive calories and get some cardio! Too many people are sitting around hoping that the next miracle diet will be the answer. Once they are off the diet, the pounds go back on. Why? Because they haven’t learned to burn calories with a healthy cardio workout program.
Many experts feel that if you truly want to lose weight, you need to be doing a good 45 minute to 1 hour cardio workout 4 to 5 times per week. Less than that will help you to maintain your current weight, but won’t help you to shed those pounds. For example, if you plan to lose 1 pound a week, that’s a total of 3500 calories. Then you should burn at least 500 calories a day doing cardio exercise 5 days a week.
You must commit to some kind of rigorous workout schedule. It really doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you select – running, step aerobics, cycling or spinning, cardio machines at the gym – it only matters that you commit to 4 to 5 hours a week minimum and get you heart rate up into the ‘aerobic zone’ for at least 30 minutes. The benefits are tremendous. It’s great for your heart, to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and will definitely reduce stress. And always move your entire body (arms, legs) when doing any cardio since the more movement means the more calories you will be burning!
Make your cardio workout a priority. Quit scheduling your workouts around everything else you have to do, and instead schedule everything else around your workout. Don’t let anything interfere. If you make it important in your daily routine, then you will find ways to work in everything else you need to do. If you can join a gym get there as often as you can. You will find that working out around like-minded people will help support your goals. And, when the workout is fun chances are you’ll be better able to stick with it. If you cannot get to a gym then there are several ways to get the direction you need at home. Many full cardio workout machines, like elliptical trainers and treadmills, are available at reasonable prices. There are many excellent cardio fitness videos on the market too. And, if you can afford a machine, don’t have a DVD player or live too far from a gym then you can always put on your sneakers, step out the door and go for a run.
Joel Shapiro of Sebastian, Florida did just that. “I was about 20 pounds overweight and it was really starting to bug me. I also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I had trouble motivating myself to drive to the gym and I wasn’t good at sticking to a diet. One day I was sitting on my couch watching TV and having some ice cream and I realized I was killing myself. I put on a pair of sneakers, went outside and ran down the block. I barely made it to the corner and back but I did it. It was a first step. I went out the next day and the next. Now I run about 2 miles almost every day and I have lost almost 15 pounds. My pressure is down and I feel great. I know I’m going to lose the next 5 pounds and I am going to keep running.”
Remember consistency is the key to losing weight. Sticking with a cardio workout program combined with healthy nutrition are essential. According to an article on ezinearticles.com, the best 30 minute aerobic exercise routines for fat burning are: Spinning (450 calories), swimming (380 calories), elliptical trainers (265 calories), kickboxing and step aerobics (345 calories) and racquetball (345 calories). The actual amount of calories burned varies by weight, age, and intensity.
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