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The question I hear the most often from individuals wanting to lose weight is, “how much exercise do I need to do to lose…(X) pounds?” The answer is, “it depends.” There are several factors that will determine the rate at which exercise alone will burn the required calories sufficient to lose weight, including: current resting metabolism; current height/weight; exercise history (i.e., have you always exercised regularly, or only sporadically?); also, the intensity of your exercise sessions and exercise mode (some activities , such as running and cross-country skiing, burn far more calories than others). Finally, what you did or didn’t eat prior to working has an impact on weight loss as well.
That said, the math that goes into losing weight is relatively easy: there are 3500 Kcals in one pound, therefore, to lose one pound using exercise alone, you would need to burn 3500 calories in one week to lose one pound in one week. Divided by 7 days, that equates to 500 calories per day of physical activity. Now you see why weight loss takes time!
Now for the tricky part: you could burn those 500 calories in one, 1-hour session; or break it down into several sessions per day. You also need to consider the intensity level. Exercise at an intensity level sufficient to elevate your heart rate to between 70-80% of your max heart rate for a sustained period if time (at least 30 mins), will burn more total calories. Some of the best calorie-burning activities include: running/jogging; swimming; and cross-country skiing.
Here is a simple, online calculator you can use to determine which activities will burn the most calories for you: Activity Calculator
Tip
It is a good idea to keep track of your daily activities, both in the gym and at home to gauge you daily energy needs, as well as track calories consumed. I typically advice clients to keep food and activity journals for several weeks, which seems to be about how long it takes to notice eating patterns that are less than ideal (stress eating a bag of chips, etc.), or when workouts get rescheduled. The idea is to get a decent overview of your typical daily energy needs based on activity levels. After all, there is little use in burning 600 calories in your favorite kickboxing class if you’re coming home and eating leftover cupcakes. Journaling calls these behaviors out.