Is metabolism your slowing down as you age? Or perhaps you’ve suffered from being overweight for most of your life? You have probably tried more than a few weight-loss programs; lost some of your excess weight, and then gained it back. 

You will have to go through some trial and error until you find a strategy that works for you. And if you’re still looking for the best exercise to lose weight fast, read on to learn more. 

Losing Weight Through Exercise

People lose weight by either dieting or exercising; those who are most committed to reaching their fitness goals do both. 

To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume, and the way to achieve this is by exercising at least three times a week. In addition to weight loss, other benefits of exercise include stronger and more toned muscles; stronger bones; improved mood; more energy; and a lowered risk for many diseases. 

The key to effective weight loss through exercise is consistency and variety. You should make exercise a part of your lifestyle; it can’t just be something you do when you feel like doing it or when you need to lose weight fast for a special occasion. So you have to find a way to enjoy it. Just because exercising can be hard doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable! Find an activity you like. Working out at the gym is not your only option. 

Having variety will keep things interesting for you and keep you motivated; likewise, it will keep your body on its toes – in every sense of the phrase. If you stick to an exercise routine, your body will learn to adjust to this routine and your weight loss will plateau. But if you keep switching things up, i.e. running on the treadmill one day and walking on an incline on another day, your body will not know what to expect and this will keep your metabolism up. 

When choosing the best exercise to lose weight fast, it’s also important that your routine involves full-body movement or, at least, as many muscle groups as possible. This will maximize your weight-loss efforts as you will be burning more calories. 

The Best Exercise to Lose Weight Fast

An exercise that works well for one person will not necessarily work equally well for you. Again, it’s important to choose an activity you enjoy so you’ll stay committed to it even after you’ve achieved your weight-loss goals. 

Here are some of the best exercises for losing weight. 

Walking

This is a low-impact exercise that is ideal for beginners or those starting over again. It’s not too taxing on the body, especially the joints, which makes this a great exercise if your excess weight has been causing you joint pain. 

Walking is easy enough to squeeze into your daily routine. You can aim for 2,000 to 4,000 steps a day, to begin with. Or you can walk for at least 30 minutes, three to four times a week. You don’t have to walk continuously to complete your goal by number of steps or length of time. The important thing is to reach your goal by the end of the day. 

Moderately paced walking is okay, but you should also try to do some brisk walking and walking up and down stairs or an incline. Once you get accustomed to the routine, increase your walking time to 40 minutes, then 50 minutes, and so on; or to 6,000 steps, then 8,000 steps. 

Jogging/Running

As either one is more intense than walking, you will burn more calories and lose more weight when you jog or run. The increased intensity also means you can do the activity for a shorter period of time. 

Half an hour of either continuous jogging or running will effectively boost your heart rate and keep your metabolism up for a few hours after you’ve stopped. The longer you jog/run, the longer you will keep your metabolism in high gear and burning calories.  

You can begin with 20-30 minutes of jogging/running, three to four times a week. Make sure you wear the right kind of shoes to prevent pain and injury. 

Weight/Resistance Training

Weight training is not just about building muscles. Studies have established that even at least 10 minutes of simple weight training exercises (or minimal resistance training), three to four times  a week, to tone and strengthen muscles can boost metabolic rate by up to 7.4%. Your body will also continue burning calories even at rest, for many hours after the exercise – what is referred to as the resting metabolic rate, or RMR. 

You can join a gym, or you can simply get yourself a pair of dumbbells so you can perform simple weight exercises at home. Just make sure to also learn how to properly execute the different routines to avoid injury. 

Other great exercises that are proven to effectively help with sustained weight loss are:

• Cycling
• Swimming
• High-intensity interval training
• Yoga
• Pilates

Most people aim for a significant amount of weight loss over a short period of time. But this approach often backfires because it requires putting your body through an extremely demanding physical activity, which is difficult to keep up. What happens is, you quit and gain the weight back. 

The healthy approach to weight loss through exercise is by setting a small and realistic weekly weight-loss goal. Experts recommend losing only one to two pounds of your body weight per week. While this number seems too little, especially if you have a lot of excess pounds to shed, you will be giving yourself a greater chance of losing weight consistently each and every week and of keeping the weight off. 

Losing Weight Through Exercise – Final Thoughts

Aim for slow and steady weight loss. Begin with a realistic goal and exercise routine to make sure that you won’t feel like quitting soon after you’ve begun. The best exercise to lose weight is one that you enjoy and will want to commit to long-term, even after you’ve reached your weight-loss goal. 

Making real and lifelong lifestyle changes is the key to becoming fitter and healthier for life. It can be difficult to stay motivated, but Modern Fit‘s 16-week course will help you adopt changes in your behavior and mindset to keep you committed to your health and fitness goals.