Does exercise help you lose weight?

No wonder exercise is the first thing we turn to when we decide it’s time to lose weight. We go to the gym and commit to walking the dog more, believing that if we exercise enough, the scale will give us some joy.

No wonder so many of us get frustrated when we follow this routine for months and see no change on the scale. That’s why I’m often asked: does exercise help you lose weight or is it just a diet? The answer, I warn you, is not simple.

To lose weight without dieting, you need to sweat a lot

Over the past 70 years, there have been numerous studies examining the role of exercise in weight management. Recent studies on the subject have concluded that exercise alone has minimal impact on weight loss.

These include a meta-study that, after examining all relevant research in the field, found that those who only used exercise lost minimal weight compared to those who exercised by reducing their energy intake.

Another 2018 study found that significant weight loss was unlikely to occur if participants followed the minimum guidelines governing physical activity. That is 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity each week.

To achieve significant weight loss without dieting, total exercise had to be well above the minimum recommended level. In particular, it takes about 60 minutes of moderate physical activity per day to achieve significant weight loss.

But be careful, before you remove yourself from the gym, keep in mind that a significant amount of research confirms that it is vital to focus on exercise as part of any weight loss program.

Exercise helps maintain weight in the long run

Exercise improves our body composition and prevents muscle breakdown. Our metabolic rate – the amount of energy we burn at rest – is determined by how much muscle and fat we have, and muscles are more metabolically active than fat, meaning they burn more kilojoules.

By relying solely on diet to lose weight, you will reduce muscle mass along with body fat, which will slow down your metabolism. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that sufficient and appropriate exercises are included in your weight loss plan to maintain muscle mass stores.

It is also important to include weight training to increase strength. This does not mean going to the gym every day: two days a week is enough, without even leaving your own home.

In particular, moderate-volume resistance training (three sets of ten reps of eight exercises) is just as effective as high-volume resistance training (five sets of ten reps of eight exercises) in maintaining muscle mass and muscle mass while on a diet with moderate calorie restriction. follows.

Research also shows that physical activity and exercise have a significant impact on preventing weight gain after weight loss. A long-term study found that those who maintained a high level of exercise (expending more than 10,500 kilojoules or 2,500 calories each week, such as walking 75 minutes a day) lost significantly more weight than participants who exercised less.

Physical exercise is good for health

Before we begin to see the results of exercise on the scale, we will experience the many physical and mental health benefits that exercise brings.

Even a low level of physical activity reduces the likelihood of developing diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Even if we do not lose weight, exercise already benefits us, as it improves most of the risk markers for diabetes and cardiovascular disease associated with obesity.

A physically active obese person can be considered metabolically healthy if they maintain good blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels. There is evidence to suggest that the risk of premature death associated with obesity is significantly reduced or eliminated with moderate to high levels of fitness.

In addition to improving health, regular exercise has other physical benefits, such as increased strength and mobility. It also reduces stress levels, and even small physical activity fights depressive symptoms, improves mood and promotes better sleep. And by the way, improving our mood helps us manage our eating better, allowing us to make healthier food choices and avoid impulsive eating.

Conclusion?

Exercise helps us lose weight and prevents us from gaining weight again. This is one of the fundamental pillars of long-term weight management. But be careful, because we won’t achieve our weight loss goals through physical activity alone. Diet and sleep are equally important

To encourage yourself to exercise more, choose something that you enjoy. Be sure to include variety, as repeating the same daily routine over and over again is a surefire way to get bored and quit smoking.

This article was translated in collaboration with Fundación Lilly.

Nick Fuller, Head of Research Program, Charles Perkins Center, University of Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original.

We recommend you METADATA, an RPP technology podcast. News, analytics, reviews, recommendations and everything you need to know about the world of technology.