The best way to lose weight and fat is by doing aerobic exercise–any activity that works large muscle groups continuously for an extended period of time. Weight-bearing exercises include running, walking, jumping rope or dancing. Non-weight-bearing exercises includes rowing, cycling and swimming. The key, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), is to elevate your heart rate as you deliver oxygen and energy to working muscles. Pushing your heart, lungs and muscles simultaneously, ACE says, burns calories, and the source of those calories is often your body fat.
Jogging
Jogging or running is an excellent way to lose weight and fat because it burns calories quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a 154-pound person burns about 140 calories walking about 3.5 miles per hour for 30 minutes, but the same person jogging at 5 mph will burn nearly 300 calories in a half hour. You can increase the calories burned by walking faster; a brisk 4.5-mph walking pace burns about 230 calories in half an hour, but walking–even walking uphill–will never burn as many calories as running.
Riding a Bike
Cycling also exercises large muscle groups but does it without the pounding that many experience from running. For cycling to be an effective workout for losing weight and body fat, however, you have to pedal vigorously. You need to ride at 60 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, which can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220. A 154-pound man riding slower than 10 miles per hour is burning calories at the same rate as a walker; cycling faster or cycling uphill will tax your health, lungs and circulatory system to the point where you are burning fat and losing weight, according to the CDC.
Swimming and Water Fitness
People who find weight-bearing exercise too jarring or painful can exercise in the water with lap swimming or water aerobics, both of which burn calories and fat to help you lose weight and build strength in a comfortable, nearly weightless environment. According to the CDC, vigorous lap swimming burns almost as many calories as jogging, and ACE notes that the resistance of water helps build muscle in the same way that weightlifting does.
Stretching and Strength Training
Whatever the workout, keep your heart rate in the 60- to 90- percent range to ensure the aerobic benefits that help weight loss and fat burning. Exercise experts at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) also recommend that everyone add strength training—such as weight-lifting or push-ups—to their workout regimen at least twice a week. ACE concurs, noting that strength training increases the number of calories your body burns by building muscle and increasing your body’s resting metabolic rate.
About this Author
Jim Sloan is a writer and editor in Reno, Nevada. He has been a journalist for more than 25 years and is the author of two books, “Staying Fit After Fifty,” and “Nevada: True Tales from the Neon Wilderness.”
