Increasing the amount of fat burning exercise you do on a regular basis is an effective way to improve your health and fitness and help you make the most of the benefits of alli®. When you consume fewer calories your body has to use its fat stores for energy and as it does that, you lose pounds. When you exercise, you can encourage your body to burn fat stores more often, so regular exercise also can also raise your metabolic rate. This not only helps you lose weight and helps with your general fitness, it helps you maintain the loss.
Your metabolic rate is the rate at which your body uses up calories. So, if you take in 2,500 calories a day, and burn all those 2,500 calories a day, you’ll stay the same weight. If you burn only 2,000 of those calories, you’ll put on weight. Becoming more active is an effective way to speed up your metabolic rate so that you can burn more calories than you eat.
Regular exercise has a great many health benefits too, including helping to combat diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and osteoporosis. Also, as your body releases natural feel-good chemicals when you exercise, this can boost your mental and emotional wellbeing, helping you to combat stress and feel happier.
Fun ideas to move your body and shift the pounds >>
Have fun – if you don’t enjoy cycling but try to force yourself on to an exercise bike because it’s convenient, you’re more likely to give up. If you’ve ever wanted to try hip hop dancing or ballroom dancing, now could be a great time to learn!
- Look beyond the local aerobics class. Try out different sports or activities until you find something you really like.
- Activities that you can do as a family or with friends can help with motivation.
- If you’re short of time, split your workouts throughout the day and you'll still get the weight loss and health benefits.
- Vary the intensity. If you work harder, you can often shorten your workouts.
- Try to incorporate other activities into your daily routine. Structured exercise is important, but general activity can also make a big difference in burning calories. Take the stairs, for example, or get off the bus early.
For an adult weighing 132 lbs, regular, moderate intensity physical activity means using up about an extra 100 calories per day, most days of the week. This is just under 30 minutes of activity, such as a 2 km brisk walk. If you have previously been inactive, separate sessions of 10 or 15 minutes also count and can help you reach the 30 minute amount.
The amount of exercise you can do will depend on your current activity level and recommendation from your doctor. If you’re just starting out, consider mixing and matching your exercise, so have a go at walking briskly for 10 minutes, then slower for 5, then speed up for another 10 minutes, slow for 5 and then finish off with a fast 5 minutes.
For someone weighing 154 lbs the following is a guide to illustrate how many approximate calories are burned when exercising.
As you get fitter, you may find that you can walk briskly for 10 minutes and then jog for 10, walk for 5, jog for 10 and so on. Build it up. Mix it up and enjoy it!
- 30 minutes walking - 55 calories
- 60 minutes gardening - 355 calories
- 30 minutes swimming - 230 calories
- 30 minutes running - 480 calories
- 30 minutes ten-pin bowling – 85 calories
- 60 minutes housework – 278 calories
- 30 minutes tennis – 247 calories
- 30 minutes washing the car (no power jets!) – 116 calories
150-250 calories is the equivalent of a baked potato or a bag of chips.
486 calories is the equivalent of grilled chicken breast with eggplant and lemon rice. Plus an orange.
480 calories is the equivalent of a tuna mayonnaise sandwich or half of a pizza.
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