Adding Exercise to Lose Weight

by Joan Laporte
(Bristol, UK)

The best way to lose weight is to add exercise to your weight loss plan. Studies have shown that dieters who add exercise to their weight loss plans not only lose weight, but they keep it off much more effectively than those dieters who just cut their calories.

Exercise builds muscle, boosts your metabolism and burns calories. There are so many reasons to exercise. Here are some tips to add exercise to lose weight.

Make exercise easy so you do it every day. How many times have you said to yourself, "Today's the day I start exercising!" Probably quite a few times. The trick is to make exercising easy.

If you haven't started exercising then you are making it too hard. You need to make exercising easy and accessible. Try taking a walk when you get home from work. Or walking on your lunch break. Or keep your gym bag at work. Do something to make exercise easier.

Exercise will help you lose weight when you add more movement. Some people think of adding exercise as just adding a workout during their day. But a great trick to losing more weight is simply adding more movement.

Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Walking to the train instead of taking a cab to the station. Parking your car further from the store and walking to the entrance. Look for sneaky ways to add exercise into your day and let it pile up.

Set exercise goals that are achievable. When you are out of shape and haven't been to the gym in years, a marathon run is not the best goal to set at first. The first goal is simply regular exercise.

Set exercise goals in stages that get you excited about working out, that make you want to do more. The more goals you achieve, the better you'll feel about yourself.

Try seeing a personal trainer to get some professional advice. Working out to lose weight can become much more effective when you get the customization from a personal trainer.

A personal trainer can tell you what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. They can make gentle tweaks to your workout and you may be amazed by the results you see. It can create great improvements.

To lose weight add cardio. But don't forget about strength training. Experts agree that these two tools are critical to weight loss success.

Longer cardio workouts and strength training can lead to weight loss results you'll be pleased with.

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