Exercise is useful for weight loss but should not be considered a tool for weight loss. Exercise has many benefits and everyone must include some form of exercise in their lifestyle. Even if you exercise a little it has benefits. As your strength and stamina build up slowly, you can increase the duration and intensity of exercise.
The purpose of exercising should be to increase your metabolic rate and to remain fit and healthy and not as a tool for weight loss.
Most people trying to lose weight try to use exercise as a tool for weight loss. They think they can burn extra calories by exercising but that usually doesn’t happen. If weight loss happens it is only temporary. Let us look at reasons why exercise really isn’t a tool for weight loss.
5 reasons why exercise as a tool for weight loss can fail
- You might actually gain weight rather than lose weight as you build lean muscle when exercising.
- One might not be able to exercise at times for n number of reasons – due to bad weather conditions, injury, or any such issue. When you stop exercising you gain weight.
- Exercise tends to make people hungrier. So after a workout, you might double your portions because you are so hungry and undo all the good you did working out.
- Some people slow down after a workout – for example, if you have exercised in the morning you might be less inclined to take the stairs during the day. This is called compensatory behavior.
- It is a lot harder to burn off the extra calories that you might be eating. For example, if you eat a big slice of cake which might be around 400-500 calories. To put this in perspective, a person weighing 70 kg would burn roughly 500 calories from an hour of high-impact aerobics or by walking for 90 minutes at a rate of 4.5 mph.
To summarize – Exercise is a must for a longer, healthier, and happier life. Increasing your metabolism helps in weight loss. But depending on exercise alone for weight loss is going to be a disappointment.
Exercise as a tool to boost Metabolism
Exercising helps to boost our metabolism by increasing the number of calories we burn as well as enhancing the efficiency of our metabolic process. When we exercise, our body is forced to work harder to meet the energy demands of the exercise. This increased energy expenditure results in a higher calorie burn and a faster metabolism.
Exercise also helps to increase the body’s muscle mass, which in turn helps to boost our metabolism. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, meaning that the more muscle mass we have, the more calories our body will burn even at rest. Therefore, exercising and increasing our muscle mass can help to speed up our metabolism and boost our fat-burning capacity.
Increasing muscle mass can be accomplished through resistance and weight-bearing exercises. This includes activities such as freestyle bodyweight exercises, weight training, and also activities like running and cycling that make our muscles work. Eating a well-balanced diet with adequate amounts of protein is essential for supporting muscle growth.