Burning more calories

[RileyG]

Any advice?

 

[Matt5]

I run a blog on weight loss. I also include exercise articles and videos. Check out the exercise section here: Exercise.

 

[maintenance man]

Walking is absolutely the best way to burn calories - it's easy to do for most and not hard on your joints.

 

[RileyG]

Thanks to the both of you!

 

[timewerx]

Walking is absolutely the best way to burn calories - it's easy to do for most and not hard on your joints.

That and riding your bike, also not hard on the joints.

 

[RileyG]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your input.

 

[littleangelone]

i agree walking is good, i try to do 1 or 2 walks a day

 

[keith99]

Decades ago, I saw a guy on television that gave the best advice ever on this.

Find something you like doing and forget about trying to find the best exercise!

Do be aware that a lot of the tables about which exercises burn the most calories are garbage! They usually fail to take into account how hard or fast you are going. I remember one that said running was the best, which did give speeds. But running was barely better than swimming at the speeds given. Running was doing 5 minute miles while swimming was 1/4 of a mile per hour! Few people can do even one 5 minute mile. A high school swimmer who cannot do 1/4 of a mile in under 6 minutes would be laughed at.

On a bicycle the effort needed and thus the calories burned goes up as the square of the speed. So going 20 MPH burns 4 times as much as going 10 MPH for the same amount of time.

Doing any activity where you go hard enough to be out of breath has the added advantage of burning calories for quite a while after yuo stop doing it.

.

 

[Aaron112]

A high school swimmer who cannot do 1/4 of a mile in under 6 minutes would be laughed at.

Why would they be laughed at ? Who would be so mean-hearted to laugh?
Many swimmer cannot do that fast.
I could not. But I finished a whole mile, coming in last , twenty minutes after the second-to-last one who finished. A few did not finish. Nobody laughed at them nor at me. The ones present all congratulated everyone whether they finished or not, and patiently without any meanness evident the ones who were as life-guards in the boats/water/shore never indicated any dis-pleasure or dis-comfort or any other awkward emotion at those of us who were last.

 

[Aaron112]

Doing any activity where you go hard enough to be out of breath has the added advantage of burning calories for quite a while after yuo stop doing it.

Referring back to the ones who did the testing of the heart, who noted by testing results that the trampoline was the best exercise, better than running, jogging, cycling, swimming, or even horse-back riding,
it was 'discovered', unexpectedly, that exerting such exertion as to be out of breath was
not necessarily helpful nor healthy, not to the heart, nor lungs, etc...

 

[Aaron112]

Any advice?

Stop thinking about burning calories.
Find out what is more helpful, more accurate, more healthy.

 

[keith99]

Referring back to the ones who did the testing of the heart, who noted by testing results that the trampoline was the best exercise, better than running, jogging, cycling, swimming, or even horse-back riding,
it was 'discovered', unexpectedly, that exerting such exertion as to be out of breath was
not necessarily helpful nor healthy, not to the heart, nor lungs, etc...

Please cite this one study that runs contrary to just about every other study.

 

[Aaron112]

Please cite this one study that runs contrary to just about every other study.

Actually, when it is put that way, it is "easy", since the majority is always wrong, or maybe just almost always wrong.

 

[RileyG]

Stop thinking about burning calories.
Find out what is more helpful, more accurate, more healthy.

thank you for your advice

 

[Aaron112]

thank you for your advice

yw. I hope you find out soon.

 

[timewerx]

Stop thinking about burning calories.
Find out what is more helpful, more accurate, more healthy.

A healthy diet will always serve as good foundation of an overall healthy lifestyle.

My advice to the OP, a little exercise to burn calories won't hurt. They can release hormones that improves immunity, muscular/body composition, and delay and even reverse aging.

This isn't based on what I have read but from personal experience. I do both low and high intensity exercises but the majority I do is low intensity. I have athletic level cardiovascular fitness, I'm at the bottom end of the healthy BMI range, and have no issues whatsoever.

You're probably thinking, if you exercise, you might over-compensate the burned calories with over-eating even end up gaining weight or not losing weight at all. That's not actually the case if you do it right particularly with your diet.

The key to avoid over-compensating for burned calories by overeating after an exercise is by keeping your blood sugar more or less level and not spiky. Avoid carb sources with high Glycemic Index (GI) and also sugar / sweets / salty foods, especially with your first and last meal of the day. Avoid junk and fast food at all costs unless there's literally nowhere else to get a healthy meal.

You can also achieve less spiky blood sugar levels by eating more frequently in smaller portions, however, this requires eating discipline at first as your body adapts to the new eating regime.

What spiky blood sugar level does is make you hungry more often and this can make your over-eat.

Drink water frequently but in small portions especially if you're exercising. It helps make that feeling of 'full' at your tummy to avoid over-eating when it's time to eat your meal. But don't over-do it as too much of a good thing (water) can also lead to harm.

The best way to lose weight/fat with exercise is with long sessions of low intensity (easy) cardio exercises. You don't have to do it all in one go. You can divide it in multiple sessions per day. Like 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon or early evening before dinner.

If you work during the day, you have to wake up 45 minutes earlier but also sleep earlier by 45 minutes to get these exercise sessions in. Sleeping earlier to wake up earlier is a healthier practice to keep.

These fat-burning cardio exercises shouldn't feel hard that you're sweating bullets. Breathing should still feel easy and you can still carry a conversation with ease. And they should be easy enough that hydrating with water is sufficient. Avoid sports drinks like Gatorade as they have tons of sugar and other harmful stuff in it.

I'd recommend getting an elliptical machine for exercise consistency because there are times you won't be able to exercise outdoors like during winter or rain or at night. Plus, you can replicate jogging in an elliptical machine with low impact stress to your legs like cycling and walking. Set the resistance level on the elliptical machine to the same level as if you're jogging over a flat road or with very slight incline.

 

[Ceallaigh]

Walking is great. I've been an avid walker my whole life. It could be why I have such a healthy cardiovascular system at 60.

However I don't think it's ever helped me lose weight much.

The key in burning calories is the word burn. You have to do stuff that makes you feel like you're burning. Like weight lifting, strength training and calisthenics or aerobics. When you're working up a sweat and feeling the burn, you're burning calories at a significant rate.

 

[timewerx]

Walking is great. I've been an avid walker my whole life. It could be why I have such a healthy cardiovascular system at 60.

However I don't think it's ever helped me lose weight much.

The key in burning calories is the word burn. You have to do stuff that makes you feel like you're burning. Like weight lifting, strength training and calisthenics or aerobics. When you're working up a sweat and feeling the burn, you're burning calories at a significant rate.

Walking is great way to keep physically active.

You do burn calories when you walk. You even burn calories even if you're just sitting or lying down the whole day. It's the consequence of being a warm-blooded creature. You don't need to do something a lot more intense than walking to burn calories.

The key to weight loss is fundamentally - eating less calories than you burn. It's as simple as that.

Many people have a hard time doing it because it's really hard UNLESS you do something about your appetite. There are many ways to reduce appetite and temptation to eat. One way is drinking water frequently in small portions (don't over-drink water though or you risk getting electrolyte imbalance), and then drinking water before eating so you're feeling full before-hand. And then we start considering low Glycemic Index foods. Low glycemic foods help reduce appetite even more by helping to avoid spikes and dips in blood-sugar levels. And just like water, eat your meals more frequently at smaller portions to help reduce blood sugar spikes even more. And perhaps avoid going out with friends who eats a lot.....

Most of the 'mindless' foods out there have high glycemic index and are often too sweet and too salty. They're formulated to raise your appetite levels to make you eat more to make these food companies more money and hospitals more money when you get poor health and get sick from over-eating!

Also the typical calorie indications are somewhat off. I had to achieve a calorie intake of less than half I'm burning each day to lose weight. I lost 10 lbs in two weeks and then it leveled off (maintaining my current weight) even if I'm still eating less than half of the calories I burn each day.

I doubt there's something 'magical' going on. I believe it's just our bodies adapting to reduced calorie intake and becoming more efficient at converting food into energy with a lot less waste. I suppose it's magical in its own right. Nothing short of Miraculous!

 

[Aaron112]

You're probably thinking, if you exercise, you might over-compensate the burned calories with over-eating even end up gaining weight or not losing weight at all. That's not actually the case if you do it right particularly with your diet.

You might get a cigar for being close ? /smile/
I'm thinking if you do what is right, you do not have to ever measure nor even think about calories.

 

[Ceallaigh]

You might get a cigar for being close ? /smile/
I'm thinking if you do what is right, you do not have to ever measure nor even think about calories.

When I'm "in the zone" I automatically become a picky eater. If it's not nutritious and beneficial, I'm just not interested in eating it.