When it comes to losing weight, many people want a miracle pill. In other words, they are lazy. They do not want to put in the vast amount of effort that it takes to lose weight. While it is possible to lose weight without exercise, it is far more difficult, and also not recommended. Let me explain in more detail.
Losing weight is HARD!
For a 4’ 10”, 180 pound woman in her mid 20’s, her Active Metabolic Rate (general day-to-day activities like cleaning dishes, getting the mail, and buying groceries, etc) would be about 1950 Calories. Understanding that a single pound of fat is about 3500 Calories, you would need to consume fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight.
Depending on your activity level, this can be a hard and slow process. It would mean that you would have to eat much less to reach a certain weight, and restricting calories can be triggering for some people who have an eating disorder.
But how can exercise help this? Well, let’s find out!
Why exercise is important
Working out increases the amount of Calories that you burn in an hour. An hour of walking can burn 350 Calories as opposed to just 90 calories if you are sitting in a chair. But it is also more important than that.
Exercise has been known to increase your metabolism, even hours after you work out. Meaning that you are still going to be burning off Calories at a higher level even after you stopped exercising. It can also increase your overall energy levels, and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, tiredness, and lack of motivation. In other words, sitting on your bum all day is not good for you!
Toning your muscles is akin to leveling up in a video game when it comes to increased metabolism and fat burning potential. Muscle is vital at burning fat, so the more you have, the more fat is burned! It can also reduce back pain, helps you to open pickle jars, and just helps you to feel better . Also, it makes you look sexier overall, and who doesn’t want that!?
“But I don’t want to exercise! It is boring!” I hear you moan. There is one way that we can fix that then!
Make exercise fun!
Exercise does not have to be a boring and laborious ordeal. There are many ways in which we can exercise, even without it feeling like we are exercising! For instance, consider turning on your favorite Lady Gaga song and dancing like a maniac all around your room. That is certain fun to do, and it does not feel like a work out.
My favorite thing to do is to go walking. Walking is an exercise that you can do however you please. I like to walk down alleyways to see if anyone is tossing out anything interesting. That does not fit the social perception of exercise, but it is really no different than a hike.
Some people prefer a more structured version of exercise, and there are many things to choose from on that front. Workout videos, YouTube Yoga, an even cycling classes online are all valid options for exercise.
So try a few things, and see what works best for you. Exercise does not have to be boring, but you are going to have to find ways to make it fun. So stop being lazy!
References:
https://www.prokerala.com/health/health-calculators/active-metabolic-rate.php
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/simple-math-equals-easy-weight-loss
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-secret-to-better-health-exercise
