Overview Exercise Nutrition & Meal Tracking Reverse Diet

Do you need to exercise for weight loss?

While prescription medications can assist in weight loss, incorporating exercise can further enhance your weight loss efforts and overall health. Here’s why exercise can be beneficial:

1. Increased Caloric Expenditure: Exercise helps you burn calories, which is crucial for creating a calorie deficit necessary for weight loss. Medications can reduce appetite and promote feelings of fullness, but exercise contributes directly to burning off excess calories.
2. Muscle Maintenance: Regular exercise, especially resistance training, helps preserve lean muscle mass while losing weight. This is important because maintaining muscle mass can help keep your metabolism higher, aiding in sustainable weight loss.
3. Cardiovascular Health: Exercise improves heart and lung function, which is essential for overall health, particularly if you're overweight or obese.
4. Enhanced Mental Well-being: Exercise can improve mood and reduce stress, which can support adherence to dietary and lifestyle changes necessary for weight loss.
5. Long-term Weight Maintenance: Incorporating regular physical activity can help you maintain your weight loss over time, which is often a challenge for many people.

Exercise Recommendations

The amount of exercise you should aim for each week depends on your fitness goals, current health status, and preferences. Always consult with your healthcare provider for personalized advice regarding the use of weight loss medications and any exercise program. 

Here are the general recommendations from health authorities like the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

1. Moderate-intensity exercise:

  • Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. This can be spread throughout the week in sessions of at least 10 minutes each.
  • Moderate-intensity activities are those that increase your heart rate and breathing, but you can still talk comfortably while performing them. Here are some examples of moderate-intensity activities:
    • Brisk Walking: Walking at a pace where you can still carry on a conversation but feel slightly breathless.
    • Bicycling: Riding a bike on level ground or with a few hills at a moderate pace.
    • Swimming: Leisurely swimming laps or water aerobics where you maintain a steady pace.
    • Dancing: Social dancing, aerobic dancing, or Zumba classes that get you moving and sweating.
    • Gardening: Digging, planting, and weeding at a moderate pace.
    • Hiking: Walking on trails with some incline or uneven terrain.
    • Household Chores: Activities like vacuuming, mopping, or scrubbing that require moderate effort.
    • Golfing (without a cart): Walking the course while carrying your clubs.
    • Tennis (doubles): Playing tennis at a moderate pace where you're moving continuously but not intensely.
    • Yard Work: Raking leaves, pushing a lawn mower, or shoveling snow.
2. Vigorous-intensity exercise:
  • Alternatively, you can opt for 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week. Again, these sessions can be spread throughout the week.
  • Vigorous-intensity activities are those that significantly increase your heart rate and breathing, making it difficult to carry on a conversation comfortably. Engaging in vigorous activities offers more intense health benefits and can contribute to weight loss. Here are some examples of vigorous-intensity activities:
    • Running or Jogging: Running at a steady pace where you can't easily talk in full sentences.
    • Swimming: Swimming laps at a fast pace or engaging in water-based aerobic exercises with high intensity.
    • Cycling: Riding a bike fast or on hilly terrain, often faster than 10 miles per hour.
    • Jumping Rope: Continuous jumping rope at a fast pace.
    • Aerobic Dance: High-energy dance classes like high-impact aerobics, dance-based workouts, or kickboxing.
    • Hiking: Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack at a brisk pace.
    • Team Sports: Soccer, basketball, hockey, or other competitive sports that involve running and intense physical effort.
    • Interval Training: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts that alternate short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or lower-intensity exercise.
    • CrossFit: Circuit-style workouts combining various exercises at high intensity.
    • Rowing: Rowing at a fast pace or participating in rowing competitions.

3. Combination of moderate and vigorous activity:

  • You can also combine moderate and vigorous activities to meet these recommendations. For example, 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity is equivalent to about 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.
  • It's recommended to incorporate vigorous activities into your routine, alongside moderate-intensity exercises, to achieve optimal health and weight loss goals. Always consider your current fitness level and consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have any medical conditions or concerns.

4. Muscle-strengthening activities:

  • In addition to aerobic activity, adults should also include muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week. This can include lifting weights, doing bodyweight exercises like push-ups and squats, or using resistance bands.

5. Flexibility and balance exercises:

  • It's also beneficial to incorporate flexibility and balance exercises, especially for older adults, to maintain mobility and prevent falls.

 

To summarize, aim for:

  • At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, plus muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days.
  • Alternatively, aim for 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week, plus muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days.