Can exercise help you lose weight?

Updated: Sep 26, 2023

If this article we'll try to establish whether exercice can help you lose weight and we will see that it is not necessarily enough.

Unless your metabolism and genes are perfect, losing weight with sport is only possible if you also change the way you eat.

If you decide to start exercising to lose weight, it will take a long time to see results on the scale. The main reason why you should exercise is for your heart, blood circulation and muscular design.

Did you know that during an hour of constant practice of running, cycling or swimming you will only burn between 400 and 600 kilocalories. It takes 8000 to eliminate 1 kilo of fat!

A big misconception is that it’s all about weight loss. Fat loss is often more important, if you focus only on weight loss you might lose muscles as well (what is called lean mass). To keep your muscles, you have to exercise and if you want to lose extra kilos (fat mass) you have to eat less.

The regular practice of physical activity is therefore an ideal ally to sculpt a beautiful silhouette, to spend energy, to increase your muscular mass, to regulate your appetite and to prevent you from emotional eating.

It is not an issue if you eat more after an exercise session, as long as you eat healthy food and not chocolate bars, nor juices, etc...

Even if you are not sporty, it is recommended to exercise at least 30 min a day. Take a walk every day for 30 minutes for example.

Walking, cycling or swimming will help you reduce risks of most major diseases (cancer, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases ...) and to accessorily lose weight if your diet is balanced.

But remember, 30 minutes minimum and at least 3 times a week!

Go ahead gradually. Your physical abilities will improve over the weeks and the exercise will become easier.

Everyday life gives us opportunities to move without doing '' sport''. Embrace it! Walk to your office, walk to the supermarket, take the stairs, etc ....

If you are substantially overweight, prefer a sport like swimming or cycling, where you do not have to carry your own weight.

Exercising creates a release of a hormone called dopamine which makes us feel good and stronger against stressful situations. If your dopamine levels are low, you are more prone to depression and lack of motivation.

And remember: when you exercise, you burn more calories than when you do nothing.