There are the South Beach Diet, Atkins Diet, Gluten Diet, and many more diets today. All make promises of effective weight loss yet most fail on them. While some like the South Beach Diet tend to produce quick results the participants eventually end up going off of them because they cannot live without the carbohydrates their bodies scream for. While there are a multitude of diets and one would think that by this time there would be a breakthrough with the perfect diet, the answer is not in dieting. The answer lies in burning more calories each day than you take in. It is just that simple. The way you burn calories is by activity and that is really it. That is the way nature made us. Our bodies use calories as the fuel to run them. Whatever calories do not get used are then stored as fat.
So how do you burn calories quickly? There are two types of exercises to burn calories. One type is known as aerobic where the idea is to increase heart rate and the rate of oxygen intake. The other type is anaerobic which require short bursts of effort such as in weight lifting. The short energy bursts are fueled by sources that reside in the muscles and are not derived from oxygen. These sources are known as adenosine triphosphate and glycogen. And it has also been said that the more you weigh then the more calories you will burn when exercising. Of course you would want to weigh more because of muscle and fat which is what you gain by weightlifting.
Aerobic exercise is usually the most popular when it comes to burning calories. Some of these exercises include bicycling, running, rowing, running up stairs or even walking up stairs. On average, you burn roughly 500 calories per hour of these activities.
It is obvious that the most effective weight loss is method is to burn those extra calories before they get stored as fat. But exercise is so unappealing to most. Many say that they just do not have the time to exercise and never get around to it. Well, the best way to exercise is to not think you are exercising at all.
What do we mean by that? Let's look at an example. Most of us in the United States drive our cars to work each and every day. The rest of the world utilizes bicycles quite frequently. If you look at any major city in the United States, they have built bicycle lanes, marked bicycle paths, and put bicycle racks on trains and city buses. Have you ever considered bicycling to work? Or, if you don't want to get sweaty before getting to work, take your bike on the bus or the train and ride it home from work. Let's say it takes you an hour to ride it home. You will burn 500 calories and probably have fun doing it.
Maybe you live close enough to your work and can walk to there from home. Just one hour of brisk walking will burn almost 500 calories. And if you live in a mild climate the walk will be very refreshing before getting to work and will relieve your stress after work. Both bicycling and walking are by far less expensive than membership to a gym plus you can fit these activities into your normal daily routine.
Before you start an exercise program, evaluate your current condition. If you are severely overweight it would advisable to start very slowly and do not over exert yourself. If you've had or suspect a cardiovascular health condition then you should consult your doctor before any exercise program. But more than likely, your doctor will recommend walking for even cardiac patients.
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