Lose weight with exercise

The most important things in brief

• There is an iron law when it comes to losing weight: You can only lose weight if you burn more calories than you take in.
• Exercise has been proven to produce more calories than any activity that we do lying down, standing or sitting.
• But who has the time to do so much sport that this alone creates a calorie deficit?
• Evolution also tricks us.

Our organism is a highly complex marvel. From times long past, the metabolism works even when food is scarce - which means that the body reduces energy consumption wherever possible. It is often the case that the blood supply to the extremities is poor at first. For weight loss through sport, however, this means that too much exercise is counterproductive because the organism then burns practically no more calories during rest phases.

A mistake beginners make

Anyone who has never dealt with the topic of losing weight through sport often tends to exaggerate at the beginning: Beginners lift too many weights, jog far too far or tend to swim excessively. This often causes pain. A cautious increase is recommended, starting from a low level - in connection with a change in diet - but more on that later.

If you want to lose excess pounds, you should start slowly. A walk makes more sense than half an hour of jogging, push-ups introduce the body to strength training better than lifting weights. Squats are also useful at first. In the end, any kind of exercise helps: cycling, playing football – and maybe taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

What sport does

The rule of thumb is that an hour of normal exercise at the gym burns about 500 kilocalories. That sounds like a lot. But just a single plate of pasta with oil and parmesan is enough to give us about the same amount of energy again. And 30 minutes of leisurely jogging burns off the amount of energy in half a bar of chocolate.

All of this leads to only one conclusion: it is possible to lose weight with exercise, but only if we adjust our diet at the same time and take care to keep the cravings after exercise in check. This arises for two different reasons. For one thing, the brain demands a reward for the suffering we previously experienced while exercising. On the other hand, the organism is crying out to refill the energy stores. Both are understandable, and it takes a lot of discipline to not give in to the desire.

It's ideal when sport and diet coincide

Many people cringe when they hear the word “diet”, it is still associated with extensive renunciation. It is often sufficient if you switch to a higher-protein and lower-sugar diet, replace gluten products with fruit and nuts and keep your alcohol consumption flat. If you stick to this and find the right amount of exercise for you at the same time, you can avoid consuming too many calories - and we know that these inevitably lead to the formation of love handles.

It is particularly advisable for people who are clearly overweight to start exercising slowly and eat consciously at the same time. Too much jogging, for example, not only damages the weight loss program, but also the joints. If you have too many pounds and are serious about losing weight through sport, you should have your doctor check your heart function before you start to be on the safe side.