Indulging in your favourite physical activities can help you lose weight

Feb 26, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Exercise for some can feel like quite a chore. If you need to lose weight and don’t feel motivated, there is no reason to feel hopeless.

Hitting the gym may take some extra effort, but there are daily activities that you can partake in- and some may already be hobbies- that can help with your weight loss goals.

Dancing

As Caribbean people, dancing is a gift that is embedded in our DNA! Dancing to lose weight requires no special choreography, though they are special programmes such as Zumba that are specifically developed to help burn fat.

Luckily, this does not require you joining a gym. There are DVD’s and if you are more tech-savvy, you may stream and follow YouTube routines on your television.

According to Medline Plus, the workout you get from dance depends on the type of dancing you do and for how long you do it. “For example, ballroom dancing will give you a moderate workout. This is about the same level of exercise you would get from walking briskly or doing water aerobics. Most types of ballroom dancing burn about 260 calories in an hour.”

Meanwhile, “More intense types of dances such as salsa or aerobic dancing, will give you a more vigorous workout that is similar to jogging or swimming laps. You can burn up to 500 calories an hour with these types of dances.”

Bicycling

If you are fonder of the outdoors then riding a bike may more intrigue you. Bicycling has actually been a form of recreation for many, but besides helping you to relax mentally, this activity can also help you lose weight.

Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level.

This activity has been shown to not only aid in decreasing body fat, but also increases cardiovascular fitness. A few other benefits include improved joint mobility, reduced anxiety and depression and prevention or management of disease.

Swimming

I was amazed at the benefits of swimming when I started doing research for this piece. It turns out that swimming can help you burn as much as 450 calories in 30 minutes.

This type of workout is perfect for persons who suffer from aching joints, or have sustained injuries to their back, knees, or ankles. Swimming helps to burn calories as water provides resistance.

While swimming, you use all of your body to fight against that resistance in an effort to swim. Swimming is classified as a total body workout since it allows your upper body and lower body to be fully engaged.

This provides health benefits for your heart and allows you to burn calories. Swimming is an especially great alternative for persons who may be aging and are prone to joint pains or need just need to lose weight.

Jumpstart by WebMD, a credible website that offers medically reviewed articles said since swimming allows your whole body to work harder than what it would on land, 30 minutes in the pool is equal to 45 minutes of working out outside of the pool. As long as you maintain a healthy diet alongside your swimming regime, spending just 30 minutes 3 times a week in the pool will help you stay fit.

For the best results, it’s important to stay consistent with your swimming routine. With a consistent water workout, you should begin seeing weight loss within 30 days.

Walking

Walking has often been touted as one of the best exercises for weight loss. This activity is convenient and easy for beginners as it helps ease the need to purchase equipment or pay gym membership. It is also lower-impact which means it does not cause stress on the joints.

Another credible website, Healthline quoted a Harvard Health study which found a 155-pound (70-kg) person burns around 175 calories per 30 minutes of walking at a moderate pace of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) (5).

Additionally, a 12-week study of 20 women with obesity found that walking for 50–70 minutes 3 times per week reduced body fat and waist circumference by an average of 1.5% and 1.1 inches (2.8 cm), respectively.

Given that we all walk every day it would be easy to fit in extra steps daily. We can do so by taking a walk during lunch breaks, taking the stairs at work, taking your dog for a walk or parking further away from your destination.

To get started, aim to walk for 30 minutes about three to four times a week. You can gradually increase the duration or frequency of your walks as you become more fit.