No More Diets

What is the best exercise for losing weight and for firming skin?

The best exercise for losing weight is one that you will actually do. You see I could prescribe a whole fat-burning program but if you hate it you will never do it (or at least you won’t do it more than a couple of weeks).

So just do more of the exercise and sports you love and you won’t go far wrong.

Changing your eating habits is by far more effective in losing weight in any case - you have to run more than a marathon to lose a pound of fat just with exercise!

If you are still at the stages of exploring what you like to do however, here are some pointers.

Losing weight by exercising basically boils down to this:-

• burn as many calories as possible with strenuous aerobic training
• keep burning calories after you finish your workout by using metabolism boosting activities such as interval training as part of your workout
• keep as active as possible during the course of the day outside formal exercise sessions - the more you’re on your feet the better
• include strength training in your routine as muscle burns fat even at rest and it will mean that you lose fat rather than muscle when you are dieting

To keep your skin as taut as possible as you lose, ensure you keep the underlying muscles strong - strength training will help here - and lose weight slowly to give your skin a chance to keep up with your body as it shrinks - especially if you have a lot to lose. For more about keeping skin firm see how to avoid loose skin after weight loss.

By the way, you’ll also find there’s no shortage of information out there on the web about exercising to lose weight.

But take care, some of it is plain misleading. See my article about the fat burning myth for more information on that.