Why Is Exercise Important for Fat Loss?

Exercise is frequently divided into two categories, both of which burn calories:
Aerobic exercise, also called cardiovascular exercise or simply "cardio," causes you to breathe harder and increases your heart rate. Activities such as running and swimming when performed on a regular basis improve both your respiratory capacity (lungs) and your circulatory system (heart and blood vessels). Great for getting the blood moving.

Strength building, also called resistance training, increases the proportion of muscle on your body. Examples include weight lifting with free weights and using a machine with variable resistance. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue and the more muscular you are the higher your metabolism will be. This means that you will burn more calories even at rest. We refer to this as your basal metabolic rate.

Just as a car runs on petrol, our bodies run on the glucose circulating in our bloodstream. When we exercise enough to use up the supply of glucose in our blood, hormones are released that instruct our fat cells to release fat into our bloodstream. The fat goes to the muscles that need it for fuel and we end up with less fat on our bodies.

The health benefits of regular exercise are significant and include reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and diabetes. Even just walking on a regular basis is of great value. Exercise also helps to reduce stress, anxiety and depression, which can be brought on by dieting itself, and can lead to overeating.

People who exercise on a regular basis not only lose fat more effectively, but are more successful at keeping it off. And the significance of regular exercise goes beyond the physical benefits. Regular exercise produces a mental attitude of self-care and self-esteem that bolsters confidence and the desire to continue to improve.

Do not rely exclusively on exercise to lose fat. How many have you heard someone say after they eat a Chocolate Bar, “ I will work it off later when I exercise.” What if I told you to work off a Chocolate bar of say 271 cals is the equivalent of doing the step master machine vigorously for almost an hour!

So always remember to eat healthy foods as well so you are not required to be an exercise addict. Excess sugar can also have many other negative health consequences besides adding unneeded calories to your diet.