How to lose my weight with exercise?

Reducing belly fat is a problem that bothers many. Belly fat is the stored fat around your waist. Excess belly fat can have a negative impact on your health. It could lead to some serious diseases like high blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and several heart diseases. Therefore, it is important to melt belly fat. To cut down belly fat, you need to limit the calories you intake or only consume the amount of calories you can burn each day. For this, you need to keep a constant check on the calorie intake and regular exercise to burn more calories. Also, a healthy and a balanced diet can be effective to melt belly fat fast.

Also read: 6 Exercises Which Burn Maximum Calories In Minimum Time

The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches. Crunches rank top when we talk of fat-burning exercises. You can start by lying down flat with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Lift your hands and then place them behind the head. You can also keep them crossed on the chest. Keep a check on your breathing pattern. This exercise will also help in building abs while melting belly fat.

A very simple cardio exercise which helps you lose the belly fat and stay fit. Walking along with a balanced diet can do wonders if you are trying to shed off the extra kilos. A brisk walk for even thirty minutes in the fresh air brings can help reduce fat around the belly. In addition, it also has a positive effect on your metabolism and heart rate. Even running is beneficial for fat-burning. All the more, you do not need any equipment for this exercise. It also helps in shedding fat from other areas of the body.

Workouts are not a punishment and therefore, some fun workouts can also do wonders for your health. Zumba workouts are high-intensity exercise. It helps in improved cardiovascular fitness, lowered cholesterol and lowers blood sugar levels and melts belly fat quickly. The 2012 ACE study followed 19 healthy females between the age of 18 and 22 as they participated in a Zumba class wearing a heart monitor. On an average, the women burned 9.5 calories per minute which is more than the calories-per-minute burned in previous testing of advanced Pilates classes, power yoga, step aerobics and cardio kickboxing. So, put some music and start with some zumba workout right now!

Also read: Leg Day At The Gym Done Right With These 7 Exercises

Leg raises are great for your abs and the obliques. It helps in building stronger abs, increase stability and strength, melt belly fat and tone your body. Leg raises completely isolates the rectus abdominis muscle which helps in toning your stomach. Lie down on your back with your palms placed below your hips. Then slowly lift your legs to a 90-degree angle. Keep your knees straight and feet pointing the roof. Pause for a moment, and then lower your legs back down while exhaling out. Hurry and try this super-effective exercise!

Cycling is an effective way to burn belly fat. Cycling helps gets your heart rate up and also has the capacity to burn the significant number of calories. Cycling helps you to lose weight in your thighs and waist. So start commuting with your bike to nearby places. Be regular and this exercise can be really effective in cutting down belly fat.

If you want to lose belly fat without going to the gym, you can do some high-intensity aerobic workouts. These workouts are effective, simple, fun and great for burning maximum amount of calories.

Also read: Kick Start Your Day With These Quick Exercises On Bed

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

Getting stronger is a beautiful thing. It’s what helps you see more definition and build more metabolism-boosting muscle. But according to new research in Current Biology, it also causes you to burn fewer calories during each workout.

For the study, researchers examined 300 men and women, specifically their levels of physical activity and the number of calories they burned each day. They found that while moderately active people burned about 200 more calories per day than the most sedentary participants, the most physically active people didn’t burn any more calories than those who were only moderately active.

If you're logging miles on the treadmill and hours in cycling class in the hopes of torching more calories, that's seriously sucky news.

Here's how your body makes up for the major calories you torch at the gym: As you get used to your workouts, you might not burn more calories—even if you're consistently active, says California-based trainer Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., “Think about your job. When you first started, there were some learning curves, it took more energy and more time, but you became more efficient,” he says. Exercise works the same way. Your body adapts to a specific demand. So you naturally become more efficient, and use less energy [a.k.a. calories] to meet that demand."

But that’s no reason to forgo exercise in the name of weight loss or, more importantly, fat loss. After all, you want to lose fat, not muscle. Right? One obesity study of 439 women found that those who ate healthy and exercised lost considerably more body fat than those who stuck with dieting alone.

So how do you make sure every sweat session helps you burn more? Follow these five rules of exercising for weight loss. (If you're ready to add more sweaty variety to your exercise routine, check out Women's Health's Ignite program, designed by our Next Fitness Star, Nikki Metzger.)

Get FIIT When it comes to making sure your body never gets too comfy with your workout, you’ve got to cozy up to the FIIT principle. It stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type—the four factors that determine the exact stress you put on your body during a given workout, says Donavanik. Changing up any one of them “surprises” and challenges your body in a new way. Remember, as long as your body is forced to adapt to progressively challenging workouts, it’s going to burn more calories during every workout. It’s when your body gets used to your current workouts that things start to plateau. “Look to change one to two of these variables every four to six weeks and you’ll keep losing weight,” he says.

And HIIT “High-intensity interval training is the way to go,” Donavanik says. In one 2013 study from Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, people who performed a 20-minute HIITworkout torched 15 calories per minute—about twice as many as they did during long runs. Plus, with HIIT workouts, you benefit from the “after burn” effect, which a steady-state cardio just won’t give you. “So instead of burning 250 calories from your 30-minute session, you can burn up to 40 percent more throughout the next day or so as your body recovers,” says Donavanik. Follow the study’s lead: Perform all-out effort for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat until you’ve hit four minutes. Rest one minute, then repeat to complete a total of four rounds.

Prioritize Clean Eating “If you don’t pay attention to your diet, you can work out every day as hard as you possibly can and not lose a single pound if your calories expended are equal to your calories consumed,” says Donavanik. What’s more, eating junk can make your workouts feel more difficult, so even if you think you’re pushing yourself to the max, you’re not, he says. And sub-max workouts, as you might have guessed, burn fewer calories. He recommends limiting added sugar and focusing on eating lean protein, healthy fats, and whole carbs from fruits, veggies, and whole grains.

Pick Up Some Weights More muscle = more calories burned. After all, while a pound of fat burns only two calories per day, a pound of muscle burns six—and takes up a lot less room, he says. That’s why, in a 2015 Harvard School of Public Health study of 10,500 adults, people who strength trained for 20 minutes a day gained less belly fat over a period of 12 years compared to cardio bunnies.

Don’t Forget to Fuel While everyone thrives on a slightly different pre-and post-workout nutrition plan, research published in Sports Medicine shows that eating carbs before you hit the gym improves your performance during HIIT and endurance workouts alike. And tougher workouts burn more calories—both during and after your workout, Donavanik says.

That explains why recent research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that downing coffee (or any caffeine) an hour before your workout can boost your post-workout caloric burn by 15 percent. After your workout, Donavanik recommends eating a meal that’s about 40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. The combination will help your muscles recover, get your energy levels up, and have you burning more calories as your body repairs…and, yes, adapts.

Some great choices for burning calories include walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, weight training, interval training, yoga, and Pilates. That said, many other exercises can also help boost your weight loss efforts. It's most important to choose an exercise that you enjoy doing.

But, there are so many additional reasons to exercise that have nothing to do with weight loss, such as improving your mood and reducing your risk of a myriad of diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. Exercise also increases strength, mobility, endurance, and stamina. Plus, it helps us move better, breathe better, and improve visceral (organ) health.

If you are considering exercising for weight loss, you may be wondering how much you need to do each day or each week in order to lose weight. Here is what you need to know about exercising for weight loss including tips on how to create an exercise routine.

To lose weight, it is recommended that you get about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of the two each week. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefit.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity five days per week or more. If you prefer more vigorous activity per week, three or more 20-minute sessions (60 minutes) will help you meet your goal.

To reduce your body weight by 5% or more, or to maintain your recent weight loss, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that a minimum of 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity weekly may be needed.

If you modestly (not drastically) reduce your calorie intake in addition to exercise, this rate of physical activity per week is likely to improve your weight loss results. Of course, it depends on your starting baseline, changes in dietary habits, and your individual response to these exercises and dietary changes, says Jason Machowsky, RD, CSSD, a sports dietitian and registered clinical exercise physiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery's Tisch Sports Performance Center.

Once you've reached your goal weight, the CDC suggests continuing to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mixture of the two. However, remember that this amount varies by person. Some people may need more exercise to maintain their weight.

Weight loss is achieved through the basic means of calories in (or calories consumed) versus calories out (or calories burned), explains Jennifer Sobel, NASM-certified personal trainer. In other words, if you consume fewer calories than you’ve burned in a day, you will achieve weight loss.

“One of the biggest issues is that people often wind up eating more because they think that if they exercise that day it entitles them to eat more food because they burn more calories,” Sobel says. “The thing is, we often burn a lot [fewer] calories exercising than we think, and it’s not hard to eat those equivalent calories we burned off in a workout, and then some.”

If you are hoping to lose weight, aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week is a healthy weight loss goal. Losing 1 pound of weight generally requires that you burn about 3,500 calories. But keep in mind that trying to lose 1 pound of fat with exercise alone can be difficult and time-consuming for some people. For that reason, you may want to combine diet and exercise to reach the right calorie deficit for weight loss.

Because the road to weight loss can look a little different for every individual, the best way to determine how much exercise you need to support your weight-loss efforts is to first calculate your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, Sobel says.

Your BMR measures the amount of calories your body needs to perform the most basic functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production. Once you determine how much of a caloric deficit you need each day to reach your weight-loss goals, you can then create an exercise regimen that affords you this deficit.

Not only does exercise burn calories and help you create the daily deficit that will yield results, but it also helps build muscle and reduce body fat, explains Daniels.

“Muscle uses more energy than fat, which means that the more muscle you have on your body, the more calories your body will naturally burn,” he says.

What's more, research has found that muscle tissue contributes to an estimated 20% of total calories burned in a day versus 5% for fat tissue. So, in addition to exercise creating a calorie deficit that helps you lose weight, building muscle too can assist in burning more calories during periods of rest.

The ideal exercise routine for you may look different than that of your friend, colleague, or neighbor. These tips can help you create an exercise routine that yields weight loss in a safe and healthy manner.

The best way to establish a fitness routine that you will actually commit to is to choose an activity that you actually enjoy doing.

“Forcing yourself to do an activity you don’t enjoy will always be an uphill battle and will make it much more likely that you’ll eventually quit,” says Sobel.

She recommends thinking about the activities you most enjoyed throughout your life and especially as a child—whether that’s playing a sport, gardening or landscaping, or going for a jog.

“Expand your mind around what exercise is and think of it more as being active, rather than exercising,” she suggests. “Focus on enjoyment first and you’ll naturally hit your goals.”

Your exercise routine should be something that you can maintain—not something that totally wears you out and makes you want to take long breaks. Not only should there be no rush when it comes to intensifying your exercise routine, but Sobel warns that doing so could lead to injuries, which is the last thing you want.

“Whatever activity you choose, think about progressing slowly from week to week,” she says. “Increasing by 20% is a good guide. For example, if you walk 1 mile on week one, walk 1.2 miles in week two.”

Cross training, or switching up your exercise routine frequently with the goal of establishing more balance and strength in your body can help boost weight loss, improve your total fitness, and even reduce your risk of injury.

“If you walk as your primary source of exercise, try adding some strength training as well, or, if you strength train, incorporate some yoga for flexibility,” says Sobel. “Doing multiple types of activities will minimize the risk of injury and help ensure your body is balanced and fit.”

Eating a nutrient-dense diet is an important part of any weight-loss regimen. Not only does eating whole foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and nutrients help keep you healthy, but they also provide you with the fuel you need to increase your energy during workouts, says Daniels.

He recommends eating plenty of vegetables, fresh whole fruits, quality sources of protein, and avoiding processed foods. He also recommends drinking adequate water to prevent dehydration. The goal is to ensure you are eating a nutritious, balanced diet that will fuel your body not only during exercise but during daily activities.

If trying to reach your exercise goal sounds overwhelming, don't worry. Your workout plan doesn't have to be perfect to be effective. And setting up a workout plan is easier than it sounds.

Following basic exercise recommendations can provide a framework for finding out how much exercise you need per week or day to lose weight. Just remember that consistency matters most. For instance, if you can do less more often, that might be a smarter approach.

If you’re not sure where to begin, use a basic weekly workout plan to make sure that the time you spend working out is time that really helps you lose weight. You also may benefit from talking to a healthcare provider, especially if you are new to exercise as well as a certified personal trainer who can help you develop a workout plan that helps you meet your goals.

• Aerobic Exercises. Walking is considered one of the best weight loss exercises.
• Skipping or Jumping Rope.
• Planks.
• Push-Ups and Pull-Ups.
• Squats.
• Lunges.
• Yoga.