You’re on your feet all day, which means a lot of walking—and a lot of calories burned. So if you want to lose weight, you need to make sure you’re accounting for all of those burned calories. Otherwise, you’ll never lose the weight. You might think that since you’re expending so much energy walking, you might as well keep going as long as you can. But that’s wrong! That’s why we’ve got to establish some standards for this type of exercise—specifically, how long you should run to lose weight.
The Ideal Duration Of A Workout
When you run, you’re using your body’s natural resources to provide energy. So if we’re going to make any suggestions regarding how long you should run to lose weight, we need to make sure that we’re taking that fact into consideration. That’s why we’re idealizing the duration of a workout when we talk about this topic. Let’s take a look at what we know (or think we know) about the ideal duration of a workout:
1. It Should Be Short
When it comes to losing weight, you shouldn’t want to endure an entire workout session. That’s because you’re expending a lot of calories, and you don’t want to blow your diet. Short workouts are ideal for this purpose. If you’re looking for a way to lose weight without breaking your diet completely, short workouts are the perfect solution. Research shows that people who complete shorter workouts experience weight loss almost as effectively as people who work out for longer periods of time. So, if you can fit in a quick 10 minutes of jumping jacks or fast walks, you’ll get the same benefits as someone who did a longer workout routine.
2. It Should Be Intense
When you perform an intense workout, you’re using your body at its strongest. So even if you’re not an avid exerciser, you’ll start to see weight loss results just by performing intense workouts. Intense workouts are another great way to reduce your calorie intake. If you want to lose weight, you should be trying to perform as many intense workouts as you can. That’s because the more you do, the better you’ll become at it. And over time, you’ll start to see significant weight loss results even if you don’t make any major changes to your diet.
3. It Should Be Sustained
An intense workout isn’t necessarily a short one. So long as you keep your energy up, your body will continue to function at its best. When you perform a sustained workout, you’re using your body fat to provide energy. So even if you don’t weight train or do any form of aerobic exercise, you’ll start to see weight loss results. Sustained workouts are another great way to lose weight. If you want to lose weight, you should be trying to perform as many sustained workouts as you can. That’s because the more you do, the better you’ll become at it. And over time, you’ll start to see significant weight loss results even if you don’t make any major changes to your diet.
4. It Should Be Fun
One of the biggest reasons that people don’t like working out is because it’s not fun. And what’s more, it’s usually not fun to do the same thing over and over again. For this reason, you should be trying to find the fun aspects in working out. When you have fun with your workout, you’ll find that it’s much easier to keep up with it—and to stick with it over time. If you want to lose weight, you should be looking for ways that you can have fun with your workout. Perhaps try a new activity or join a sports team. If none of that seems appealing, then maybe work out with a friend, or find a gym that provides classes that you can join.
5. It Should Be Equable
One of the biggest issues with most diets is that they don’t offer anything that’s equivalent to eating a cheeseburger. You know, a lot of the foods on a typical diet don’t offer that same pleasure as a burger or a cheeseburger. If you want to lose weight, you need to make sure that the diet you’re on is one that’s equivalent to a burger or cheeseburger. And for this purpose, you should be looking for diets that offer foods that are similar to what you’d find in a conventional burger or cheeseburger. For example, if you’re on a diet that includes lots of salads, make sure that you’re having a cheeseburger equivalent salad. Or, if you’re following a diet where all the food is low fat, make sure that the foods you’re having are low in fat as well.
6. It Should Promote Mental Health
When we’re feeling down or low in mood, we sometimes have a harder time getting motivated to go for a walk, work out, or do anything else. For this reason, it’s important that your workouts promote mental health. When you’re having fun with your workout—and you’re not thinking too much about the activity—you’ll find that it’s much easier to keep up with it and stick with it. So if you want to lose weight, make sure that your workouts are helping you to feel better both physically and mentally. This could be through any of the following means:
– Increasing your mobility
– Promoting relaxation
– Providing stress relief
– Boosting your self-esteem
For example, try dancing or walking around the house to music you enjoy. Or take a walk in the park and watch the people around you work out. Find a gym that has the equipment that you need and that allows you to work out with a friend. Or try doing reps with a weight that’s heavy enough to make your muscles burn but not so much that it’s hard to lift. Any activity that gets your heart pumping and uses up more calories than you consume is a great way to lose weight. And the best part is that you’re already doing it! So there’s no additional mental or physical wear and tear on your body. You’re just being yourself—which is one of the best things you can do if you’re looking to shed some pounds.
7. It Should Be Sustainable
If you’re not eating the right foods, you’ll never lose weight. That’s because the food you’re eating doesn’t provide you with enough nutrients to maintain a healthy weight. For this reason, you should be looking for diets that are sustainable. When you’re following a diet that’s not sustainable, you’ll start to see bad weight gain results. If you want to lose weight, try searching for diets that are sustainable as well as nutritious. And for this purpose, you should be looking for diets that include foods that are locally sourced as much as possible.
8. It Should Be Customizable
One of the biggest problems with most diets is that once you’ve followed them for a while, you’ll see that you’ve become dependent on certain foods—specifically the ones that were on the diet. So if you want to continue seeing weight loss results, you’ll need to find a way to accommodate for these foods—which is why you should be looking for diets that are customizable. This means that you can add or subtract foods based on your personal preferences. So if you’re finding that a lot of the food on a diet isn’t agreeing with you, then you can opt to remove some of it and add healthier alternatives. For example, if you’re removing bread from your diet, then you can add more berries instead. Or if you’re removing dairy products, then you can opt for soy products or egg whites instead.
9. It Should Be Within Your Budget
When we’re faced with a decision that involves money, we often ask: Can I afford this? Or: How much is this going to cost me? The same concept applies when you’re looking for ways to lose weight. You’ll need to ask yourself: Can I afford this? Or: How much is this going to cost me? There are a lot of fad diets out there that are really expensive, with some costing thousands of dollars. So if you want to avoid spending a lot of money on eating poorly, then you need to make sure that the diet you’re following is within your budget. This is especially important if you want to do this on a frequent basis. You might opt to save up money for a special event (such as a wedding or birthday) in order to make the most of a pricey diet. But for the rest of the year, you’ll need to find ways to work within your budget.