Why Diet Still Matters Most
Diet plays the biggest role in weight loss. Staying in a slight calorie deficit is often challenging, but it’s essential for losing body fat. Exercise helps by increasing your calorie burn, making it easier to reach that deficit — as long as you don’t increase your food intake at the same time.
How Movement Changes Your Body
Getting motivated can be tough, especially if you haven’t exercised in years. That’s why it’s important to choose a form of movement you enjoy. The specific sport doesn’t matter as much as the act of being active itself.
When you move more, your body burns more calories. If you consistently burn more than you consume, your body turns to its own fat stores for energy.
To support fat loss and protect your muscle mass, you need enough protein. Newly built muscle doesn’t just look good — it continues burning calories even at rest.
How Often and How Long You Should Train
A good guideline is three training sessions per week, each lasting one to two hours. Rest days in between give your muscles, tendons, and ligaments time to recover — especially important if you’re just starting again.Short home workouts using bodyweight exercises can also be effective. Training up to five times a week is fine if your body tolerates it and you increase gradually.
Nutrition Must Support Your Training
To feel good during workouts and speed up results, a balanced diet is essential. Prioritise high-quality protein sources such as fish, poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, legumes, sprouts, and nuts.
Healthy carbohydrates like rice, potatoes, whole grains, and beans help maintain energy levels. Fat is also important — focus on unsaturated fats found in avocados, peanuts, canola oil, and olive oil.
Limit refined sugar, white flour, fried foods, sweets, and soft drinks as much as possible.
Choose the Right Type of Exercise for Your Body
Not all sports burn the same number of calories, but calorie burn shouldn’t be your only deciding factor. The best exercise is one that fits your fitness level and feels enjoyable. Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine so they can assess what your body can safely handle.
A combination of strength training and cardio is generally ideal. Over time, you’ll feel fitter, strengthen your immune system, and improve your overall body confidence.
Which Sports Are Especially Effective?
Some activities burn calories very efficiently:
- Jogging: ~600 kcal per hour at 10 km/h
- Spinning: ~600 kcal per session
- Fast cycling (20 km/h): up to 500 kcal per hour
- Cross trainer: over 500 kcal per hour
- Swimming (breaststroke): ~500 kcal per hour
- Nordic walking: ~350 kcal per hour
- Gymnastics: ~250 kcal per hour
- Yoga: ~200 kcal per hour — plus deep relaxation
Swimming is especially suitable for people with higher body weight, as the water reduces joint stress while boosting calorie burn.
Conclusion: Consistency Beats Perfection
The specific activity you choose matters less than moving regularly. Once you find a type of exercise you truly enjoy — and you will — you can gradually increase intensity or duration.
Just be sure not to overload your body and always listen to your cardiovascular limits. Discussing your plans with your doctor and starting with supervised training, such as in a gym, is ideal.
Alongside exercise, keep your diet balanced and protein-rich to support fat loss and muscle development.
