Best Exercise for Weight Loss?

Hi

I am new here....I have been fighting a battle with my weight now for about ten years and am trying to use this site to help record what am eating.

I know I need to exercise but am never sure which is the best for weight loss....any ideas - what are your own experiences for quickest weight loss exercises?

Thanks

S

I'm assuming the best exercises are the ones that burn more calories (check on the activities list).
In my case, I like to switch it up, so for cardio I like treadmills, ellipticals (i'd say that's the best), and Tae Bo.
I lift weights for muscle (it makes me a little heavier, but it increases my metabolism) and I do pilates for flexibility and toning.
When I really dont want to officially exercise one day, I just doing something fun like a sport or skating, or I DDR (I play DDR on my "off" days, so I'm still getting exercise in a fun way)

I highly recommend Tae Bo or some other form of kickboxing for cardio / aerobic exercise.  It's a high calorie burner, and it's a full range of motion workout, so your whole body is involved.

I've also discovered the benefits of Power Yoga.  There's a bit of strength exercises in it, but overall, it's also combination of a cardio and flexibility workout as well.  Wonderful if you have any sore muscles, it's really helped trim down my waist, and I always sleep like a rock on days I do it.

Well, if you are just starting an exercise routine.  I wouldn't jump right into trying to run 5 miles on the tredmill.  I started out by walking a few months back.  I would get up each morning and walk around the track for an hour. (I am in the military deployed so not a good idea to walk around the "neighborhood")  After that I started hitting the gym and just upping the time when I could.  I personally like the elliptical trainer.  You get a lot of the benifits of running without the strain on your joints.  I started doing that for 30 minutes 3 days a week.  Now here I am 32 pounds lighter (starting 186 current 154 goal 130)  But now I am up to doing 45-70 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week.  Plus 3 days of weight training.  Just start small and work your way up.  Good luck.

The best exercise for weight loss is the one that you do.  By that I mean the one that you want to do and will do every day that you can and that you enjoy doing.  Having said that, resistance exercises have plenty of benefits but for weight loss you want to do Cardio aka Aerobic exercise.  The objective is to get your heart rate up into "the Zone" which is 65 - 85% of your maximum heart rate and keep it in the zone for 20 minutes or more and build up intensity and duration over time.  Whether you do this running, biking, swimming, kickboxing, or anything else is entirely up to you and goes back to doing what you WILL do every day.  And you can certainly mix up the activities.  Start out slow and build over time.  Watch your calories, make sure you eat enough but not too much, and you will lose weight and get fit.

When I first started on my journey I walked - it took all I could muster to get around the block.  As the weight came off I was going longer and harder.  Start out slow so you don't risk injury.  Invest in a good pair of walking shoes and hit the sidewalk.  You don't have to push yourself just do 15 minutes a day if that's all you can do for now.  Before long you'll want to push yourself harder but if you haven't done anything for years like me - then walking slow and steady is a great start.

Thanks for the replies - I have started out walking as I am pretty overweight but I will look into Tai Bo...its not something I have seen many classes for in the UK though

Am only on day two of diet so is early days but going to try and do half an hours exercise at least 5 days a week to start and then step it up as I get fitter.....I will let you know how I get on !!!!!!!!!!!

If you're really interested in Tae Bo but can't find classes, you can order DVDs of various workouts off the Billy Blanks website, or Amazon.com.

However, if you're just starting out, be sure to get a routine designed for beginners - the advanced workouts can overwhelm a novice.

Good luck, and keep us posted!  :-)

Hey, running is about as good as it gets for calorie burn, i followed this and within 9 weeks could run 5km under 30 mins - check it out, http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.s html

I also try and play squash in a 40 minute sessions against a mate, being a guy, it gets quite competitve and i easily burn more energy in that compared to a 40 minute jog. Plus, I find it a lot more fun.

Thanks again!  I must admit I quite fancy having a go at running (obviously walking first..) but i am self conscious about how big I am ....I would have to do it in the dark lol...

But as i work in an office all day the fresh air appeals. 

I will keep you posted!

I know exactly how you feel! I'm not even that big but I am self conscious unfortunately and I also suck at/hated running. But now I run during sunsets and there's practically no one out there anyways, and the few who are just wave at me or don't even notice me. Besides, like many of my friends have told me, I'll be the one with the last laugh if they do say anything cause then I'll be fit, but I've grown to know that most people don't even care. Like, if I was in there place and I saw someone running I could care less haha. It took me a while to get over that though, probably 5 months, so I didn't run. But I started running this week again and I don't really care it actually feels good.

Im not a big fan of public runnig myself, i hired a treadmill, if you have the space try that. I find myself a lot more motivated in working out at home, though i appreciate everyones different. It only costs NZ dollar 30 a week, which is about 10 GBP, or 20 USD, depending where your from. I have done a lot more km on that than i ever would have done on the road. 

I second running.  You gotta start slow, but if you keep up and build a solid base, there's no better time-efficient calorie burner.   You just have to keep at it and one day you'll be surprised by how far you can run.  The most difficult part is the slow buildup but your work will be rewarded. 

This is for Sally, or anyone else that would like free information on weight loss and exercise.  Please send an email to  Have a great day!