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Exercise Myth - The more you sweat, the more pounds you will drop.
Fact: Weight loss is not about sweating. It’s about burning calories.
What matters most about losing weight is that at the end of each day you’ve burned more calories than you’ve eaten. You want more calories (energy) “going out” than “going in.”
Sure, if you sweat up a storm, you’ll lose a pound or two in water, but it’s temporary. Those pounds go right back on as you hydrate. That’s because sweat has little to do with calories burned.
Sweat happens simply because your body’s storing heat, whether while exercising or sunbathing on the shore, and you need to cool off. So, if running – and profuse sweating – isn’t your thing, that’s fine. Walk if you prefer.
What is associated with calories burned is the total number of steps you take each day.
An effective goal for most people is about 10,000 steps (4 to 5 miles) every day. If you walk for 30 minutes, that adds up to about 4,000 steps. And if you include enough activity throughout the day to reach a total of 10,000 steps, you’re burning an additional 400 to 500 calories a day.
That’s great because if your diet remains constant (you haven’t increased your daily calorie intake), a 400- to 500-calorie daily deficit from exercise means you could easily lose about one pound a week. Of course, any physical activity that produces movement requires caloric energy to be used.
We recommend a good combination of aerobic and resistance training since the benefits are plentiful from both of those. Let movement and exertion burn calories that can turn into unwanted pounds and be your focus for weight loss.
Mike Mastro,
Fitness Director
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