How to Lose Weight Just by Exercising

Co-authored by Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT

Last Updated: March 24, 2023 References Approved

Weight loss doesn’t have to be complicated: if you burn more calories than you consume, you’ll lose weight! However, you don’t have to go on a strict diet or count every calorie to be successful in weight loss. If you create an active lifestyle and make exercise a habit, you’ll be able to lose weight.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Creating an Exercise Plan

1
Write your exercise goals down.^{[1]
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Research source} The simple act of writing down your goals makes you much more likely to accomplish them.
- Make your goals realistic. If you’ve never run a mile, don’t make your goal to run two miles a day during your first week of exercise.
- Create a schedule. You want to have set days for your workouts. You should gradually increase the duration and difficulty of your workouts.
- Focus is the most important thing you need. Find a workout that you completely identify with, read about it and watch some videos from experts. Then, commit and focus yourself on trying this. Give it at least 10 days of very strict trying it out.^{[2]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Pete Cerqua
  Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
  Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.}
- Do not start an exercise routine if you have any health issues before consulting a doctor. If you want to lose weight, the first step is to get your nutrition and your health in great condition so your body can handle the workouts.^{[3]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Pete Cerqua
  Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
  Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.}
2
Create high-intensity cardio sessions.^{[4]
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Research source} Cardio workouts are an essential part of burning calories and fat. With cardio, you can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time.^{[5]
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Expert Source

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Expert Interview. 19 March 2020.}
- Choose the type of cardio you enjoy. Some types of cardio include: walking, swimming, running, and jumping rope. Walking is the safest and most effective form of movement that will get the body going and start burning a few calories and increase your circulation for beginners.^{[6]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Pete Cerqua
  Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
  Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.}
- Do your cardio for at least twenty minutes at a time for maximum benefit.
- Add in intervals to your workout. For example, sprint as fast as you can for one minute, then walk for two minutes, then sprint again for one minute, and walking again for two. Gradually add more repetitions to your routine.
- When doing intervals, using cardio machines like treadmills, stair climbers, ellipticals, rowing machines, and stationary bikes can be helpful because you can keep your speeds consistent.
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3
Add strength training. Even though cardio is the quickest way to lose fat and burn calories, strength training is an important part of keeping the weight off and maintaining your muscle mass.^{[7]
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Research source}^{[8]
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Expert Source

Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.} As your muscle increases, so will your metabolism.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Expert Interview. 19 March 2020.}
- You don’t need a gym to strength train. Start with bodyweight exercises.^{[10]
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  Research source} These include: sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, planks, burpees, and lunges.
- Gradually add in weights.^{[11]
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  Research source} Exercises with dumbbells, like curls or tricep extensions, can especially help to target your arms and reduce arm fat.
4
Vary your workouts.^{[12]
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Research source} If you do the same exercises every day, you’ll be more likely to burn out and get bored or reach a fitness plateau and have a difficult time losing weight.
- Alternate days between cardio and strength training.
- Switch up your cardio. Maybe go for a long bike ride one day and a run the next time you do cardio.
- In your strength training, spend one day a week focusing on your core, one day on your upper body, and one day on your lower body.
5
Join a class. If you can, joining an exercise class can be extremely beneficial to your exercise routine.
- In a class, a teacher will most likely push you harder than you’d push yourself.
- Also, you’ll have the accountability of your classmates.
- If you pay for classes in bulk ahead of time, you’ll be more likely to stick to going on a regular basis.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Cultivating an Active Lifestyle

1
Ease into exercising.^{[13]
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Research source}^{[14]
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Expert Source

Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.} If you don’t already consistently exercise, diving headfirst into a strenuous regime can be discouraging and even cause injury. Get creative and find small ways to add more movement to your day.
- Do housework and yard work. Scrubbing, dusting, raking, weeding and mowing are all great ways to burn calories. Plus, you’ll check off some of your chores.
- Go out of your way to walk more.^{[15]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Pete Cerqua
  Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
  Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.} Park 15 minutes away from your office building or at the farthest end of a store’s parking lot.
- Pay for your gas inside, and walk inside a restaurant instead of using a drive-thru.
- Always take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator.
- Though these are small adjustments, the calories you burn add up.
2
Add a daily walk. Walking is unintimidating, and it is a great way to get in shape that is gentle on your body.^{[16]
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Expert Source

Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.}
- You can walk anywhere: around your office, in your neighborhood, or at a park. Plan your route ahead of your walk, so you know how far you are going to go.
- Walk as long as you can, as many days of the week as you can. Thirty minutes a day is an excellent supplement to your exercise routine.
3
Change your commute. If you are in a position to do so, consider biking to work.^{[17]
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Research source} Biking is a great way to add cardio into your routine.
- If you bike to work, you’ll not only improve your fitness, you’ll also save money on gas and help the environment by reducing your emissions.
4
Start fidgeting.^{[18]
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Research source} Even tiny movements, like tapping your toes to a catchy song can help improve your overall well being.
- If you get the urge to move, don’t suppress it.
- Move your fingers, sway back and forth, change your seating position, and play with nearby items.
- Don’t sit while you think or wait. Stand up and pace around.
5
Invest in a stability ball.^{[19]
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Research source} If you work in an office setting, this is an ideal way to incorporate some strength training into your workday.
- Simply sit on your stability ball instead of a desk chair.
- If you don’t like the idea of a stability ball, consider a standing desk, instead.
6
Walk your dog often. This is an incentive for you to get outside walking and will benefit your pet, as well.
- If you don’t have a dog, think about dog walking for a friend or putting out an advertisement to be a dog walker as a side job.
- Agreeing to walk someone else’s pet will hold you accountable to your exercise plans.
7
Consider a fitness tracking device.^{[20]
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Research source} A wristband device can help you keep track of how much you really are increasing your daily movement.
- Plus, seeing it on your wrist will be a reminder to get moving.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Trying Out a Balanced Beginner Weight-Loss Workout

1
Stretch out your body.^{[21]
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Research source} Active stretching before working out is a good habit to get into.^{[22]
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Expert Source

Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.} It will help loosen up your muscles and prevent you from getting hurt, so you can continue your workouts on schedule.
- Some good active stretches you can try are arm circles, leg swings, chest pumps, arm rows, and knee bends.
- Do 20 walking lunges around your room or outside on the pavement.^{[23]
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  Research source} This dynamic stretch with warm up your legs.
- Stand upright, and grab one of your feet behind you with a bend at the knee. Pull it as close to your body as your can while still keeping your balance. Then, switch sides. This will stretch out your quad muscles.
2
Do walk and run intervals for 25 minutes. In a beginner’s workout, you can do shorter run intervals. This can be easily done outside with a timer or on a treadmill.
- Walk for four minutes, and then run vigorously for one minute. Repeat this sequence three more times. Then, after your last minute run, walk for five more minutes to cool down.
- Make sure on the walk portions of your intervals, you are walking briskly.
3
Do 50 crunches or sit ups.^{[24]
X
Trustworthy Source
Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals
Go to source} Doing a small sequence of body weight exercises after intervals can help you burn fat more quickly.
- Lay on your back on a comfortable foam pad or towel.
- Place your feet flat on the floor, and bend your knees slightly.
- If you’re doing crunches, raise your body up halfway to your knees and then back down to the ground. Go all the way to your knees if you want to do sit-ups.
- You can either do your 50 crunches or sit-ups all at once, or split them up into two sets of 25 with a break in-between.
4
Complete 20 push-ups. If you find push-ups too difficult at first, you can modify them.^{[25]
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Research source} Simply put your knees on the floor as you do your push-ups but keep the rest of your body aligned in a straight line.
- You can do these all at once or in two sets of 10 with a break in between.
5
Plank for 30 seconds.Plank is a good exercise to end on because it utilizes your entire body, so you finish your workout strong.
- The plank position looks like the top of a push-up before you bend your arms. You want your body to be straight, like a board. You can modify the plank by resting on your forearms instead of your hands.

Weekly Exercise Plan for Weight Loss

Sample Weekly Exercise Plan for Weight Loss

Expert Q&A
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Question

What is a good warm-up?

Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Pete Cerqua is a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. Pete is also a five-time best-selling author of books including "The 90-Second Fitness Solution" and "High Intensity Fitness Revolution for Women/Men" published by Simon and Schuster and Skyhorse Publishing. Pete has over 20 years of personal training and nutrition coaching experience and operates the 90-Second Fitness flagship studio in New York City.

Pete Cerqua

Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist

Expert Answer

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For high-intensity exercise (like going out for a run), warm up with either stretching or a specific movement, like walking or a light jog. If you're preparing to lift weights, you can warm-up by just doing lighter sets of weights. For instance, if you're planning to bench 135 lb (61 kg) for 10 reps, you could warm up with ten 45-lb (20.5 kg) and ten 85-lb (38.5 kg) reps.
Question

Will I lose weight if I exercise 30 minutes a day?

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Julian Arana is a Personal Trainer and the Founder of B-Fit Training Studios, a personal training and wellness set of studios based in Miami, Florida. Julian has over 12 years of personal training and coaching experience. He is a certified personal trainer (CPT) by the National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF). He has a BS in Exercise Physiology from Florida International University and an MS in Exercise Physiology specializing in strength and conditioning from the University of Miami.

Julian Arana, M.S.eD., NCSF-CPT

Certified Personal Trainer

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It depends on how much you eat. Exercise will absolutely help you lose weight, but only if you burn through more calories than you consume every day.
Question

What kind of exercises will help me lose weight?

Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS
Board Certified Family Medicine Specialist
Dr. Pouya Shafipour is a Family Medicine Specialist, Primary Care Physician, and a Weight Loss Specialist based in Santa Monica, California. Dr. Shafipour specializes in dietary, nutritional, behavioral, and exercise counseling to manage obesity and medical conditions related to excessive weight gain or loss. Dr. Shafipour received a BS in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University, and an MD from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He completed his internship in general surgery at UC Irvine and a residency in family medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and became board certified in family medicine in 2008.

Pouya Shafipour, MD, MS

Board Certified Family Medicine Specialist

Expert Answer

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I recommend starting an exercise regimen of 15-30 minutes of exercise daily to improve your cardiac health. When starting out, I do not recommend intense exercise, which can make you hungry and discouraged from adhering to your diet.

Warnings

You will have soreness and muscle aches if you haven't vigorously exercised in a while. Don't worry. The more you exercise, the more you'll stretch your muscles and the pain will greatly decrease.

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If you're not seeing results on a scale, try taking your measurements regularly instead.

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Watch for overall body condition changes, not just weight. Since exercising builds muscle and burns fat, and since muscle weighs more than fat, pay more attention to how you look and feel than the numbers on the scale.

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Don't be too hard on yourself. Expect a gradual weight loss, and stay consistent.

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Anyone over the age of 60 or who has heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis should consult a doctor before attempting interval training.^{[28]
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Pete Cerqua
Certified Personal Trainer & Nutritionist
Expert Interview. 24 January 2023.}

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