There are a thousand and one reasons you should get in shape. A healthy weight loss has an immense benefit to your health and self-esteem.
Obesity can put you at risk of several serious health problems including heart diseases, diabetes, stroke and some types of cancer.
Sports can help you to lose weight but they require regular practice and skill for you to reap the reward.
When picking a sport to speed up your weight loss, choose one that you enjoy and can commit to.
Factors that affect weight loss
1. Genetics
2. Diet
3. Sleep pattern
4. Sex
5. Age
6. Environment
7. Some medications
How does weight loss occur?
Weight loss cannot be achieved without a negative calorie balance. It is expected that when you engage in sports to lose weight, you burn more calories than you consume for several weeks or months.
It may be difficult to achieve weight loss through exercise alone if you don’t watch what you eat.
Achieving significant weight loss demands that you adhere to a healthy diet. Foods that are low in sugar, high in water and dietary fibre should be consumed more.
How long do I exercise to lose weight?
Patience is the keyword when it comes to weight loss. You may have heard this a zillion times but it remains an annoying fact.
It is estimated that you need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose a pound. The grim truth is, before shedding those extra pounds gained, you’ve got to go through additional huffing and puffing miles.
For a beginner, some experts advise that you start with 50 minutes of exercise a week and go up to 200 minutes a week.
Patience, consistency, a cut in your calorie intake, coupled with more than three hours of moderate-intensity exercise every week can get you that dream physique you’ve always wanted.
Types of exercise intensity
The sports you engage in for weight loss may involve moderate physical activities or vigorous physical activities. Activity is measured by exercise experts based on metabolic equivalents (METs).
The energy required to sit quietly is equal to one MET. An average adult may burn approximately 70 calories an hour just sitting or laying down. Moderate physical activities can get you moving strenuously enough to burn 3-6 METs.
You burn-off more energy doing a moderate physical activity in a minute than when you are sitting for an hour.
Vigorous physical activities are those that can burn more than 6 METs.
Why should you engage in sports?
• It can prevent a heart attack by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• Engaging in sports lowers your chances of developing certain types of cancers.
• Sports builds your sense of confidence which in turn can lower your level of anxiety and depression.
• Being active in sports can increase how many calories you burn in a day. As a result, you can achieve and maintain weight loss.
• Sports can help your muscles to become strengthened and your skin to become elastic.
• During sports, your adrenaline secretion increases, which further helps in the breakdown of fat.
Before choosing a sport, take note of the following and speak to your doctor first:
1. You are suffering from a heart-related disease.
2. You’ve been very inactive for a long time.
3. You are overweight.
4. You quit smoking.
Tips for a successful sports program
• Pay attention to the signals your body gives you when you begin engaging in sports for weight loss.
• Be mindful of how you push your body to its limit because you may injure yourself.
• Stop the sport at once if you begin to experience strange pains, dizziness, severe headaches or shortness of breath.
• Put on comfortable and appropriate clothing and shoes for sports. Wouldn’t it be off if you wore your pyjamas to play basketball?
• Celebrate every milestone you’ve achieved in your weight loss journey. Don’t be afraid to set short term and long term goals and smash them.
There are a variety of sports to help you achieve your weight loss goals. Eager to know the best sports to speed up your weight loss? We recommend the following sports to help you achieve an amazing form and shape.
1. Basketball
Bouncing that ball and running around the basketball court makes working out and losing weight much easier.
This sport will help you sizzle your body fat, relax and strengthen your heart.
With 1 hour of maximum fun, you can have between 575-775 calories burned. If you want to burn more calories while playing basketball, consider doing a vigorous activity like the full-court, five-on-five game. Moderate activity like the half-court solo practice will burn fewer calories.
2. Volleyball
Yes, smashing the volleyball can do a lot for your body. Playing this fun sport for an hour is capable of burning about 430-600 calories.
Volleyball can strengthen your cardiovascular system and also strengthen your upper body and your thighs and lower leg muscles. It can also improve your hand-eye coordination.
You can choose to play volleyball indoor, or at the beach. If you choose to play at the beach, you are likely to burn more calories than indoor court volleyball.
You lose more calories when playing on the beach because it is more tasking to run there than it is to run on a flat and hard surface.
3. Tennis
Engaging in tennis for an hour can help you burn about 350-780 calories. Tennis is a vigorous sport that demands constant movement. This sport benefits your shoulders, forearms and hips.
For better results for your weight loss journey, play tennis with someone who wants to lose weight too. It is a good way to motivate each other to get the best possible results from the sport.
4. Boxing
Boxing is a sport that incorporates endurance, agility, footwork, quick decisions and reflexes. You’ll burn about 800-1000 calories per hour when you box.
Although people have practised boxing as a means of self-defence, it is common today to find more people embracing it as a workout.
Boxing is a super cardio workout that can burn calories and shed off excess weight. Boxing is so powerful that it can condition your body into an energy-efficient machine.
Do you want to burn and build lean muscles? Consider putting on those boxing gloves now.
5. Cycling
Don’t go all fast and furious when cycling. Since your goal is to burn fat, ride at a pace that gives you a heart rate of between 68 and 79 percent of your maximum heart rate. This means that you will be out of breath but still be able to maintain a conversation.
Dust your bike and begin challenging yourself to get somewhere faster. Aim to always beat your previous record.
Besides helping you lose weight, cycling helps your heart and increases brainpower.
You can burn between 450-750 calories per hour cycling.
Final thoughts
Besides picking a sport to help in your weight loss, you should consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator, raking the leaves, mowing the lawn or parking your car farther and walking the remaining distance.
If you’re committed to losing weight, these small changes in your daily routine may be all you need.