You’ve probably heard it a thousand times: exercise helps you lose weight, but do you really know how? In this post, part four of our series, we’re breaking down the science of exercise and why it makes fat loss easier.
If you haven’t read the first three parts of the series yet, make sure to check those out before finishing this one!
Exercise does so much more than just help change your body composition, but today we’re focusing on how it can make weight loss and body transformation easier.
First up: Exercise makes it easier to create a calorie deficit. Let’s break it down: Let’s say your maintenance calories (the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight) is 1600 calories—without exercise. That means if you eat more than 1600 calories, you’ll gain weight. If you eat less that, you’ll lose weight.
Now, when you add exercise into the mix, your body needs more energy (aka calories) to maintain its current weight because you’re burning more during workouts. So, on days you exercise, your maintenance calories increase, making it easier to create a calorie deficit and lose weight!
The second benefit of exercise is increased muscle mass. When you build muscle, your basal metabolic rate also known as your metabolism—goes up. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns at rest, even when you’re not exercising!
Now, we could go deeper into the best types of exercise in another video, but the two most important things to focus on are: 1) Lifting weights, and 2) Consistency. You don’t need to overcomplicate it. Start with these two key elements, and you’ll make progress toward your health and body composition goals!
If this information was helpful, hit that follow button and stay tuned for the final part of our series next week!