There is confusion of about just how many calories are burned as a result of exercise and also about how much added muscle increases metabolism. The short answer is not much. Fat loss is primarily accomplished by eating less - not diet per se but by following a sensible eating plan you can stick tofor the long haul, in other words for the rest of your life. Diets, as a rule, seldom work in the long run.
The type for training we do, High Intensity Interval Training, produces the most Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), and as such you will burn more calories than other forms of exercises. Also high intensity interval training has been shown to lower one’s appetite.
One study examining the effect of high intensity strength training on metabolism showed a nine-fold improvement in fat burning. Why more than other forms of exercise? Because HIIT burns calories four ways .
The best way by far to lose weight is to follow an eating plan you can stick to and couple that with weight training. With caloric restriction (dieting) the body receives a message that it is not getting enough calories to sustain itself. The body responds by catabolizing lean body tissue which is metabolically expensive to maintain. The result is a lower resting metabolism. When you strength train the body receives the opposite message. The muscles will make a positive adaptation to the demands placed on the muscles. The muscles become bigger and stronger and will require more calories not less.
One of our clients lost 50 pounds slowly, very slowing. When you lose weight slowly the body has time to adapt to the new homo stasis, a new set point. When you lose weight quickly the body is desperately trying to get back to its original set point. That is why weight is re-gained so quickly.
At Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Training we offer high intensity training (HIT). It is a full body workout. It takes about 30 minutes, and you do it once or twice a week. This is a workout that you slowly build up to, but it is doable at 30 minutes once or twice a week. All you have to do is to keep improving, make modest changes in eating habits, and you will get to where you need to be. The other days of the week you are free to engage in activities you enjoy; there are not hours of drudgery in the gym. This is a workout plan most people can stick to for the long haul