To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit above all else. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise, if you are eating more calories than you are burning, you won’t be able to lose weight. Although, exercise can and should be a huge component in your weight loss and health journey. 

Below you will find some examples of how many calories are burned through a few common workout methods, and you’ll see why exercise alone won’t be enough to lose weight. You need to dial in on your nutrition while ALSO adding more movement and exercise.

Walking: You should almost always be trying to get more steps on a daily basis for many health reasons not limited to only weight loss. Although walking may not burn the most calories, it is extremely good for cardiovascular health, mental health, joint health, and has many other benefits apart from weight loss or weight management.

Walking at a comfortable pace for about 1 hour will burn anywhere from 200 to 350 calories.

Strength Training: Everyone should be doing some form of resistance or strength training at least twice a week when possible. Aside from burning calories strength training also offers; increase in strength and muscle mass, improved bone density, improved sleep quality, reduced risk of falls or injury, and many other benefits.

Following a pretty average strength training program will have you in the gym for about 45-60 minutes at a time and you should expect to burn between 150 and 300 calories.

Jogging/Running: Jogging and running can be extremely helpful in losing weight, but running for too long or running too hard will usually make you more hungry and thereby lead to you eating more. Running can be done on a daily basis but you should limit sprinting to twice a week max, as sprinting can be very hard on the joints. Running provides you with all the same benefits as walking at the expense of being a bit more shocking to the joints.

Jogging for about an hour will burn anywhere between 300 and 600 calories. The heavier you are the higher on that range it will be. 

Sprinting sessions of 20-30 minutes will burn approximately 250 to 550 calories. Again, the heavier you are the higher on that range it will be. 

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training): Like sprinting, HIIT workouts should really only be done up to twice a week. They are very exhausting and draining, too many HIIT sessions a too close together increases fatigue and risk of injury. Although if done properly, they are great for weight loss and overall health.

High Intensity Interval Training sessions of 20-30 minutes will burn approximately 200 to 400 calories.

A Calorie Deficit, in the end, is the only way to lose fat. Increasing activity will increase the amount of calories you are using in a day though. So while going into a calorie deficit by just increasing exercise is possible, it definitely isn’t the best way to lose weight. By slightly lowering your daily calorie intake and increasing your activity at the same time, your weight loss will be much quicker. 

Find a hobby that keeps you moving: My best advice for getting in more exercise is definitely to find a hobby that keeps you moving.

If you’re having trouble coming up with some new hobbies to try, here is a huge list with a bunch of different fun activities.

Outdoor Activities:

1. Hiking

2. Rock Climbing

3. Trail Running

4. Mountain Biking

5. Kayaking

6. Canoeing

7. Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

8. Surfing

9. Skiing

10. Snowboarding

11. Snowshoeing

12. Windsurfing

13. Paragliding

14. Bird Watching (active walks)

15. Orienteering

16. Geocaching

17. Sailing

19. Ice Skating

20. Camping (with hiking and exploration)

Sports:

1. Soccer

2. Basketball

3. Tennis

4. Badminton

5. Volleyball

6. Table Tennis

7. Golf (walking the course)

8. Baseball/Softball

9. Football

10. Rugby

11. Lacrosse

12. Ultimate Frisbee

13. Field Hockey

14. Pickleball

15. Cricket

16. Fencing

17. Archery 

18. Boxing

19. Martial Arts (Karate, Taekwondo, Judo, BJJ, Krav Maga, Aikido, Tai Chi, and so many more.)

20. Wrestling

Dance & Rhythm-Based Activities:

1. Ballroom Dancing

2. Salsa Dancing

3. Swing Dancing

4. Tap Dancing

5. Breakdancing

6. Ballet

7. Jazz Dance

8. Hip-Hop Dance

9. Zumba

10. Line Dancing

11. Pole Fitness/Dancing

12. Belly Dancing

13. Contemporary Dance

14. Flamenco

15. Latin Dance

Water Activities:

1. Swimming

2. Scuba Diving

3. Snorkeling

4. Water Polo

5. Sailing

6. Rowing

7. Windsurfing

8. Kitesurfing

9. Wakeboarding

10. Aqua Aerobics

12. Diving (platform or springboard)

13. Whitewater Rafting

Fitness-Based Activities:

1. Yoga

2. Pilates

3. Barre Fitness

4. CrossFit

5. Weightlifting

6. Calisthenics

7. Spinning/Cycling

8. Aerobics

9. Gymnastics

10. Circuit Training

11. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Classes

12. Bootcamp Workouts

13. Jump Rope

14. Rowing Machines

15. Boxing Training (bag work, shadowboxing,sparring)

16. Group Fitness Classes

Adventure & Extreme Sports:

1. Skydiving

2. Bungee Jumping

3. Ziplining

4. Rock Climbing (outdoor)

5. Hang Gliding

6. Parkour/Free Running

7. Tricking/Martial Arts Tricking/Extreme TKD

8. Downhill Mountain Biking

9. BMX Racing

10. Motocross

11. Kiteboarding

12. Skateboarding

13. Snowmobiling

14. Caving (spelunking)

15. Cliff Diving

Recreational Games & Hobbies:

1. Frisbee Golf

2. Cornhole (bean bag toss)

3. Bocce Ball

4. Croquet

5. Horseshoes

6. Lawn Bowling

7. Dodgeball

8. Kickball

9. Bowling

10. Laser Tag

11. Paintball

12. Mini Golf

13. Roller Skating

14. Shuffleboard

Team & Social Activities:

1. Dancing (social settings)

2. Group Fitness Classes

3. Orienteering (team)

4. Scavenger Hunts

5. Tug of War

6. Obstacle Course Races

7. Relay Races

8. Team Relay Cycling

9. Rowing Teams

10. Dragon Boat Racing

11. Relay Marathons

12. Charity Walks/Runs

13. Adventure Racing

Seasonal & Event-Based Activities:

1. Ice Hockey

3. Ski Touring

4. Snowman Building

5. Kite Flying

6. Sandcastle Building

7. Ice Climbing

8. Snowshoe Races

9. Sledding/Tobogganing

10. Outdoor Adventure Races (Tough Mudder, Spartan Races)

Hobbies for Exploring New Places:

1. Walking Tours

2. Urban Exploration (exploring cities on foot)

3. Photography (active walking and exploring)

4. Nature Photography (hiking and walking)

5. Backpacking

6. Travel (active vacations)

7. Cycling Tours

8. Wildlife Safaris (walking)

9. Street Photography

10. Food Tours (with walking)

The best form of exercise for weight loss, and overall health, is whatever you can do consistently. Ideally you’ll be able to find a form of movement or exercise that you genuinely enjoy. But if not, the next best thing is to find a few activities from the list above that you don’t hate and start doing them on a regular basis. Eating in a small calorie deficit while regularly getting some kind of movement in will be the best way to sustainably lose and keep off that extra weight.

Eat Less, Move More.