1. Weight Loss: Tipping the Scales in Your Favor

144. Exercise Your Calories Away

Research has shown that dieting alone will not produce permanent weight loss.  Any successful weight-loss program should emphasize both what you eat and how you exercise.

Don’t just sit around wondering when those extra pounds will come off. Check with your physician first to see if you’re ready for exercise, then get moving with the “moderate” and “vigorous” calorie burners in the  following table.

Sedentary (60-150 cal./hr.)

Sitting, writing, card playing, etc.

Lying down or sleeping

Sitting quietly

Moderate (150-350 cal./hr.)

Golf (twosome, carrying clubs)

Tennis (recreational, doubles)

Swimming (crawl, 20 yds./min.)

Volleyball (recreational)

Horseback riding (sitting trot)

Light housework, cleaning, etc.

Dancing (Ballroom)

Walking (2 mph)

Bicycling (5 mph)

Canoeing (2.5 mph)

Vigorous (350+ cal./hr.)

Circuit weight training

Cross-country skiing (5 mph)

Jogging (10-min. mi., 6 mph)

Bicycling (13 mph)

Racquetball

Aerobic dancing

Swimming (crawl, 45 yds./min.)

Football (touch, vigorous)

Basketball

Tennis (recreational, singles)

Scrubbing floors

Ice-skating (9 mph)

Roller skating (9 mph)

Calories Burned by Various Activites

SOURCE:  Adapted from Exercise & Weight Control (Washington, D.C.: President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 1986).

Activities

Energy Costs (cal./hr.)

114

90

84

324

312

288

264

246

246

210

198

174

174

756

690

654

612

588

546

522

498

450

450

440

384

384

Note: Hourly estimates based on values calculated for calories burned per minute for a 150-pound person.