There is so much hype surrounding weight loss that it can be difficult to even know where to start. If you are trying to lose weight, you may be having trouble, but it is certainly worth it to stick with it. Losing weight in order to reach and maintain a healthy weight greatly reduces your chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. It can also prevent certain cancers, and prevent or reduce the symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and lessen symptoms of chronic diseases such as Asthma and Arthritis. 
With less weight to carry around all the time, many people find that they have more energy. As long as a proper nutrient balance is maintained (weight loss from malnutrition obviously does not provide more energy) weight loss can provide a more youthful vitality and vigor. Exercising to lose weight greatly increases the benefits of weight loss; exercise improves circulation, which gives a healthy glow to the skin, and helps the body rejuvenate. Regular exercise reduces the look of cellulite, helps the muscles and skin remain firm and plump, and helps flush toxins from the body. It improves digestion, reducing bloating, cramps, and flatulence. In fact, exercise is as close as you can get to an “all natural miracle cure” for many everyday ailments.
Many people who claim that exercise does not work for them have simply never learned how to exercise properly in order to lose weight. One of the first basics to master is that you should not try to lose weight and build muscle at the same time. If your goal is to lose weight, but you spend most (or all) of your time at the gym pumping iron, the number on the scale will go up, not down. If you don’t do enough cardio, you will not lose any fat, either. In fact, trying to build muscle if you have a lot of extra fat to lose may make you appear fatter, because there is more muscle under the fat, but too much fat for muscle definition to show. In addition, if your cardio conditioning is poor, you will suffer from exhaustion and aches and pains from lifting weights, which will make you feel worse than before you started your exercise routine! This causes a lot of people to give up.
If you have extra weight to lose, you must start with cardio exercise, and build up slowly. Do not drastically increase your activity level all at once. If you lead a completely sedentary lifestyle, you will have to start with gentle cardio exercise. Long walks are a good place to start. Since your workouts are of low intensity, try to fit them in every single day. If you know that your body is capable of more intense workouts, (for example: if you play a fairly intense sport but only do it for one hour a week) try for workouts of your normal intensity but more often. Also try to increase the duration of each workout.
Intensity and duration are the two most important things to pay attention to when exercising for fat loss. Working harder isn’t always better. Sprinting, for example, draws upon glucose stores in the muscles and then anaerobic processes (not the kind that burn fat.) In addition, sprinting encourages faster fatigue, and shorter overall workout sessions. The ideal fat burning session is a moderate level of activity that is done for a long period of time. Many people do not start burning fat until fifteen to thirty minutes into their workout: if you only hit the treadmill for half an hour a day you are only just beginning to draw on fat stores when your workout is over!
Another factor to keep in mind when exercising for weight loss is the “plateau” effect. The human body is remarkably adaptable. When the same type of stress is placed upon it on a regular basis, it becomes more efficient at meeting whatever demands you are asking of it. When it comes to weight loss, efficiency is the enemy, because it means that your body has learned to accomplish the same exercise routine, at the same speed and intensity, with fewer calories burned. It is important to mix up your workouts on a regular basis to keep your body from adapting and your weight loss from slowing or stopping. By paying careful attention to how easy or difficult it is to complete your usual workout, and by always looking into new physical activities to try, you can keep your body from hitting plateaus and keep your weight loss going.
Many people choose to maximize the benefit they get from exercise by eating a healthy diet and taking supplements that increase the number of calories burned. Many supplements contain substances like caffeine or capsaicin (the chemical that makes peppers spicy) because they rev up the metabolism. Others contain diuretics to help shed water weight, or antioxidants that aid with cleansing. Other supplements suppress hunger signals from the brain, and curb cravings. Recently HGH (human growth hormone) has been getting a lot of attention for its ability to return metabolism and strength to levels experienced in the teens and early twenties. This hormone, naturally produced by the body, dwindles as we age, and is largely responsible for the increasing difficulty we have in burning fat and building muscle. Patients receiving HGH therapy report a greater quality of life and a more youthful appearance, although this substance is not approved by the FDA to be used for anti-aging purposes. It is, however, approved as a weight loss aid in the obese. Many physicians are reluctant to prescribe it because of controversies regarding off-label use, but it has been proven to be safe and effective. HGH precursors (supplements that stimulate the body to produce more of its own HGH) are widely available with a money-back guarantee, and do not need a prescription. Some of these include Genf20 Plus, GHR1000, and HGH Advanced.
All of the above mentioned supplements can increase the amount of fat lost when following an exercise regimen, and so make your workouts more effective. Regular exercise of moderate intensity does result in weight loss, especially when individual workouts last longer than half an hour and the type of physical activity is regularly changed in order to avoid a weight loss plateau. Remember that exercise is also more effective when combined with a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots of water.
