Sport in everyday life keeps us healthy. Contributes to weight loss. Nutrition also makes a lot of difference. The right combination determines success. How to get started.
By Annette Meinke-Carstanjen, dpa
If you want to lose weight, you need a good plan. Then the prospects of success are great.
And: "The better you understand what happens in the body, the more specifically you can reduce weight," says weight loss coach Jan Bahmann from Hanover.
For an optimal outcome, these factors play a role:
The right attitude to the weight loss project is important to successfully reach your goal, says Bahmann. "I now want to maintain a better lifestyle with new habits. With such an attitude you can make it."
During yoga you burn about 300 to 350 calories per hour. You may. Must eat. A balanced diet is essential to boost your metabolism. Plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit provide the body with important dietary fiber. The need for fats, carbohydrates and protein must be sufficiently covered. "If we eat too little, we give our body the wrong signals. It switches to economy mode and breaks down muscles instead of building them up," says Ingo Frobose of the German Sport University in Cologne.
The buildup of muscle mass
The more muscle mass the body has, the better the metabolism functions. If it's sluggish, we need to crank it up. "Ideally, I build my muscle mass so that my body burns energy around the clock – even when I'm sitting on the couch," says Frobose.
1. Turn the body into a combustion machine
Sports help the body to burn calories. This reduces the kilos more sustainably.
In detail, the effect looks like this:
Without sports the metabolism works slowly. If you haven't done any sports for years, "you've turned your metabolism into a lame duck," says Frobose.
It is necessary to change in the direction of
Turbo metabolism. Because exercise can gradually turn the body into a veritable combustion engine, "eating away calories for 168 hours a week". So around the clock – 24/7. The figure changes positively.
With sport, "you get more muscle mass and a higher performance of each individual cell," says Frobose. In other words, through weight training you rebuild the muscles. Get thereby quasi more power stations in the body. The furnaces are then fired up with endurance training.
2. Define optimal training intervals
Women have about 10 percent less muscle mass than men. "Unfortunately, you have to do a little more to maintain your weight," says fitness trainer Saskia Reinhardt from Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany. Regardless of this, the following applies:
Only With can be achieved with a combination of weight training and endurance training You Your Target.
"The way to do this is not so simple," says Richardt. Hold on to your motivation, even if it's hard at times. "Think of it like a long-term investment, similar to stocks."
What helps are the rest phases. Because they are part of a balanced training plan. As a rule, after a strenuous sports unit you should 48 hours sports break Follow.
Afterwards the energy stores are relatively well filled again. "With a very intensive Pilates workout, for example, I sometimes need up to 72 hours," says Frobose.
Experts advise all beginners to train two to three times a week. Advanced users can add alternative units on the other days.
3. Adapt the type of sport to the performance level
Anyone who wants to lose weight with sports can do it. It is important that the training program is adapted to the physical possibilities. This means that no matter what sport you choose or how much you exercise, basically the exercise must not harm the body.
Ideal Sport for beginners:
A sport that is also well suited for beginners is, for example, aqua jogging. Thanks to the buoyancy effect of the water, you exercise with only a fraction of your own body weight. This is easy on joints and tendons.
At the same time, aqua jogging offers an extremely versatile workout that builds strength and endurance and works not only the legs but also the arms, shoulders and back.
There are few medical reasons not to do aqua jogging. In the case of a heart attack not long ago, neurological diseases or an acute herniated disc, you should refrain from it.
Hands off too strenuous sports and exercise only after medical consultation applies, for example, for freshly operated or pregnant women and after childbirth. Here you should give yourself at least 12 weeks. Then train only with professional guidance at first. "Exercises need to be customized"
, says fitness trainer Reinhardt.
Basically, the more you want to lose weight, the more important it is to exercise.
"It is known that one kilogram of body fat is about 7000 calories," says weight loss coach Bahmann. That is, if you want to lose 10 kilograms of body weight, that is a total of about 70,000 calories. "This is too large a sum to manage with dietary changes alone," says Frobose.
And looking ahead, the fitness expert adds: "If I want to keep my weight permanently – the next 10 years or a lifetime – I can only do this with sports", says Frobose. Therefore, at best, keep your workout sessions after sports as well.
4. Choosing the best sport to lose weight
The fitness experts distinguish here:
– Men rather want to train individually, – women in a group.
"For men, I always recommend weight training in the gym. For women, aesthetic components are important, which play a role in yoga or Pilates," says Frobose. Being out and about with like-minded people and having a chat in between is important for women, says Reinhardt. "Even in pairs, women can push each other super and thus improve their sports results."
Of course, there are also women who like to do weight training or play tennis. And vice versa Men who like Group Fitness and enjoy doing yoga or Pilates.
An overview:
"In team sports, it depends on the position," says Frobose. Whether
Basketball, Soccer or RugbyIf you move intensively, you can burn 600 to 700 calories. "But that's also when the maximum is reached," says Frobose.
Similarly the calorie consumption looks with the Tennis or Badminton from. All the figures here are indicative.
5. Using the perfect time of day for sports
It actually doesn't matter whether you exercise in the morning, at lunchtime or in the evening – as long as you exercise regularly.
Sport in the morning:
Advantage: The morning has a big advantage because you have not eaten yet. "The carbohydrate stores in the body are empty. That's why my body is first busy tackling its fat reserves," says fitness trainer Reinhardt.
Of course, it depends on what type you are. Pay attention to your individual biorhythm
. If you're not a morning person and don't feel like going for a run before breakfast, for example, you should definitely choose a different time of day. Otherwise the motivation will be lost.
Sometimes it is also external constraints that speak against a morning sports session. Reinhardt gives an example: "If I wake my children in the morning and have to take them to school or kindergarten, it might stress me out to fit a sports session into that time as well."
Sports in the afternoon:
The afternoon is also perfect for a fitness session. Any kind of sport from weight training to cardio training is possible. The cardiovascular system may be properly pushed.
Sports in the evening:
In the evening it looks already different. Because physical activity affects our sleep. The hormone melatonin is to blame. It influences our day-night rhythm. "The body needs the melatonin output to fall asleep," says Reinhardt. An intensive muscle training at late hour stimulates the body. Can therefore provide for a restless sleep. Better suited in the evening is an endurance workout that relaxes. For example Yoga or Pilates. The combo of strength-. Endurance training leads to success. Photo: Monique Wustenhagen/dpa Themendienst/dpa-tmn
6. Provide for more self-discipline
Tracker: An app counts your steps – right from your smartphone, a fitness wristband or a corresponding watch. Indicates how fast you are, what distance you have covered and how long it took you to cover it. This is made possible by a sensor in the device that detects your movements forward, left or right. With the help of a chest strap, the pulse can also be measured. If you want, you can automatically save the data in a training diary.
Pedometer: Every movement is calculated in steps. This includes not only sports sessions, but also climbing stairs, walking in the office or at home. Experience shows: The counter is good for motivating yourself. "I'm then more tempted to get up and go for another round to achieve my goal for the day," says Reinhardt.
Mobile appwithCoach support: Is especially recommended if you want to lose a lot of weight and are looking for personal support. For people with severe obesity (BMI over 30), health insurance covers the cost of certain apps. you will receive regular tips on how to achieve your goals step by step.
More tape measure, less scale: More sport provides for more muscle mass, which is then also noticeable on the scale. That can irritate, because the scale thereby also times a little upward points. Therefore, it is better to use a tape measure to regularly measure the waist circumference.
Photo Journal: The documentation can help to focus positively on your own body image. With sports, posture changes, we move more upright and easily. The jeans or dress fits better. The belt can be tightened.
Relaxation Phases: For example, take a lap in the sauna or treat yourself to a massage. Body and mind need breaks to regenerate.
7. Avoid this mistake
If you want to lose weight and do sports, you need sufficient discipline. Therefore, it is important to give your own plan a clear structure.
What should not happen in any case, says Reinhardt: "In the beginning I am super motivated to achieve the goal. Then I notice that it falters. And in the end, I no longer see any point. Give up." That would be a pity." That would be a pity. After all, you also want to reap the fruits of your labor.
– do not set yourself unrealistic goals, – do not approach your project too doggedly, – do not withdraw, keep at it, – do not forget weight training, endurance training alone is not enough, – do not forego rest periods.
8. Optimize the diet plan
Without a change of diet it does not work. The weight loss project is about optimizing the body's substance and maintaining a healthy normal weight.
"If I want to lose weight
Energy balance", says Bahmann. "I must not eat too little and above all not too much."
So many calories are to be reduced:
The ideal is a daily reduction of about 500 kilocalories. The experts agree. "This will make you lose an average of 0.5 kilograms of body weight per week," says the weight loss coach.