Exercise is an essential, inseparable part of the health and fitness equation, and of having a toned, proportioned body. But does exercise actually drive the goal of weight loss?
The answer might surprise a lot of people, because exercise on its own does not directly drive weight loss. In fact, it can delay or block reaching that goal, especially when done in the wrong amount or type.
Exercise builds confidence, tones the body, improves health markers, reduces measurements, increases physical fitness, improves the health of internal organs like the heart and lungs, strengthens bones, and is excellent as you get older. But exercise usually does not directly help or contribute to the number on the scale going down.
So what do we do if we want to exercise to get all of exercise's amazing benefits, while our goal is still weight loss on the scale?
Like anything else in life, to get a specific result you want, it matters to know what ingredients need to go into that result's equation. Exercise is not, by itself, for weight loss, but if we know how to do it, what type, and how much, we can turn it into a tool that helps us a lot with weight loss.
3 Times a Week or 4-5 Times a Week?
The title of this article asked: what is better for weight loss, exercising 3 times a week (longer sessions) or 5 times a week (shorter sessions)?
For exercise to help you more with lowering the number on the scale, it is better to exercise 4-5 times a week, with each session between 30-45 minutes, instead of 3 times a week with each session at 60 minutes or more. Why? Let us look at the advantages of each scenario.
3 Times a Week (60 Minutes or More)
- You get more free time during the week
- More time to recover (especially if your workout is intense)
- Easier to fit into your weekly schedule for some people
- Great for someone who does not love moving or exercising much (gets it over with quickly)
4-5 Times a Week (30-45 Minutes)
- Less chance of being sedentary since you move more days
- Great for someone who does not have a lot of time in a single day
- Harder to overdo since the time is limited
- The workout sessions themselves can easily become your relaxation time in the day since they are short
- Builds a habit of moving throughout the day (helps get rid of sluggishness and laziness)
- You always feel improved afterward because the short duration does not let you overdo it
- Raises your daily metabolic rate
Having looked at the advantages of each scenario together, it is a bit clearer now why 4-5 times a week is better than 3 times. For weight loss to happen on the scale, it matters not to put the body under too much stress, not to do things that increase inflammation and raise cortisol a lot, and to adopt easy, simple daily habits instead of hard, drastic changes, so weight loss happens as an automatic result of these habits.
3 long sessions a week can feel like saying "I just want to quickly cross this off my to-do list and get it over with." 4-5 sessions, on the other hand, feel pleasant and comfortable, you actually enjoy them, and because you enjoy them, the result is better and your stress during the day is lower.
Quality Matters Too
The lighter or more moderate the intensity of the workouts you choose, the better the result and the easier weight loss becomes. The more your exercise relies on bodyweight training and cardio, the more you will see the number on the scale drop.
High-intensity workouts hold onto water, increase inflammation in the body, and build muscle, none of which directly drives the number on the scale down.
So if seeing the number on the scale drop matters to you, exercise 4-5 times a week, with shorter sessions (30-45 minutes each), and focus on the following:
- Aerobics
- Dancing
- Bodyweight resistance training (or light-intensity bands)
- Pilates
- Yoga
- Brisk walking
- Cardio machines
- Swimming
Vary between them during the week, and make sure not to exceed 45 minutes per session. You will see how exercise helps you lose weight, especially if you used to do a lot of heavy resistance training or intense, exhausting workouts.