As you pursue a medical weight loss plan, burning calories through exercise will be extremely important. And once you’ve shed those unwanted pounds, keeping them off will become your next challenge. But exercise isn’t all about burning calories during each session. It can also serve to boost your metabolism throughout the day, every day, so that your body requires a higher amount of calories just to maintain itself. Here’s how that works.

Aerobic exercise is the type that gets your heartrate up, like jogging, cycling, or participating in an aerobics class. This type of exercise is good for your cardiovascular health, and you will also burn a significant calories just to get through the workout. That calorie burn continues for a while after the workout as your body recovers. Aim to perform 30 minutes of aerobic exercise four to five days per week.

If you haven’t worked up to the level of fitness that allows you to perform vigorous aerobic exercise for 30 minutes straight, try interval training. With interval training you will walk at a comfortably challenging pace for two minutes, then work out more vigorously for 30 seconds, and then return to two more minutes of moderate pace, and so on. Repeat this pattern throughout your workout, and you can reap the calorie burn of a more intense workout even if you’re not yet capable of 30 minutes of continuous, vigorous exercise.

Anaerobic exercise is the type that builds muscle tissue, like weight lifting. This type of exercise will boost your metabolism on a daily basis, because a body with more muscle also requires more fuel (calories) just to subsist. If you want to boost your metabolism even while sleeping, perform anaerobic exercise several times per week to build muscle tissue.

An effective medical weight loss plan will combine both of the above types of exercise with an eating plan that slashes your calorie consumption while supporting your body’s nutritional needs. Call us to schedule a consultation, and we will help you lose weight the healthy, effective way so that you keep it off permanently.