Month Two: Exercise Strategies and Calorie Consumption for Happy Weight Loss

**Month Two: Happy Weight Loss Exercise Guide**

**■ Monitor your heart rate during exercise**

Before exercising, you should calculate your "maximum heart rate" and "heart rate zone for optimal exercise efficiency":

220 - your age = maximum heart rate

The optimal heart rate zone for exercise efficiency = 60% to 80% of maximum heart rate.

During exercise, you should measure your pulse every 5 to 10 minutes. When measuring, take 10 seconds and then multiply by 6 to calculate the accuracy so that the heart rate will slow down after you stop exercising.

If you don't have a particular favorite sport and are unsure which exercise to choose for your weight loss journey to be most effective yet easy to adapt to, then I would suggest brisk walking. If you're someone who doesn't feel like going out after get off work in the evening, try setting up a treadmill at home and walking for 15-20 minutes daily. Monitor your heart rate to see if you're at an effective pace. However, be aware that if your heart rate exceeds 80% of your maximum heart rate, you should engage in gentler activities to slow it down.

**■Enhance your exercise efficiency**

In the "Basic" section, we suggested that readers-especially those who may never have a regular exercise routine-could start by making small changes to their daily routine to gradually increase their exercise. However, these small changes will likely only help you burn an extra 50-60 calories per day at most. Therefore, you must be determined to increase your daily activity level and exercise to burn an extra 120 calories. This will make your weight loss efforts more effective and give you a greater sense of accomplishment.

The following "Exercise Calorie Burn Chart" provides a reference for choosing exercises. You can find out what kind of exercise you should do and for how long to achieve your goal of burning 120 calories per day.

When is the best time to exercise? From a return-on-investment perspective, the optimal time is around dinner. You can exercise before dinner to burn about 40-50 calories, which can suppress your appetite and prevent you from overeating. 1.5-2 hours after dinner, do some exercise to burn about 70-80 calories to boost your metabolism. Even after you're in bed, the weight loss effects can last for 5-8 hours!

Find a sport or activity each day that allows you to burn at least 150 calories.

***Exercise Calorie Burn Comparison Table***

The following figures represent the calories burned every 10 minutes (in kcal):

Type of sport/Weight 50 kg/54 kg/64 kg/72 kg/82 kg

Walking slowly (approximately 3.5 km/h): 26/29/34/38/43

Walking (approximately 5 km/h): 37/41/48/54/61

Brisk walking (over 6 km/h): 48/53/62/71/80

Running (approximately 10 km/h): 80/90/100/120/130

Swimming: 72/79/92/105/118

Bicycles: 41/45/52/60/67

Rhythmic exercises: 51/56/65/75/84

Ballroom dancing: 25/28/32/37/42

Golf balls: 50/50/60/70/80

Billiards: 50/50/60/70/80

Hiking: 60/66/78/89/100

Doing general housework: 34/38/44/51/57

Gardening work: 46/50/58/67/75

Even two people with the same weight doing the same exercise will burn different amounts of calories; even the same person doing the same exercise every day for the same amount of time will burn slightly different amounts of calories each day. Therefore, you only need to see your approximate weight and which range it falls into, and use a value that is roughly close to that as a reference. For example, a person weighing 60 kg can use 64 kg as a benchmark.

**■Calculate how many calories you actually burned**

As we learned in the "Basic" section, multiplying the REE (Energy Retention Rate) by the "Activity Factor" allows you to calculate your "daily calorie needs." However, sometimes we might wonder if this calorie value is sufficient. For example, you might have been running around or walking all day, and even though you're eating the planned number of food portions, you still feel extremely hungry. You might think, "Should I eat more?" or "Will this help me lose weight faster?"

To answer this question, we first need to look at the "Metabolic Rate Replacement Method," another way to calculate how many calories you burn each day. As mentioned earlier, when the body is completely still, it burns approximately 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour. That is, a 60-kilogram person, completely still, burns approximately 60 kilocalories per hour. This calorie value is also known as that person's "Basal Metabolic Rate Replacement Value," or MET for short. Therefore, each person's MET value will vary depending on their weight!

When a person is highly active, the calories they burn can be several times the MET value. For example, walking at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour burns approximately 3 METs. If you want to reach 4 METs, you would need to walk at a speed of 6.5 kilometers per hour.

***MET Value Conversion Table for Different Activities***

Activity type: Sleeping - MET value 1; Daily activities such as working, standing, walking, etc. - MET value 2; Walking (about 15 minutes to walk 1 kilometer) - MET value 3; Brisk walking (about 10 minutes to walk 1 kilometer) - MET value 4; Jogging, hiking - MET value 6; Running, tennis - MET value 8; Doing housework such as sweeping, mopping, cooking, gardening - MET value 3; Vigorous sports such as basketball and football - MET value 10.

Below is a record of Zhiming's activities, which he weighs 69 kg. Multiplying his total MET value by his weight, we can see that Zhiming burns approximately 2700 calories a day. If he controls his calorie intake to this level every day, his weight will remain unchanged.

Zhiming's 24-hour activity log (partial): 7:00-8:00 Wake up and wash, 2 METs, 1 hour; 8:00-8:30 Take the bus to work, 2.5 METs, 0.5 hours; 8:30-12:00 Work (office work), 2 METs, 3.5 hours; 12:00-13:00 Go out for lunch, 2 METs, 1 hour; 13:00-17:30 Work (office work), 2 METs, 4.5 hours; 17:30-18:30 Take the bus home, METs 2.5, 1 hour; 18:30-19:30 Dinner, METs 1.5, 1 hour; 19:30-21:00 Watch TV, METs 1.5, 1.5 hours; 21:00-22:00 Take a walk, METs 2.5, 1 hour; 22:00-23:00 Read, METs 1, 1 hour; 23:00-7:00 Go to bed, METs 1, 8 hours.

All [METs × Maintenance (hours)] = Total METs. The calculated total METs is 39 METs. Total METs × Weight = Total Calories Consumed = 39 × 69 = 2691 kcal.

Calories calculated using the MET value are more accurate than those calculated using "REE × activity factor." However, unless you can predict what activities you will be doing each day, this MET value substitution method is only suitable as an important reference value for reviewing your diet and adjusting your weight loss plan.

To make tracking your weight loss plan and results more efficient, starting now, in addition to recording your diet, please also keep a detailed record of your daily activities.