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Do you have a goal of slimming down, tightening, and toning your body? You'll lose weight and keep it off more effectively if you create a weekly workout plan to lose weight with simple and achievable goals. When you plan in advance and create a weight loss workout plan, there is no last-minute guesswork and you are much more likely to complete the workouts with higher accountability, helping you to achieve your weight loss goals more quickly and efficiently.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you get 150-250 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise to lose weight (1). This may sound like a lot, but if you break it down that is only about 30 minutes a day. Also, if you have a strategic weight loss plan with appointments scheduled for cool sculpting, laser therapy, cavitation ultrasound (fat cell bursting) therapy, or radio frequency skin tightening therapy this exercise recommendation may be significantly reduced as your weight loss goals and boy physique changes can be achieved other ways. Check out Dr. Leila Doolittle's YouTube Channel Weight Loss Circuit Video for more information on the aforementioned weight loss and skin-tightening equipment.
* Contact us to schedule your initial Weight Loss Therapy Circuit Appointment with the promo code DRLEILABLOG for20% off. *
Amount and intensity of exercise does not always correlate with predicted weight loss, evidence has suggested that the time of day that one exercises may also play a critical role in body weight regulation. Circadian physiology has been linked to body weight regulation and obesity. Numerous studies present conclusive evidence that engaging in morning exercise results in more weight loss compared to engaging in a similar amount of exercise later in the day (2).
Beginner Level Exercise
As a beginner-level exerciser, your main goal should be to simply complete some exercise on most days of the week. Choose activities that you enjoy and that are easy for you to do. Do not do any exercises that are hard on your joints.
Walking is a great choice for many new exercisers, because it can be done almost anywhere and doesn't require any fancy equipment. It is also more gentle on the joints and can be enjoyable to get fresh air, sunshine, and enjoy sites around your neighborhood. Online workouts and home strength training workouts are also good for your body, and can be fun to schedule a series of short workouts that target desired areas of the body. Check out Dr. Leila Doolittle's YouTube Channel for her Exercise Series Workouts for ideas, motivation and to create a folder of saved video workouts for ease of use. Combining several different activities yields the best achievement of total body toning and weight loss, losing weight and burning fat in all the right areas to gain further motivation as your physique goals are achieved.
Sample Beginner Exercise Schedule
Monday (30 minutes): Moderate intensity walk
Tuesday (20 minutes): Simple home strength training workout
Wednesday (30 minutes): Moderate intensity walk
Thursday (20 minutes): Simple home strength training workout
Friday (30) minutes): Moderate intensity walk
Saturday (20 minutes): Online Relaxation Yoga
Sunday: (30 minutes) Fun and easy cross-training day (bike ride, swim or online aerobics class)
Total weekly exercise: 180 minutes
Advanced Level Exercise
As you get stronger and more fit, you will be able to add in few minutes to each of your daily workouts. Be sure to add minutes gradually to prevent burnout. Eventually you want your weekly plan to total >200 minutes or more for effective continuation of weight loss.
Your weight loss workout plan should get harder as your level of fitness increases. The best workouts to burn fat are the more difficult to do. This is how you prevent the "weight loss plateau", where weight is continuously lost for a month or more then starts to taper off and stays around the same weight regardless of no changes to diet, nutrition or exercise plan.
This sample weekly exercise routine includes strength training to build muscle, aerobic workouts to burn fat and flexibility training to maintain healthy pliability in joints and muscles, and to help reduce stress on joints. All of the following list of exercises should ideally be performed in the morning to help boost your cortisol in the morning to help the metabolism burn fat throughout the day. We want your cortisol to slowly decrease throughout the day and be at it's lowest in the evening and at night, so working out in the evening is not recommended.
Monday (45 minutes): Moderate intensity circuit workout with weights targeting arms, legs and core - Check Dr. Leila Doolittle YouTube Channel for Ideas
Tuesday (20 minutes): Moderate Intensity Workout - walking, biking or elliptical
Wednesday (30 minutes): Easy recovery day stretch and relaxing walk around neighborhood
Thursday (45 minutes): Moderate intensity circuit workout with weights targeting arms, legs and core - Check Dr. Leila Doolittle YouTube Channel for Ideas
Friday (10 minutes): High-intensity day walk for 50 seconds then jog for 10 second intervals
Saturday (30 minutes): recovery day and relaxation yoga - Check Dr. Leila Doolittle YouTube Channel for Ideas
Sunday (75 minutes): moderate-intensity jog, hike or walk
Total weekly exercise: 265 minutes
Maintenance Exercise Program
Because Dr. Doolittle's plans are so effective, you will need to have an end-goal in mind for how to maintain your healthy, fit lifestyle after you have achieve your weight loss goals. You will not have to continue a rigorous exercise regime when you are at your desired level of fitness, as you will not be needing to create an energy ratio balance that gears you toward shedding pounds.
Monday (15 minutes): Moderate intensity Core circuit workout
Tuesday (20 minutes): High Intensity Workout (rapid heart rate exercise) at home or outdoors - quick jog or rapid weight lifting circuit
Wednesday (10 minutes): Core workout, Easy recovery day stretch and walk
Thursday (45 minutes): Moderate intensity circuit workout with weights
Friday (20-60 minutes): Gentle yoga, stretching, walking according to your preference
Saturday (30 minutes): recovery day relaxation yoga
Sunday: rest day
Total weekly exercise: 120 - 180 minutes
When You'll See Results
Many exercisers want to know how long they should stick to their weekly workout plan before they begin to see weight loss results. This depends on many factors. Check out Dr. Doolittle's blog titled Weight Loss - How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off to learn more about what other factors play a role in weight loss achievements and maintenance.
If you work out on a daily basis, by the second week, you should begin to see improvements in the way your body looks and feels. You will start to notice increased tone and strength in your muscles. By the second month, you will notice significant changes in muscles, and shaping will start occurring around your abdominal region, arms, legs and chest area. Your face will also start to lean and tighten giving your jaw line a better structure. To continue with consistent weight loss and to avoid the "weight loss plateau", create the right energy balance for weight loss by burning more calories than you consume. Consult with Dr. Leila Doolittle to develop your personalized plan for your target energy balance. For example, she will take into account your epigenetics, detoxification factors, hormone constituents, and neural
If you participate in a Specific and Strategic Weight Loss Program that takes into account Epigenetic, Hormonal, Neural and Nutritive factors in a holistic manner, in addition to a balanced exercise program similar to the one suggested above, you should see significant improvements in your body composition, weight, size, shape, strength and function within 1-3 months. It is recommended to measure your body composition changes by measuring each body part for size changes as well as weighing yourself on a scale to see your shedding of pounds. Note that muscle does weigh slightly more than adipose tissue so you may notice fluctuations in the scale throughout the duration of your weight loss and workout journey. Do not get discouraged, the goal is more about the health benefits of weight loss and the shape and body contouring.
You may even reach your goal weight in that period of time, but remember to keep the weight off, you need to continue to exercise on a regular workout basis. Make adjustments to your weekly workout plan by adding in new activities and keeping those that you enjoy the most to keep staying healthy and fit a fun and enjoyable addition to your daily lifestyle.
Citations:
American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults. Donnelly JE, Blair SN, Jakicic JM, Manore MM, Rankin JW, Smith BK, American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Feb; 41(2):459-71.
Willis, Erik A et al. “The effects of exercise session timing on weight loss and components of energy balance: midwest exercise trial 2.” International journal of obesity (2005) vol. 44,1 (2020): 114-124. doi:10.1038/s41366-019-0409-x