I hate exercise. Or at least I did, until I decided to become more efficient about losing weight. If I ever gain weight I try to lose it by being as efficient as I can. Optimizing my methods of weight loss may let me lose the same weight in two months instead of three, so why not?

Originally I began my weight loss journey by trying to go for short walks everyday. This showed some progress in my waistline but it wasn’t nearly fast enough for me, Mr. efficient. Eventually I almost quit after not getting the results I wanted.

Luckily instead of quitting I buckled down and did some real research into the calorie burn of different exercises. What I found surprised me, although it made perfect sense.

The problem was walking is not a very intense activity, in fact its about the easiest exercise you can do, and the calories you burn is all dependent on the intensity of your workout.

I already knew that a pound of fat had 3500 calories, so when I found out that walking for a full hour might only burn as little as 140 calories, I was very upset. No wonder I was losing weight so slow, this was a huge wake up call that I needed to change how I was doing things.

Look at how many calories you can burn from some different sports or exercises. Playing squash can burn up to 1000 calories per hour, that is almost a full pound of fat loss every 3 days just from exercise. Cross country skiing can burn up to 1200 calories per hour. Running 7.5 mph can burn up to 1100 calories her pour. Swimming fast laps in a pool will burn up to 860 calories in an hour.

If you are not yet in shape enough to try these high intensity sports or exercises, remember that you can start small. Start with walking and slowly increase how far you walk each day, then increase how fast you walk until you are jogging or running. Eventually you will be amazed at how much you can handle and the calories you can burn in a single workout. Remember to listen to your body and always consult a doctor before you begin any workout plan.

I decided to try swimming since I always liked swimming when I was a kid, at first I was terrible and couldn’t swim for more than 5 minutes without taking a break, but sure enough over time that 5 minutes became 10 then 15 and so on. I have so much more fun swimming than I used to just walking and the weight loss has been amazing.