During the first six months of my weight loss journey, I lost over 100 pounds by doing nothing but using the elliptical machine.  While I wouldn’t have lost weight as quickly, I could’ve stayed home from the gym and still lost a considerable amount of weight.

When giving advice on how to lose weight, I focus a lot more on counting calories instead of burning calories.  The reason for that is because losing weight has a lot more to do with what we put in our mouths instead of what we do in the gym.  We already burn calories in our daily lives while we’re working, sleeping, eating, watching television, etc.  Everything we do burns calories.  Obviously, the gym will help you burn even more calories (creating a larger calorie deficit), but it’s not required.

That’s not to say I don’t highly recommend going to the gym (for both weight loss and a myriad of general health reasons), but it’s not required to lose weight.  All that’s needed to lose weight at the end of the day is a calorie deficit.

Basic Requirements at the Gym

I could care less what super fad gimmick exercise routine you do.  I just want you to be in the gym four or five days a week for at least 30 minutes a day, ideally 60.

Move your legs a little, try to build up a sweat, those kind of things.

Personally, I do a little bit of cardio every weekday for about 20-30 minutes except for Wednesday.  On Wednesday, I’ll do about an hour of cardio.  My cardio consists of a combination of the StairMaster, elliptical machine, and CrossTrainer.  Honestly, I don’t care what machine or activities you use to do your cardio.  It’s up to you!

The only thing required of you when you’re doing cardio is effort.

You can certainly just walk on the treadmill if you like to burn calories and that may be the only thing you’re able to do for a very long time depending on your age and starting weight, but don’t get comfortable.  Keep pushing yourself to your limits.  There’s no set program or routine I’d recommend, but instead just keep adding resistance.

Ask yourself when you’re doing cardio:  is this tough?  If you answered no, then crank it up a notch.  If you answered yes, keep going at that speed/resistance then change it up when the answer turns into a no.  I preach simplicity when it comes to counting calories, so why did you think I’d talk about burning calories any differently?

As far as weight lifting, yes, I recommend it even if you’re trying to lose weight.  I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t touch a weight until I had lost just about 100 pounds and it’s something I wish I would have done.  I’m not the kind of person to have regret, but it is something I recommend for other people to do when they’re first starting out.

Do you have to lift weights to lose weight?  Nope, just like you don’t need cardio, but lifting weights does help you lose weight and look great when you finally get to your goal weight in addition to cardio.  Both work very well as a package deal.

At the end of the day, you don’t have to do anything in the gym to lose weight.  I will never preach complexity.  While there are certainly many in-depth discussions that can be had about doing cardio and lifting weights, that’s not my cup of tea.  My business is keeping things simple and sustainable for people trying to lose weight in a world where the typical span of a weight loss attempt is 4 days.  Complexity (at first) breeds failure.

Don’t make working out in the gym complicated.   By just showing up two weeks after you joined means you’re already doing better than tens of millions of Americans.

Keep counting calories, burn calories however you can, and you’ll lose weight.

This showed up in my Facebook inbox on Friday night:

So I’m not sure how much you remember of me from hs (high school), but I’m pretty much in the same place that you were…I want to get healthy and lose weight, but I have no idea where to start…it’s like one big ugly circle…is there any advice that would make this easier? At least in the beginning?

The ole’ “how do I get started losing weight” question.  I get it often.  Most aren’t looking for the answer “count calories!,” they’re looking for a quick step by step guide on how to literally get started losing weight.  Consider this that very quick guide.

Step One

Realize that counting calories is indeed the best way to lose weight.  You get started by losing weight and can continue to do so for a very long time by just eating less of what you’re currently eating every day.  Most people can eat around 2,000 calories a day and lose weight for a while, but you’ll have to find the number that is specific to you.

There are things outside of counting calories that come into play down the road, but counting calories and portion control is the foundation for your weight loss and always will be.  Counting calories isn’t about eating salads all day, but instead keeping the high in calorie food to a minimum, which oftentimes works out to be the “bad” food.

Step Two 

Moderate both counting and burning calories.  When you tell yourself you can’t have something, that’s when your body begins to crave it — eventually, you’ll cave, and you’ll cave (binge) hard.  Instead of eliminating french fries, soda, ice cream or any other arbitrary food from your diet, moderate its consumption.  Leave that kind of food out of the house and only indulge on infrequent occasions.

You don’t get started losing weight by saying goodbye to ice cream.  You lose weight by not eating half a pint in front of the television on a Tuesday night.

As far as burning calories, don’t be a gym rat.  Unfortunately, you usually see an influx of these guys and gals around early January every year.  Most folks new to the game think that the longer you can burn calories the more weight you’ll lose, and that’s of course true, but if you burn out and stop going entirely by February — you’ve failed.

Around an hour a day Monday through Friday — that’s all the gym you need.

Step three

Tell everybody you know that you’re trying to lose weight.  Don’t feel shame, but instead feel confident that you will lose weight and it won’t bother you in the slightest when the weight starts coming off.  I posted a video of myself online at 344 pounds (which is how this all started) then sent it to friends, family, and the internet.

It was embarrassing at first, but it motivated me to change.

The reason for telling everybody you know is to gather support for your journey.  Don’t expect friends and family to change the way they eat or drink as that’s honestly not fair to them, but just set the ground rules and tell them that you mean business about making changes in your life.   You might get some naysayers or negative comments, but most folks that you know should support what you’re doing.  Telling everybody you know is sort of like a warning shot across the bow.

Whether they like it or not, you’ll be a changed person next time they see you.

I can’t remember the last time I skipped the gym during a weekday.

I feel guilty if I don’t go to the gym on one of my normal workout days (Monday through Friday).  When a holiday restricts the hours or closes my gym, usually I still have the urge to go, regardless of what I’m doing.  Even when I’m sick and know it’s best to stay home and rest I still feel guilty missing the gym.  It’s part of who I am.

The gym is a part of your daily routine.  Get that through your head.

You have to think of going to the gym and/or burning calories as irreplaceable.  It’s something that you can’t skip, much like eating, going to work, or brushing your teeth.

No, you cannot stay home and watch television.  I understand it’s the season premiere of Nanny Cams 4, but I don’t care.  No, you cannot go out tonight with your friends at 7 — tell them to wait until you’re done at 8.  Losing weight is a priority, right?

That makes burning calories a priority, too.  Consistently.

Yes, it might seem like a chore to you at the beginning.   It is a chore.  Eventually, you’ll come to love burning calories.  You’ll enjoy the quality “me” time (especially if you burn calories at a gym) and the results you get out of it.  I can’t lie and say that it will ever feel fun to you, but I can say that you’ll come to enjoy and look forward to it.

Until you do though, force yourself to go.   Don’t give yourself the option to be lazy.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the man, but he’s big into fitness.

I didn’t need any sort of electronics or gadgets this year, so when asked what I wanted for Christmas I just told folks I’d be happy with anything related to burning calories, sports, fitness, etc.  My wish list was titled “Things to Help Me Burn Calories.”

I was blessed to have so many said things under my tree Sunday.

I’ll mention a couple of the things I got.  My mom gave me a generous gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods, some of which I’ve already used.  I stopped by Dick’s today and purchased a couple of Under Armour shorts and had planned on buying more, but the crowds were ridiculous.  I wasn’t going to fight people over socks marked 10% off, so I saved the rest of the balance for another day.

Another big gift under the tree was an Everlast Strike Kit (a punching bag and a set of boxing gloves).  It’s a pretty cool and original way to burn calories and lower stress.

My two-year old loves it, too.  She’s got quite the punch.

Hope you and yours had a great weekend.  Try not to work too hard this week at the office (if you have to at all), and get ready to jump into the next week head first.

You and I are the only things standing in the way of reaching our goals.

5 days a week for 60-75 minutes each day.  That’s how often and long I’m in the gym.

You can certainly maintain a healthy lifestyle by spending more or less time in the gym, but I’ll leave it up to you to determine your schedule.  Inevitably, losing weight comes down to counting calories, not burning them.

Diet is the biggest part of losing weight.

What’s that mean?  That means that you can spend an hour in the gym on a treadmill, but if you leave and go grab a number two combo from Burger King (1,000 calories), you just ate all of those calories back, plus some.  Granted, if you were really craving a number two combo from BK, at least you stepped onto a treadmill beforehand.

When I recommend to people that they moderate the time they spend burning calories, I’m not saying to avoid physical activity.  I’d never suggest that.  What I’m saying is that you shouldn’t be in the gym for two hours a day, 7 days a week.  Sure, it would be great for burning calories and losing weight, but it’s counter-productive.  You would quickly get burnt out and would quit wanting to go completely.

I see it every January:  Guy joins gym.  Guy gets gun-ho about losing weight. Guy buys a bunch of workout gear and dedicates his mornings/evenings to the gym.  Guy lives on a cardio machine for two weeks, then stops going completely.

The guy got sick of the gym.  It’s understandable, and extremely common.

Don’t let burning calories consume your life.  You might think you’re being productive, but you’re actually being counter-productive.  Go to the gym 4-5 days a week for an hour a day, and then find fun ways outside of the gym to burning calories.  Combined with counting calories, it’s a long-term and realistic way to lose weight.