I know that exercise can help me lose weight, but I really don’t know how to get started or how much I need to work out to really impact on my weight?

Actually, exercise does not have a big impact on weight loss – but it has a huge impact on your ability to maintain your weight.

Thirty minutes of moderate-intense activity burns about 150 calories. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to create a 3,500 calorie deficit - so it would take about 23 – thirty minute sessions to lose one pound of fat. That is not a weight loss program that people would be standing in line to get into.

However, if you take that out over a year you would see significant weight loss. If you burned an extra 150 calories every day for a year without increasing your calorie intake you would lose 15.6 pounds. So if you look at the short term you will become discouraged but if you look over time you can have a positive effect!