How to Lose Weight With a Spinning Class

Losing weight isn't easy. But the concept behind it is: expend more calories than you consume. Any extra calories get stored as body fat, and are very hard to shift. But just by joining a spinning class and monitoring how many calories -- and what kind of calories -- you consume, you will see the pounds come off. Spinning is a low impact, high intensity aerobic activity performed in a group, with an instructor whipping you into shape. You can almost feel the pounds melt away.

Instructions

1

Figure out how much weight you need to lose. For an example, suppose you want to lose 10 pounds over a 20 week period, at an average of two pounds a week. (The recommended amount to lose is up to two pounds a week; anything more than that is considered unhealthy.) One pound equates to 3,500 calories, and so you need to eat or burn off 7,000 calories less than you currently do on a weekly basis.

2

Start spinning. In a study by Herman Falsetti, M.D. of Spinning.com, a class lasting 40 minutes burns up an average of 475 calories. He notes that spinning workouts "provide a high heart rate response and high caloric expenditure." Tell your spinning instructor that you want to lose weight and create a plan with her for the best times to go spinning.

3

Combine eating less with spinning more. If you want to lose two pounds a week, you could start with eating 1,000 less calories a day or you could incorporate spinning four times a week, giving you a total of 1,900 (475 x 4) calories expended. Subtracting that from 7,000 gives you 5,100 fewer calories to eat during the week, averaging out at 728 fewer calories a day. It sounds daunting, but follow a healthy diet by eating three meals daily to include three pieces of fruit, four cups of raw vegetables or two cups of cooked vegetables. Avoid hydrogenated fats, try to avoid alcohol and limit your treats to fewer than 200 calories a day. The weight will come off, slowly but surely. Remember to drink at least 64 ounces of water per day and more on your spinning days.