I Lost 30 Pounds With These 4 Easy Exercises

Jess, who goes by the handle @pitalifts, is a TikTok influencer and Latina weight loss coach who shares about her experiences losing weight. In one viral video, she reveals the different kinds of cardio that helped her get into her best shape ever. “I've lost over 30 pounds, and I want to talk about the different kinds of cardio that I tried during my weight loss journey from easiest to hardest, and what I liked and didn't like,” she says at the start of the clip. We also asked The Diet Diva, Tara Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD/N, ACSM-CPT, a Board Certified Sports Dietitian, to weigh in on her tactics.

1. Incline Walking

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“The first was actually incline walking,” Jess reveals in the video. “I think [it] is perfect if you're just starting out because it's low impact and there's very little chance of injury,” she explains. “Walking is an excellent way to get started in exercise,” agrees Collingwood. If you don’t want to jog/run, elevating the incline on the treadmill is a great way to get your heart rate higher, she adds. “However, be careful with how much and how long you do the incline. Start with just a few degrees for a few minutes. Bring it back down for a few minutes and raise it again, repeating several times in interval style. I have seen people get injured by doing too much incline too quickly and not letting their body acclimate to it.”

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2. Cycling

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The second workout on her list? Cycling, “because it's also low impact, but you can increase the resistance and increase the intensity of it,” Jess explained. “Cycling is great for people who don’t want the impact of running or walking,” agrees Collingwood. “You can easily adjust the intensity, as she says with speed and resistance. It is a great way to get the heart rate up and sweat.”

3. StairMaster

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The third workout was the StairMaster, “which is a little more intense, but you can start off slow with five minutes, move up to 10, then 15,” she said. “I love it. I have a bad knee and honestly it didn't even bother me.” Stair stepping machines can be very intense and difficult for beginners, says Collingwood. “An elliptical might be easier on the knees. Once you are used to the motion of the elliptical, maybe then you can try the stair stepping machine for a few minutes and work up from there.”

4. Running

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The last workout that aided in her weight loss was running. “I actually tried to run when I was 160 pounds, which was such a bad idea because all I did was hurt my joints,” she said. “What I did was just wait until I was a little bit lighter to start running again.” Collingwood maintains that running is an excellent calorie torcher, but it is difficult on the knees and other spots like hips and glutes. “Start with a walk/run interval so you can get a rest period of walking between the harder running intervals. Sign up for a race like a 5K to increase motivation and have a goal to work towards,” she says.

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5. Here Is How Often You Should Exercise

Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. Each week adults need 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity, according to the current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

💪🔥Body Booster: Many fitness experts maintain that walking on an incline is a better workout for burning fat and building muscle than running on a flat surface.

Weight loss can be a tricky equation. However, there are many people online sharing their success stories who have shared the healthy habits responsible for dropping weight. Online fitness coach Alexandra, who goes by the handle @alexx.fitt, revealed in a viral video that after struggling to lose weight for years she lost a whopping 40 pounds in five months.

1. She Started to Make Healthier Choices Every Single Day

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“Here's how long it's going to take you to lose weight. I lost 40 pounds and here's what I did and how long it took me,” she says in the video, revealing that her weight loss journey first started in 2020. “I think around that time for a whole year I did every single diet, every single workout, every single meal plan, and nothing worked. Nothing would actually help me lose weight.” However, in January 2021, she learned the secret to losing weight fast. “Instead of following a freaking diet, I basically started to make healthier choices every single day,” she said in the video. It “all started with walking and a schedule,” she continued. “I made a plan of what time I'm going to eat and what I will be eating. I stuck to that schedule,” she added.

Related: 10 Foods That Grow Muscle Fast

2. She Saw Results Within the First Month

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There is scientific evidence supporting the benefits of meal planning. Studies the more meals you eat prepared away from home, the higher your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and early death. And, one study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found meal planning was associated with a healthier diet and less obesity. Then, from January 2021 on “I literally walked every single day for six months straight,” she said. “There were like two days that I missed. Maybe it took me about five, six months to lose 35, 40ish pounds, but I saw results within the first month.”

3. She Lost 50 Pounds in 6 Months

In a recent Instagram video, she got specific about her steps (and also revealed that she lost 50 pounds in six months). “Hear me out walking seriously changes your life, I was able to lose 50lbs in less than 6 months by walking 10k steps a day!” she captioned the post. A 2018 study published in the journal Obesity found a link between walking 10,000 steps a day and weight loss and weight management. Other studies published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in JAMA Neurology and in JAMA Internal Medicine also linked walking 10,000 steps a day to less dementia and less cardiovascular disease overall, with less heart disease, less heart failure and fewer strokes.

Related: 15-Minute Fat-Burning Workout to Tone Your Entire Body You Can Do Anywhere

4. Exercise Shouldn't Feel Like Punishment

Something else that was helpful for Alex was shifting her mindset. She explains that prior to losing weight, she viewed running as “a form of punishment,” but now she feels like exercise is something she is “so grateful for,” she wrote in another TikTok. “I'm grateful I get to go on a run and move my body, and I do that kind of stuff because it genuinely makes me feel good. I don't do it as a form of punishment. I'm like, I'm going to feel so good after I run. It's going to clear my mind,” she added.

Related: I Lost 160 Pounds and Here's 4 Ways I Took the Weight Off

5. Exercise Make Her Feel Good

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“I wake up anxious sometimes. So going on a run or even doing a morning workout, I'm like, oh my goodness, this helps me so much. So that's the kind of mindset shift you got to have when you're trying to lose weight. It's a lifestyle. You're doing this stuff because it feels good for you, not because you have to.” Alex is spot on about using exercise to quell anxiety. The American Psychological Association dubs it a “healthy stress reliever,” and several studies back up the claim.

💪🔥Body Booster: Walking 10,000 steps a day is not only an effective workout for weight loss, it can improve your cardiovascular health and ward off cancer, according to research.