Home
Features
The best exercise for weight loss? Experts reveal what really works

The best exercise for weight loss? Experts reveal what really works

Cardio, HIIT or weights? A nutrition expert explains which exercise is best for weight loss, and why combining them could be the smartest approach.

woman straining while lifting weights at home trying to lose weight

Emma White - Nutritionist

Published: October 6, 2026 at 11:23 AM

Save

This feature was first published on our Apple News channel. Follow us on Apple News to see content like this first.

If you're trying to lose weight, what's the best type of exercise? Should you spend hours doing cardio, start lifting weights or squeeze in a quick HIIT workout? We asked an expert, Nurtritionist Emma White (ANutr), MSc Human Nutrition, to explain what each type of exercise does well – and why the most effective plan might be a combination of all three.

What actually causes weight loss?

Losing weight essentially boils down to creating a calorie deficit, so burning additional calories through exercise can help to create this deficit. While all exercise is fantastic from a health perspective, some types are better than others when it comes to giving our weight loss an extra boost.

Cardio

Selective focus on women legs running on treadmill at the fitness room.

You may be under the assumption that slogging away on a cardio machine for hours is your best bet for weight loss; but the truth is that various other activities are also essential.

The right type of cardio is certainly a good calorie burner, so is a good go-to for most people seeking to use exercise for weight loss – it includes things like running, spin classes, cycling, swimming, using a cross-trainer, rowing and brisk walking. Each of these activities will burn a decent number of calories. The 'best' one to do is the one you enjoy and will therefore do regularly. Start at an intensity that suits your fitness level – the great thing about cardio activity is that you can make progress quite quickly, and it's really motivating when you can feel your fitness level improving!

Walking is excellent for beginners as it is low impact and lower intensity than say running – and because it's less intense, you can usually keep going for longer, which makes it a good calorie burner. A brisk pace is best for getting the most from your walk however, as a steady stroll won't be firing up the calorie burn quite as much! Running is good for burning calories in a shorter space of time and cycling is a great calorie burner too, and better for those needing an activity that's low impact.

What to see more MadeForMums in your search results? Tell Google!

From parenting news to expert advice and trusted product recommendations, make sure you don't miss the MadeForMums content that matters to your family. Add MadeForMums as a Preferred Source on Google.

In terms of calories burned, here are the estimated figures for a 10st female completing one hour of the following activities at a moderate intensity:

Walking – 158 calories

Running – 463 calories

Cycling – 444 calories

Swimming – 463 calories

Cross-trainer – 393 calories

Rowing – 381 calories

As you can see the figures are quite similar, with the exception of walking, so it really does come down to personal preference.

Can you lose weight by walking alone?

When you're trying to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit situation, so if you're walking enough to burn more calories then you're consuming, then yes - walking can help you lose weight. However, with walking being a less intense calorie burner than other forms of cardio like running and swimming, you'd need to introducing a healthy calorie-conscious diet too.

Of course, everyone is different and a lot depends on how much weight you have to lose and your lifestyle, but if you aim to do around 10,000 steps a day and eat healthily walking could be a realistic form of weight loss exercise to fit into daily life.

And a positive side effect of all that walking? A 2023 study published in the journal British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that just 11 minutes of brisk walking could be enough to reduce risks of some health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and some cancers, as well as risks of early death.

How much exercise do you really need?

The NHS recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week (this works out at around 20 to 30 minutes a day), which ideally should include strengthening and balancing exercises twice a week.

This is very much a baseline though for maintaining a healthy weight - if you're looking to lose weight using exercise alongside a health diet experts suggest upping your daily exercise to around 30 - 60 mins daily.

High intensity interval training or 'HIIT'

Female fitness enthusiasts engage in a vigorous battle ropes workout, supported by friends cheering them on at a cross-training gym.

HIIT has become very popular in recent years but can sound a bit daunting if you've never tried it. It consists of doing short bouts of intense exercise, followed by brief rest periods. Typical HIIT workouts are around 20-30 minutes long (as they are very intense and longer durations would be a big challenge).

The good thing about HIIT is that you can achieve a lot in a short space of time – great for busy people! As you're working at such a high intensity, you can burn a decent amount of calories in a 20-minute HIIT session: far more than a steady 20-minute run, for example.

HIIT also benefits from 'after-burn' – which can be even greater than experienced after strength training. This means your metabolic rate remains much higher in the hours following a HIIT workout, making it an all-round fantastic calorie burner.

A 10 stone woman can expect to burn around 200 -300 calories in a 20-minute HIIT session, with the after-burn effect pushing this calorie burn up to 350-450.

Strength training

Female athlete doing kettlebell outdoor.

This type of exercise has been overlooked in the past, especially by women concerned that lifting heavy weights will result in big muscles/build. Strength training (or 'resistance' training) is now extremely popular, as people have become aware and have a better understanding of the significant benefits it provides. While lifting weights doesn't burn as many calories in an hour as a run would, the benefits last way beyond the training session itself.

Regular strength training builds lean muscle mass, which helps to boost our metabolic rate – so ultimately, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body burns each day. This means that in the longer term, strength training is great for aiding weight loss. Lifting weights can also lead to an 'after-burn' effect, where metabolic rate is slightly increased in the hours post exercise. So while you may burn around 200 calories whilst lifting weights, you could go on to burn an extra 100 calories throughout the day during recovery.

One thing to consider when strength training is that muscle is more dense than fat, so it weighs more when you compare volume-for-volume. This can mean it's possible to get smaller but not lighter if you are building muscle. Important to bear in mind if you are aiming to lose weight – make sure you track your body measurements to monitor progress too!

Recently had a baby? Read this first

Ease back into exercise gradually and only when you've been signed off by a doctor at your six-week postpartum check.
Prioritise pelvic floor and core recovery.
Get medical advice before returning to high-impact exercise if you've had complications or a c-section.
Walking and gentle strength work can be excellent places to start.

"Ideally, moms should aim for around 150 minutes of moderate movement per week, which sounds like a lot—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. That could look like 20–30 minutes a day, five days a week,” says Taylor Merritt, a certified pre- and postnatal fitness coach. "Consistency matters more than perfection. Some weeks it’s five workouts, some weeks it’s two walks and a stretch on the living room floor—and that still counts.”

So, which exercise is the best use of your time if you're trying to lose weight?

There's no single workout that comes out on top and it depends where you are on your weight loss journey.

Walking is a brilliant starting point that's accessible and easy to stick with, HIIT can help you get an effective workout into a busy schedule, and strength training supports muscle mass, which plays an important role in long-term weight management.

If you can, combining all three will give you the greatest overall health and fitness benefits. But the most effective exercise is ultimately the one you enjoy enough to do consistently. After all, a workout you stick to week after week will always outperform the "perfect" routine you never actually do.

Authors

Emma White - NutritionistNutritionist

Nutritionist Emma White (ANutr), MSc Human Nutrition is passionate about how food science applies to the human body, and how the nutrients in what we eat affect us and ultimately have an impact on our health.