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Can Dancing for 30 Minutes a Day Help You Lose Weight?

Dancing is an enjoyable way to stay healthy. It burns calories and works many of your major muscle groups. This means that dancing can help you lose weight, when combined with other healthy lifestyle choices. Incorporate dance into your workout routine to shake things up and prevent boredom. If you run out of time to exercise, a night out dancing with friends makes an easy and fun substitute. Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.

  1. Weight Loss

    • To successfully lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. To lose 1 pound per week, you'll need a deficit of 3,500 calories, or about 500 each day. You can achieve this by increasing your workout schedule and by cutting calories from your meal plan. Dancing works well as part of a healthy weight-loss routine because it's enjoyable and it can help you burn calories. Dance on your own at home for 30 minutes, or head to a gym or recreation center and take a dance class.

    Exercise Recommendations

    • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week. Divide this time up into 30-minute chunks to keep your metabolism going. When you're dancing, stay at a moderate intensity, which maximizes the benefits of exercise. At this pace, you can have a conversation, but should be slightly winded. Belly dancing, ballet, dance aerobics, Zumba, salsa, pole dancing, disco, swing and hip-hop are calorie-burning options that also work many of the muscles in your body for toning and building strength at the same time.

    Calories Burned

    • A close estimate of your calorie burn is important for losing weight. If you think you're burning more calories than you are, it can interfere with your weight loss. The type of dance you choose plays a big role in it's effectiveness for dropping unwanted pounds. Fast-paced dancing that keeps you moving for an entire 30-minute session maximizes calorie burn. In 30 minutes, a 150-pound person burns about 100 calories doing slow ballroom dance and close to 200 calores doing fast ballroom dancing, according to the Health Status website. A half hour of modern dance, ballet or aerobic dance burns about 200 calories as well. Zumba can burn nearly 300 calories during a half-hour session. Combined with other types of exercise and a healthy meal plan, you can drop excess weight by dancing.

    Considerations

    • If you follow your dance class with a big, cheesy Mexican meal, a huge smoothie or a trip to your favorite fast-food joint, you can completely undo all your hard work. In some cases, you might even eat more calories than you burned, which won't do much for your weight-loss efforts. Instead, choose a variety of foods from each food group, including fruits, vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy and whole grains. This helps you control your calorie intake and gives your body the fuel it needs to dance for 30 minutes every day.

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