Can a girl lose weight participating in water aerobics?

I recently got a message that asked a very good question. 

 Can a girl lose weight doing water aerobics?

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is because anytime you increase your activity level (burn calories) and if you decrease your caloric intake.  You will lose weight. 

Is water aerobics THE best exercise for losing weight?  That depends, it's best if it is the only cardio you can or will do.  But simply doing aerobics, cardio, weight lifting or any other exercise will not make you lose weight unless you also control caloric intake.

Honestly, what working out in the pool is best at is improving your endurance, breathing capacity, muscle tone, and flexibility. 

I love all the benefits of being in the pool, it is especially good for ladies in their prime (like me!) because it is easier on the joints and the warm water is good for anything that aches.

Note:  When I am not leading 6 classes a week (in the summer)  I am in the gym three days a week and in the pool three mornings a week. Granted its easier now that I am retired, but even when I was working, I was still in the pool 3-4 times a week and have always monitored my diet.




One other thing:  Courtesy of my PT hubby-

I know folks have heard me say it before, but measurements matter more than the scale when you are working hard to lose weight and become more fit. For some folks it is hard to understand how this makes sense.

He told me a way to get a visual of muscle versus fat and why people who weight the same look so different.  

Say you have two friends who weigh the same. The first one is wearing a size 7 and the second wears a size 10.

The first friend hits the pool or the gym multiple times a week, doesn't eat at fast food restaurants and watches what she eats. 

Friend number two hits the buffet and can down a box of oreos in one sitting.She is also the queen of the sitcoms and when she gets home from work (where she snack on junk food all day) she just wants to sit.

The reason for the size difference is very apparent to me, just by looking at the way the eat and their activity level.

But that doesn't explain how they can weight the same and look so different.

So, get a piece of paper and draw a circle around your closed fist.  That represents the size of one pound of muscle.  Make three more circles next to the first one.  The area of those 4 circles represents a pound of fat.


Hmmm...


That answers the question, for me, of how it works. Does it help you?