Have you ever thought about if sex can aid weight loss? Do all the sweating and physical activity help burn calories for weight loss?
Here is what you should know.
Sex is in many forms with likes of masturbation, kissing, sexual intercourse, and others. However, in this article, we shall be talking about intercourse between a man and a woman.
Does sex make you lose weight?
Basically, sex is good for our health with benefits such as lowering blood pressure, improving self-esteem, reducing stress, and many other benefits. Among the many benefits of sex, weight loss is among.
Sex is a great cardiovascular workout and next time you don’t feel like going to the gym or for a jog, get involved in sex to lose weight.
while having sex, you won’t lose weight as much as a person who went to the gym but it estimated that 85-150 calories can be burned depending on the intensity and physical activity in 30 minutes.
This puts sex in a position higher than walking in terms of burning calories. Just like any other exercise, the calories burned during sex will depend on factors like the weight of the person, intensity, activeness, and time spent while having sex.
Some sex sessions burn as many calories as a person cycling. The wilder the sex, the more calories burned. The intensity plays a great role as well as time spent.
Though I am relating the time to 30 minutes, the time people spend having sex is between 12-36 minutes with an average time of 25 minutes with foreplay, intercourse, and orgasm all added up.
Most people may not have sex for 30 minutes instead spend only 5 minutes with only 15 seconds of an increased heart rate and blood pressure during orgasm.
This rate and duration of sex will only burn very few calories and it is recommended to spend around an hour in the sheets to see more calories burned by sex. So, you need to build up more stamina to increase time having sex in order to lose weight with sex.
Women tend to burn fewer calories than men since they are at most times putting in fewer efforts compared to men.
Long sex sessions will work your cardio and increase your stamina, boosting strength, working the core, and toning muscles.
Changing positions during sex is like interval training and helps target various muscles.
However, apart from burning calories through physical activity, sex has other related benefits to weight loss.
How sex helps to lose weight.
Although sex may not influence weight loss directly, it aids weight loss in various ways such as
1. Sex suppresses appetite.
The love hormone oxytocin that is produced during sex especially during orgasm is attributed a reduction in calorie consumption.
Although the hormone doesn’t stick in our body after sex and with 2-8 minutes, half of it will be gone. It’s after effect can temporarily reduce your appetite contributing to overall weight loss.
2. Sex improves sleep quality.
Although it is not a direct weight loss strategy getting quality sleep can help you lose weight.
Quality sleep increases physical activity, increases the resting metabolic rate, sleeping helps fight cravings, reduces appetite, and a lot more benefits towards weight loss discussed in the article Lose weight by sleeping rightly (Includes tips).
However, many people may not be able to get the quality sleep that can help you lose weight. But getting a good time in the sheets can educe sleep causing hormones.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, sex can help you fall asleep faster.
Engaging in sex can help improve your sleep time and quality. The hormones released by the body help one sleep better.
Oxytocin, dopamine, prolactin, and progesterone have a great impact to sleep as they educe a state of relief, relaxation, and sleepiness helping one get quality sleep.
3. Sex can relieve stress and depression which are weight gain agents.
Stress causes weight gain in many people when they revert to emotional eating and other related weight gain conditions.
However, getting enough sex can relieve you of the stress by releasing the feel-good hormones and chemicals. During sex, the body releases endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin that boost and calm the mind.
During sex the levels of cortisol which is the primary stress hormone lowers.
4. Sex can boost your immunity.
Sex is good for the bones, lungs, and overall body.
People who have regular sex tend to have higher levels of the antibody immunoglobulin A, or IgA. This antibody is found in mucus and saliva is one of the first defenses against infections.
Having a healthy body is greatly associated with weight loss as with a healthy body you can work out and engage in a healthy diet.
Should you try sex for weight loss?
What are the cons and pros of trying sex for weight loss? Let’s start with the advantages;
Sex is a fun way.
In comparison to other exercises like jogging, lifting weights, and others, sex beats them all in terms of being interesting.
It is fun, increases affections, and relieves stress.
Sex is convenient.
Unlike many exercises that require you to go to the gym, workout during day or affected with the weather, sex is convenient as it can be done at any time during the day even without going out of your house.
This makes it a great exercise for weight loss due to its ease to be done.
Sex is cheap.
Unlike other weight loss exercises that require expensive workout gear and equipment, sex requires none of those.
This makes it an exercise that you can enjoy.
Sex can be safe.
If you practice safe sex of faithfulness, sex can be much safer than most exercise like the gym or outdoor exercises that make you prone to accidents.
However, sex has shortcomings that make it ineffective as a weight-loss strategy. They are;
- Sex may not be as effective as cardio due to many reasons. For example, a woman may not be able to burn as many calories needed to lose weight while doing positions such as the missionary that keeps her less physically active.
- Many men have a problem with premature ejaculation, low libido, erectile dysfunction, and aren’t able to spend a long time during sex. This limits its effectiveness and the amount of weight it can burn.
- The less time spent having sex, the; less effective sex will be to burn calories. However, learning healthy foods to what can help you blast longer in bed. Read the article here about natural foods to last longer in bed.
- Another shortcoming associated with sex for weight loss is exposure to sexually transmitted diseases if unsafe sex is practiced with unfaithful partners. It is therefore recommended to practice safe sex with fewer partners that you can trust.
- Sex may lead to pregnancy which may be a burden to parents who weren’t ready but just trying to lose weight. It is therefore recommended to use birth control measures.
What are the best positions for weight loss?
Not all sex positions will deliver the same results, some will perform better than others.
- One of the most calorie-burning exercises is the standing position.
Other sex positions that burn many calories.
- Doggy style: strengthens the core, quads, and gluteal muscles
- The lotus position: strengthens the core too.
- Cow girl: tones the lower abs and pelvic muscles.
- Scissors position.
- The bridge position.
- The wheelbarrow position.
How can you get the best from playing sex for weight loss?
In order to lose weight with sex is by
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Embark on a weight loss diet.
Sex alone will not deliver the desired results while you aren’t restricting your calorie intake. Eating calories that your body is not able to burn throughout the day can cause weight gain. The calories that the body doesn’t use are stored as reserve energy in the form of fat.
Therefore, adopting a weight loss diet can help you meet a calorie deficit for weight loss if the foods are chosen wisely. An article about a review of weight-loss diets can help you choose a weight loss diet; read the article here
2. Workout
It should be noted that sex is not a workout though it helps with weight loss. In comparison to other workouts in terms of calories it burns, you may not be able to hit the calorie-burning target with sex alone.
It is therefore recommended to do exercises and supplement them with sex for weight loss. You may not necessarily hit the gym but rather do an outdoor hobby such as swimming.
Did you know that you can burn up to 700 calories in an hour of swimming? Learn more about swimming for weight loss by reading the article about How to swim for weight loss (Includes what to eat).
3. Practice safe sex.
In my opinion, an overweight AIDS-free person is better than a slim person with AIDS. It is therefore recommended to practice safe sex while playing sex for weight loss.
This will help you stay healthy and as you lose weight without regrets.
The bottom line.
Although sex shows the ability of weight loss, it is not as effective as dieting and exercise. It is therefore recommended to practice sex for weight loss as you work out and eat healthily.
There are many myths about sex for weight loss, myths on dieting and exercise for weight loss, and others all of which you will read in the article;
Weight loss myths; facts and fiction
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