How Many Pounds Can You Lose if You Work Out Every Day for a Month?

Working out every day for a month can enable you to lose about 4.5 lbs., although the exact weight loss will depend on the type of workout and your weight. A well-rounded workout consists of aerobic activity, which you can do for one hour each day, and two days of strength training each week. You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb., assuming that you do not reduce your caloric intake.

You might lose 4 pounds if you work out every day for a month. (Image: Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images)

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic workouts such as walking at 3 mph burn a low number of calories but running at 8 mph burns a high number. If you stick with an aerobic activity that falls into the middle, such as jogging at 5 mph, swimming laps or high-impact aerobics, the average calorie burn for a 160-lb. person is 511 calories per hour. Working out for 1 hour each day with such an activity would burn 3,577 calories each week and 14,308 calories each month. That computes to a monthly weight loss of 4 lbs.

Strength Training

Strength training improves your strength and muscle tone. A one-hour weightlifting session, with free weights or on a strength training machine, burns 218 calories for the 160-lb. person. Two strength-training sessions each week produces a weekly calorie burn of 436 and a monthly calorie burn of 1,744. Your monthly weight loss from strength training would be about 0.5 lbs.

Diet

You can lose even more weight if you reduce your caloric intake in addition to working out daily. Cutting out 500 calories each day leads to a weekly calorie reduction of 3,500 and a monthly calorie reduction of 14,000. Such a reduction would shave off another 4 lbs. each month. Incorporating a healthy diet into your routine can become lifelong habit that helps maintain your weight and improve your overall well-being.

Considerations

Working out with a daily aerobic session and a twice-weekly strength-training session would result in a weight loss of about 4.5 lbs. per month. Cutting back on calories can increase that monthly weight-loss total to 8.5 lbs. Opting for a higher-intensity aerobic activity can speed up the weight loss, although the safest weight loss is at a pace of no more than 2 lbs. per week. Exercise should be done in moderation.