I’m sure many of you are very familiar with the line said by former New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards: “You play to win the game.” I mean how can you not, it is a sound bite that has been played again and again for the last five years. But let me introduce to you the polar opposite of Coach Edwards’ infamous line: Playing to Lose. For those out there who really want to lose some weight, a really good way to do it is to take up a sport.  The perfect sport for anyone to take up as an excellent means to lose weight is soccer.

Exercise is an important component for helping lose weight, and playing soccer will give you plenty of exercise. Not only will you be getting a lot of exercise, you also will be playing the most popular game in the world. Many Americans might be skeptical about playing soccer (or football to virtually anyone outside the 50 states) since it is not the most popular sport here. Plus, they might express that their football is better the rest of the world’s football. To which I agree, however there is no question that soccer is a great sport to take up as a means to lose some weight.

The European version of football is a serious calorie burner. For anyone who is seriously considering losing a considerable amount of weight, burning calories can be an important aspect of any weight-loss regimen. The energy burned during a soccer match can vary depending on the intensity of the activity. For instance, one can burn up to 500 calories while playing soccer just casually in one hour. You can burn more in a competitive match: up to 700 calories per hour.

The thing with soccer and with any weight-loss regimen is that you need to keep playing it to get the maximum benefits from the workouts because it really doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you do, it is how often you do it. Soccer is a great sport to play casually because all you need is a ball and you can play in your backyard at anytime, and it is really a terrific way to lose weight.