Does swimming help you loose weight and get in shape.

I liked the comment on "mixing it up" and have heard that using different activities helps keep the muscles "confused" enough that you never end up in a total rut, and you are then constantly retoning other muscle types/groups. Anyone else have this experience that could add to this discussion? I started playing hockey this winter to supplement my swim training. Something really different. I try to get out on the bike during the warm weather months, and will play basketball or flag football every once in a while. Haven't lifted since ~March. Does walking the dog count?

Yep. Swimming (6x/week) + Weights (2x/week) is a great combo. When I was doing tris (heavy running and biking) I actually gained weight - about 10 to 13 lbs. So I stopped. Go figure. I'm about at my highschool weight. (I'm about 3 lbs heavier 17 yrs later.)

Of course swimming can contribute to weight loss. Weight loss is a math equation: if calories in is more than calories out you will gain weight. Swmming is a relatively effective calorie burner if done at a good pace. Swimming regularly will add varying amounts of muscle which weighs more than fat. So I suggest weight is just one indicator to watch. Pants size, mirror, etc. are all useful to assess body shape. One pound of body weight = 3500 calories. According to website 30 minutes of "vigorous lap" swimming will burn 340 calories for a 150 pound person. Running 30 minutes at a 9 minute/mile pace will burn 375 calories. I know some people that drink 3-4 sodas a day. That's worth 600 calories/day or 62 pounds per year! That erases the weight loss benefits of swimming almost one hour per day.

The problem with those calculators is that their definition of vigorous lap swimming is not ours. 30 min.continuous swimming at 2:30/100 will burn much fewer calories than 10X100 on the 1:30 and that is taking only 15 min.10X100 on the 2:00 will still burn more calories in 20 min than their lap swimmer in 30.