Move More to Lose Weight
Courtesy of EatingWell.com

Exercise is the secret weapon for weight loss-and for life.

So many popular diets try to tiptoe around the topic of exercise, or pay it token lip service, but the fact is that exercise — even light exercise — makes weight loss much easier. Even more important, move more and your lost weight is much more likely to stay lost.

Losing weight, we know, is all about balancing energy — that is, balancing calories. Until now, we've focused on just one side of that simple equation: energy in, or the calories you eat and drink daily. In this chapter, we shift to the other side of the ledger: energy out, or the calories you burn through activity. You know the drill by now: when we burn more calories than we consume, we lose weight. We can create this negative calorie balance either by cutting back on how much we eat or by boosting our daily activity level. Again, the best strategy is to do both.

Studies show that making a regular commitment to being active is the best predictor of long-term success in a weight-loss program. Just look at the 5,000-plus successful "losers" in the National Weight Control Registry, who have lost a minimum of 30 pounds or more and kept it off for at least a year. While they've used countless different methods to lose the pounds, one common thread unites virtually all of them: engaging in regular physical activity.

Clearly, keeping active is a critical factor in helping lost weight stay off for good. That's the conclusion of a major follow-up study of HMO members who'd completed a weight-loss program: months after the program ended, researchers compared people who'd managed to keep the pounds off with those who had gained them back. The main difference? Almost all the maintainers (90 percent) still exercised regularly, while only about a third of the weight regainers still did.

So if you truly want to lose weight once and for all, you will need to make a commitment to living a more active life. But the good news is, you can do it — no matter where you're at now.Visit EatingWell.com to learn more.