The Benefits of Exercise
A key component of My Weight Loss Plan is exercise. Based on my research, there are a number of benefits of exercise.
First and most obvious, exercise burns calories. If you don’t increase the amount you eat, but you increase your physical activity, you burn calories and lose weight.
Second, exercise increases your metabolic rate (see information about Basal Metabolic Rate). With exercise, your body’s metabolism stays elevated for a long time, even after you have stopped exercising. That means one of the benefits of exercise is that you continue to burn calories even when you are not exercising.
Third, exercise helps you sleep better (provided you don’t try to do a heavy workout just before bed). Your body is tired, so you sleep, which aids in weight loss, since it is when you are asleep that your body repairs itself.
Fourth, exercise reduces the risk for many diseases, including heart disease, adult onset diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoporosis.
Finally, exercise is fun. Pick activities you like doing (sports, walking, tennis, bicycling, gardening) and do a variety of exercises to keep it from getting boring. Make exercise a social activity (playing tennis, golf, sports, or walking with someone else).
Add it all up, and exercise can help you reach your weight loss goals.