Forget the Gym: Why Just Staying Active Is Your Best Bet for Keeping Those Pounds Off
This is going to make a few weight loss and fitness enthusiasts pretty mad. They'll get over it... So here's the thing about exercise and weight loss that rarely makes it on the shiny fitness posters at the gym. Exercise may not be as impressive as you'd expect when it comes to helping you shed pounds. But after you've lost the weight? Exercise becomes far more valuable. Recent research suggests that physical activity may be more beneficial for maintaining weight loss than for achieving large weight loss in the first place. A study that involved more than 1,100 participants found that physical activity did not have a significant effect on initial weight loss, but was strongly associated with weight loss maintenance after the fact. And those who were physically active didn't just win in terms of "my jeans still fit." Physical activity was also connected to improvements in cholesterol, inflammation , blood sugar regulation a...