Humans Designed to Move and Eat

Maintaining a healthy weight.

Focus on good-quality nutrition and regular exercise if you want to maintain a healthy weight. This, according to an editorial from Laval University in Quebec Canada.

Most studies show dietary restrictions, the most important factor in losing weight. And exercise has minimal effect. However, exercise provides a buffer to combat excess caloric intake. People who lose weight and keep it off typically include large amounts of exercise in their weight-maintenance program. Only about five percent of people who lose a significant amount of weight keep it off for more than one year.

Despite these depressing statistics, some people lose weight and manage to keep it off. The National Weight Control Registry keeps track of people who successfully lost more than 30 pounds and kept it off for one year or more. These people shared one characteristic in common. They burn an extra 3,000 calories weekly. Meaning they exercise about one hour daily.

Don’t assess your progress by scale weight alone. People who exercise regularly tend to gain lean muscle mass while losing fat. Instead of constantly weighing one self, use a tape measure to assess body circumferences.