Activity and weight loss

6 ways exercise can aid weight loss

Weight loss isn't just about what you eat. Regular exercise is an essential ingredient to lose and maintain weight loss. Read our 6 reasons to add activity to your diet:

1. Exercise controls weight.

Exercise helps you prevent excess weight gain and maintain weight loss. Stating the obvious – when you engage in physical activity, you burn calories! The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. Don't worry if you can't find a large chunk of time to exercise every day, any form of activity is better than none. Three 10-minute brisk walks a day can introduce tremendous benefits to your health. Consistency is key. Take the stairs instead of the lift, complete weekly video workouts, consider giving Couch to 5k a try like LiveWell's Sally - My Couch To 5k

2. Exercise combats health conditions and diseases.

Regular exercise helps prevent or manage a wide range of health problems; including stroke, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, many types of cancer, arthritis and falls. It can also help improve your brain power, as you oxygenate your mind. It helps lower the risk of ALL causes of death! If your doctor could prescribe it, they would call it the wonder drug!

3. Exercise improves your mood.

Similar to how maintaining a balanced diet can improve your wellbeing, regular exercise will improve your mood. Feeling better about your body and yourself through consistent exercise can boost your confidence and self-esteem.

4. Exercise boosts energy.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. By improving the health of your heart and lungs, you'll have more energy and spring to seize the day!

5. Exercise improves your sleep.

Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster. You'll experience better and deeper sleep. Recall a day when you were out, up and about on your feet all day, perhaps while on holiday or at the beach. That end-of-day restful-tiredness feeling helped you to sleep deeper. And the same thing happens when we increase regular physical activity.

6. Exercise can be fun and social!

Exercise and physical activity can be enjoyable. It gives you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors and engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with neighbours, family and friends. So, take a dance class, hit the local footpaths or join a group activity. Use our Activity Finder to discover a new activity on your doorstep. Try your local parkrun (you don’t have to run!). Join your local walking netball or football group if your joints not what they were. Walking Netball made Julia “feel a million dollars!”

Ready to take your next step to LiveWell?

Register to create your healthy living profile today and get personalised tips and support for your lifestyle goal. Consider how the support of our Wellness Coaching can help you take steps to manage your weight. A member of our coaching team can talk with you on the phone regularly, encouraging you to make and stick to your plan! Register or get in touch to discuss how we can support you.

How does this work?

The tailored approach LiveWell Dorset uses to come up with solutions to the things that are stopping us achieving our goals, is based upon work done by University College London developing the COM-B model of behaviour change. In this model, all behaviour is influenced by understanding a person’s capability to change, their opportunity to change and their motivation to change. By understanding which of these is the biggest barrier to change, we can tailor support accordingly. This model of behaviour change is at the centre of the support we offer, online and in person.

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