Exercise is Indispensable to Effective Weight Loss

I would love to be the one to tell you that you can achieve your ideal weight and keep it without exercise.  I'd love to lay on my couch all day, reading books and eating eclairs and always weight 125 pounds. 

But it ain't a'gonna happen. 

As important as diet is, exercise plays an important role in achieving and maintaining weight loss. 

For one thing, muscle is much denser than fat. That means that with weight training to build your muscles, you can gain pounds AND lose inches, ending up at a smaller clothing size but a heavier weight.  Over time, the more muscle you carry, the easier it is to release extra fat stores from the body. 

Fat doesn't burn calories, either.  It just hangs around, making the rest of your body work harder to live.  Muscle is active, and simply gaining muscle means that you are burning more calories by sitting on the couch than a fat person is.  Pretty snifty, huh?

Then there's the fact that working out daily has important after effects all day long.  A weight training session in the morning can help you burn more calories all day. Exercise relieves stress, too.  I've gone back to my habit of walking when I'm angry instead of inhaling bonbons.

I don't advise anyone to begin a strenuous exercise regimen on the HCG protocol.  During active dieting, start with a walk around the block, and ease into a more strenuous program after the maintenance portion is completed.  I recommend an interval approach, like that used by EXL Fitness.  (And if you're in Utah, come down to EXL Fitness for a 2 week free trial.  Tell Mat that Donna sent you.)