1. Keeping a balanced diet
   
   

   Guide to healthy eating

2. Activity made easy
   
   

   	How can you be more active?
   	What does increasing your activity do for you?
   	Overcoming obstacles

3. Staying motivated

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What does increasing your activity do for you?

Increasing your activity level benefits your body in the following ways:

	Burns calories Exercise is an effective way of burning off those extra calories. However, be careful not to indulge in a high calorie feast after a workout session as you will likely end up eating more calories than you have lost.
	Counteracts the problems caused by excess weight Exercise can help alleviate the physical and psychological effects of being overweight. For example, it can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels while also improving your carbohydrate metabolism.
	Preserves the body's muscle Your body loses both muscle and fat when you lose weight. Exercise helps to maximise fat loss while minimising muscle loss. Thus, combining exercise with a reduced-calorie diet is much more effective than dieting alone.
	Increases metabolic rate Exercise helps keep your metabolism high thus making your body more effective at burning calories.
	Improves your confidence and your mood Exercise makes you feel good! Each time you are active, you are reminding yourself of the positive changes you are making in your life. This improves confidence and gives you a boost that can carry over to your eating plan. In addition, many people exercise to relieve stress. If you are eating to relieve stress, exercise may do the same thing, but will burn rather than add calories.
	Correlates with long-term success Exercise is the factor that best predicts the ones who will lose weight and maintain the weight loss effectively. Studies show that after going off a weight loss programme, those who exercise regularly tend to be the ones who keep the weight off. Furthermore, individuals who are physically active on a regular basis typically do better than those who simply restrict their calorie intake.

	Overcoming obstacles
	Know the energy output of your activity
	Starter's guide to exercise
	Keeping motivated
	Take the quiz: How active are you?