Regular Exercise. Oh boy. If anyone came up with a way to lose weight safely and effectively and permanently without exercise, that person would become a hero and instant millionaire. After all, we want it to be as easy to lose the weight as it was to put it on, right?

Well, I know most of you reading this realize exercise is part of the weight loss picture. As a matter of fact it is, of the two pillars of healthy weight loss, the most essential. While you can lose some weight cutting calories it ends up being a long hard journey. Add exercise to that equation and - BAM - you just cranked it up.

And to top it off, you can effectively lose weight just by adding exercise and not making big changes in your diet.

The kind of exercise is what is most important. There are two types of exercise that are prescribed in weight loss circles to burn fat and tone muscles.

One is aerobics. That is exercise that increases your heart rate into safe levels of efficiency. This is the best way to “burn” fat of the two. When you sustain your heart rate at 60 - 75% of its maximum heart rate for 20 or more minutes, it causes the body to delve into fat stores for energy rather than glucose.

The other aspect of weight loss with exercise is more correctly termed muscle toning and defining. When a muscle gets more tone and strong, it gets more dense and lean. The net result is that you lose inches so you can fit those jeans again.

So, exercise is an essential part of long term safe weight loss. The sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner those pounds can fall off.