Magic Pill, Episode #3: Losing Weight And Keeping It Off

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You may know this feeling: You look in the mirror and say, "This has got to change."

Two thirds of us are overweight or obese, and the desire to lose weight is often what gets us moving more. But Dr. Eddie Phillips offers this reality check: The medical wisdom is that exercise is not the best way to lose weight — the math is just against you. But being active is great for your health in other ways and it does help keep weight off. Listen to Episode 3 above.

A Closer Look

Eddie suggests looking at people who've made it to the National Weight Loss Registry by losing at least 30 pounds and keeping them off at least a year. They exercise a lot — usually at least an hour a day. Or consider the recent "Biggest Loser" study that looked at contestants six years later — most gained back all the weight, and ended up with slower metabolisms than when they started.

Eddie explains: "The way it works is that your muscles burn many more calories than a pound of fat. And trained muscle burns even more calories. So if your goal is to have lost the weight and keep it off, and to run your metabolism high, you want to have muscle, and you want to have trained muscle."

His most important point: "It's a feat to lose any amount of weight, but the tough part is keeping it off. And of course once you've lost a pound, you never want to get it back."

Enjoyed The Music?

That was D-WiLL featuring Austin Armstrong performing the song "Signals".

David Wilson, aka "D-WiLL," is an urban electronic/hip-hop producer and DJ. Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, he now studies in Boston at Berklee College of Music.

Listen to the full Magic Pill playlist here.

CommonHealth Recommendations

We thought you'd be interested in these posts about exercise and diet:

--Why To Exercise Today: Appetite Suppression (Short Term)

--Why To Exercise Today: For Long-Term Weight, It May Matter More Than Diet

--Why To Exercise Today: Even If You Don't Lose Weight