Exercise for the Long-Term

Exercise and cut your calorie intake if you want to lose weight. You can lose weight through diet alone, but you won't keep it off. Regular physical activity is the key to long-term weight loss. Exercise burns calories, increases your metabolism during recovery and helps maintain muscle mass. The harder and longer you exercise, the more calories you burn. During a typical aerobic workout (jogging or cycling, for example), you'll burn about 7-15 calories per minute (depending on your body size and intensity of exercise). Run or bike faster and you burn more calories. Exercise also increases your metabolic rate. You continue to burn calories at a faster rate after the exercise is over. If you train intensely, you'll also increase your use of fats during recovery. Finally, exercise increases, or at least helps maintain your muscle mass. Muscle is a calorie burner. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. Exercise is important, but it must be combined with a healthy diet.
(Georgia Tech Sports Med. News. 9 (4): 3, 2001)