Facet 5: Muscle Tone

The secret to keeping weight off is to have enough muscle to burn calories efficiently. Your body can burn as much while sleeping as it does in the daytime. But it takes muscle to make this work properly. If you really love aerobics or dance, that is fine. You can build muscle slowly by doing this and get a great cardio workout that way.

If you want something that works without the classes and scheduling, consider a little weight lifting. Nothing extreme, just some simple basics a few times a week for about 20 minutes. Do your upper body one day, lower body 2 days later and an overall workout 2 days after that. You can use basic home weights or go to a gym. This increase in muscle will alter your body faster than ANY exercise program. Your weight may go up a bit as a result but monitor your inches, at the waist and neck level, not the scale at your feet.