Hi, I’m Elly Ling, a Registered Nutritional Therapist. I’ve teamed up with Weight Loss HQ by Treated to bring you info and tips to help you along when using weight loss treatments.

In this video, I’m going to be talking about exercise, and why it’s important for any weight loss programme – even if you’ve got your diet right where you want it.

Reason number 1: it enhances your weight loss.

Engaging in regular physical activity is a key part of a balanced lifestyle and supports your weight loss journey in a holistic way. Exercise, when integrated with your balanced diet and treatment, can help you progress towards your weight goals in a sustainable and healthy way.

It’s not just about the calories; it’s about supporting your body and mind, fostering a positive relationship with movement, and ultimately not only help your weight loss treatment work better but enhance your overall quality of life.

Reason number 2: it helps you keep muscle mass.

When you lose weight, at first you’ll tend to lose it more from fat than from muscle – but this can change, particularly the more weight you lose, if you don’t exercise regularly.

If you lose weight from muscle rather than from fat, you may start to feel weaker and less energised – and more likely to make poorer food choices to get a quick energy fix (like eating something really sugary or ultra-processed).

Exercising regularly, and doing weight or resistance training, can help to maintain your muscle mass– and help you drop weight from fat rather than muscle.

Reason number 3: it helps regulate blood sugar.

This is particularly helpful if you’re diabetic or prediabetic when you start using treatment. Weight loss injections are good at improving insulin sensitivity so that your body can keep your blood sugar at a healthy level – but exercise does this too.

As well as helping to manage diabetes or prevent your risk of progressing if you’re prediabetic, having good blood sugar control also means you’ll feel more energised and more able to exert control over how much you eat at mealtimes.

Reason number 4: it’s good for cardio.

Good cardio is obviously good for your blood pressure and cholesterol, and lowers your risk of heart disease. But also, the better your cardio is, the healthier you’ll feel and the more energy you’ll have. And the more energy you have, the more likely you’ll be to stick to your new diet and treatment routine, and achieve your weight goals.

Lastly, reason number 5: it’s great for mental wellbeing.

Losing weight isn’t always easy and comes with challenges. Being in a good place mentally will help you to overcome obstacles and stay on track when things get tough.

And the good news is that exercise can help with that. Cardiovascular exercise like running in particular helps to release endorphins in the brain, which are ‘feel-good’ chemicals that help improve mood.

If you’re using weight loss treatment, and new to exercise or not sure where to start, then take a look at our exercise guides on the site – you can find a few example routines to get you going, and some more advanced programmes too once you’ve got into the swing of them.