Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.

A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent research has shed light on why strong may get sick less often and recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases activity of natural killer cells in bloodstream.

* Less Stress *

A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of most effective means of battling depression and stress. One of main fatiguing factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than they had before becoming active.

* Boost Brain Fitness *

To this point, we've been talking about benefit of exercise on mental energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory, or reasoning ability? It's very possible.

Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were contributing to increase of brain's learning centers in different ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while exercise increases number of capillaries in cerebellum and cerebral cortex (two areas of brain crucial to intelligence.)

* Take a Walk *

Medical research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of best ways to take charge of your health. A study in Journal of American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.

Recent studies have concluded that moderate amounts of exercise - including walking, jogging or using a treadmill for one hour, four to five times a week - can turn back aging clock 30 years for middle aged men.

Consistency is probably most important part of your workout. The more committed you are to walking all or most days of week, healthier you'll be. Remember that short walks are better then none at all. Health, like life, is a journey. All you have to do is take first step.

Tip #5: Don't eat what your kids leave behind. Admit it, after your kids leave table, you gather up food they leave behind. You just can't bear to throw it away because you know that it's enough to feed a small, famished African country. So you eat a "second supper" out of guilt. How can you be so heartless?! Send leftover food to that small, famished African country.

Tip #6: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not all that bad for you, if you eat them in moderation. But stay away from those dreaded peanut butter and jellyfish sandwiches.

Tip #7: Blot your pizza to remove 17% of saturate fats. If you blot it really well, you can remove 100%. Of course, an empty plate might require a spicier sauce...

Tip #8: No snacking in front of TV. Get up. Right now. No snacking in front of my TV. I don't want crumbs on my living room carpet.

Tip #9: Schedule your exercise. It's true, if you don't schedule it, your exercise will get pushed aside by things you do schedule. I suggest scheduling it during office meetings, dental appointments and reality TV shows. You wouldn't want to miss anything important, would you?

Tip #10: This is a good one. Why, because #10 on any top-ten list is always a good one. Ten is a great number. So tip #10 is to celebrate every ten pounds lost by preparing a triple chocolate double-dip cheesecake supreme ice cream parfait deluxe. Go ahead and drool. You deserve it. And if you think preparing it is fun, just wait until you lose another 50 pounds ... and have permission to actually eat it.

I hope these tips help you. On a serious note, most people will lose a significant amount of weight if they follow these ten tips along with watching their calories according to any popular healthy dieting plan. Well...almost. You might not want to follow tip #6. You will probably lose fewer pounds eating jelly than you would eating jellyfish.