Exercise is well known as a tool for improving your ability to lose weight. It helps you burn calories and tone muscles, but what else can exercise do for your body? Many people underestimate the positive health effects that exercise can have on your overall health, but the benefits don’t stop there.

The truth is that making exercise a regular aspect of your personal lifestyle can help improve many different aspects of your health, aside from encouraging weight loss. Finding a workout routine that encourages you to stay active after weight loss surgery can help you stay positive and motivated as you work towards reaching your weight loss goals.

What else can exercise do for you?

Aside from the direct weight loss benefits, engaging in exercise daily is shown to reduce the risk of premature death from any cause, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Exercise also helps control blood sugar levels, which can help reduce your risk of developing diabetes and in some cases even reverse the onset of diabetic issues. And while exercise is great for your muscles, it is also great for your bone health. Being active can prevent bones from losing calcium and fracturing, and can actually reduce your risk of osteoporosis.

While there are plenty of workout routines that are especially popular, there isn’t one type of exercise routine that is definitively better than any other. Running is a great workout, but only if you are willing and able to push yourself through a daily run. Aerobic classes are also great if you are up for going to them regularly. Ultimately, the best type of exercise routine is the one that you enjoy, so that you do it regularly.

Finding a type of exercise that you enjoy can help improve your mental health, in addition to your physical health. Exercise is shown to decrease the risk of depression and anxiety, and to improve your mood. What’s more, engaging in exercise every day is actually found to improve your motivation and interest in following a healthy diet. This means that making exercise part of your daily routine can actually make your daily routine feel a bit easier.

Every sort of physical activity has health benefits. Exercise is shown to actually strengthen heart function, in addition to improving oxygen uptake and improving blood pressure by actually decreasing the amount of stress put on the arteries. Regular exercise can also reduce LDL cholesterol levels, which is the type of cholesterol that creates harmful plaque that builds on the walls of arteries

Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program to make sure that you get started at the right level for your health needs. Starting a new exercise routine before getting weight loss surgery is even associated with greater weight loss outcomes!