12 Healthy Ways to Get Lean, Mean, & Gorgeous

Photo by: Designed by Naomi Abel, R29

January: Go TV-Free

No matter how you slice it, TV is a horrible motivator when it comes to exercise - and we're not just talking about those cupcake shows, either. A University of Alberta study showed that the hysterical and grueling workouts in weight-loss TV shows not only failed to motivate viewers to exercise more, it turned them off to the whole idea completely. So if you're watching The Biggest ... more 

Photo by: Designed by Naomi Abel, R29

January: Go TV-Free

No matter how you slice it, TV is a horrible motivator when it comes to exercise - and we're not just talking about those cupcake shows, either. A University of Alberta study showed that the hysterical and grueling workouts in weight-loss TV shows not only failed to motivate viewers to exercise more, it turned them off to the whole idea completely. So if you're watching The Biggest Loser in hopes of motivating your own workouts, you're more likely to avoid the gym in general.

Rather than forming your goals and motivations around the miracle transformations seen on TV, the study's researcher, Tanya Berry, suggests recalibrating expectations to yield more attainable results. "When you start exercising, you might not be losing weight, but you lose the visceral fat - the fat that packed around the internal organs - and that's the dangerous fat," she says. "The stuff we find unattractive, the subcutaneous fat, isn't necessarily unhealthy. It just doesn't look good. If you start exercising, the first fat you lose is the internal stuff that is dangerous, but you don't see that, so you still see a muffin top. People may quit because they think they may not be achieving anything. But, they're achieving huge things for their health - even if it's not quite as obvious."

In short, Berry reminds us what TV programming won't: "The simple message, if you want to see positive benefits, is do a little bit [of physical activity] a less