Exercise and a Smart Diet Are the Dynamic Duo to Lose Weight

You may have noticed that exercise alone isn't enough for most of us to lose weight. Even on the TV show "The Biggest Loser," for which contestants exercise for hours and hours a day, contestants still need to use portion control to reach their goals. Still, physical activity is important if you want to reach and maintain a healthy weight because, by the same token, diet alone doesn't give you the muscle tone, endurance, and aerobic capacity that exercise does. In fact, diet alone may increase visceral fat (belly fat) and boost your risk of disease. But combining the two? Like Batman and Robin, this dynamic duo is much better together.

Here's the latest news: Eating right helps your body handle potentially damaging particles called free radicals that are generated when you exercise. In a recent, headline-grabbing study, people who munched watercress daily had an easier time processing these free radicals after a session on a treadmill than those who skipped the leafy green.

Free radicals created by a moderate amount of physical activity, such as a daily, half-hour walk, are actually helpful. Physical activity switches on your cells' antioxidant defenses, increasing their ability to neutralize free radicals, which keeps your cells healthier -- possibly the main health benefit of physical activity. Leafy veggies, such as watercress, kale, spinach, and turnip greens, help out because they contain flavonoids that, along with physical activity, increase your natural antioxidant defenses.

No matter how you exercise, combining good nutrition with regular workouts makes your heart and lungs fitter, and your bones and muscles stronger. It also lowers your risk for everything from diabetes and cancer to plus-size, elastic-waist pants.

Greens aren't the only edibles you should pair with your comfy socks and running shoes. Here's the lowdown on three more nutrients that belong in your diet:

1.     Protein: Strength-training with resistance bands, dumbbells, and hand weights, those fancy machines at the gym, or even moves that use your own body weight -- is necessary to maintain and build muscle, as is eating enough protein -- something up to one in three men and two in five women don't do. Nuts, whole grains, fish, skinless chicken, beans, low-fat or nonfat dairy, and egg whites are all great protein sources. To build muscle, it helps to get some protein within an hour of doing resistance exercise. You need about 0.5 grams of protein a day for every pound you weigh (about 75 grams if you weigh 150 pounds).

2.     Calcium: Strength-training and weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, running, taking the stairs, lunges, and squats, put good stress on bones and help keep your skeleton sturdy, but from your spine to the tiniest bones in your toes, your frame also needs calcium. Half of us don't get enough of this important mineral, and even more don't get enough vitamin D3, which is necessary for calcium to do its work. You need 1,000 mg of calcium (1,200 mg if you're 60-plus), and 1,000 IU of D3 (1,200 if you're 60-plus) daily. Start with veggies, such as kale and collards (you might consider nonfat dairy or milk substitutes), and add a supplement -- especially necessary for D3 -- if you're not hitting your goals.

3.     Good fats: A sharper brain is one of the most amazing benefits of regular exercise. Moving not only encourages the growth of new cells in your noggin, it also nudges these cells to form new connections -- essentially lowering your risk for cognitive decline as you age. Add great fats (especially DHA omega-3s) and good fats, such as olive oil, canola oil, walnuts, avocados, salmon, and trout, to a pre- or post-exercise diet and you'll help keep your mind younger.