Acheiving Weight Loss

Sometimes it is difficult to get motivated to achieve weight loss, particularly when it means giving up foods that you really enjoy or trying to fit exercise into your already crazy-busy life. But there are lots of benefits of shedding pounds that go beyond just looking better and feeling better.

Here are the "Top 10 Benefits of Weight Loss" according to Dr. Travis Stork of The Doctors:

"Weight loss isn't just about going down a dress size or two. It's about improving your life in dozens of significant ways. If you've got 10 seconds, put these weight loss tips into practice and you'll be on your way to a healthy weight.

1. Move It French scientists have found that the type of exercise you do doesn't matter, as long as you're moving. Accumulate a total of 4 hours over the course of 3 to 4 days, and you'll join the ranks of people with the leanest midsections.

2. Be Noticed at Work When dining out with co-workers, don't follow the overeating crowd—it could benefit your career. "If your boss and colleagues see you eating healthfully, you're going to look like an outcome-driven leader," says behavioral therapist Robinson Welch, PhD. "It sends a message that you want to be successful. That you'll take care of business the same way you take care of yourself—effectively."

3. Cushion Your Wallet Slashing just 100 calories a day—about 18 Cheez-Its' worth—from your diet will save you an average of $175.20 a year.

4. Save Your Sex Drive Lose your belly to save your passion. According to a study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, men with a 5-point increase in body mass index—about 30 extra pounds—had testosterone levels comparable to men who were a full decade older.

5. Have More Friends Fit people are more fun to be around. Check this out: One study looked at kids who played outdoors and kids who spent their time indoors. The ones who went outside to play were more popular with other kids. And, oddly, their parents were more popular, too!

6. Shine Your Smile Drinking milk may help preserve the enamel on your teeth, according to a study from the University of Iowa. Add that to dairy's rep as a weight buster, and you'll be looking better on two fronts.

7. Pair Up For Better Results Healthy eaters subconsciously influence their spouses to lose weight, say University of Connecticut researchers. "Couples support each other by working together," says study author Amy Gorin, PhD.

8. Snack First! Going to a party? Have a big snack beforehand. It'll help you dodge the high-calorie hazards of the buffet line.

9. Skyrocket Sexual Satisfaction A survey of 1,210 people of different weights and sizes conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Center showed that obese people were 25 times as likely to report dissatisfaction with sex as normal weight people. The magic elixir: a simple 10% loss of body weight skyrockets sex satisfaction levels, according to the Duke study.

10. Walk Around the Block, Be Better In Bed A study of 178 healthy men at the Durham VA Medical Center in North Carolina showed that walking for 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week, boosted scores on a sex survey. And the more exercise respondents did, the more they enjoyed sex."