How your weekly Budget moves with you

Your weekly Budget called—it wants to add Points® for everything you do to build a stronger body. Allow us to explain.
Published October 18, 2021 | Updated November 14, 2022

Boost mood! Improve self-esteem! Lower risk of disease! If the benefits of staying active came in a box, it could boast all of the above. We’d also slap one more benefit on the label: Regular physical activity paired with healthier eating habits leads to more weight loss than healthier eating habits alone. It’s also the single best predictor of who keeps weight off and who doesn’t.

Who doesn’t want in on that? But, first, a Q: What does physical activity actually look like?


Is it you dripping in sweat? No. Is it you training for a 10K? Only if that’s your thing. Ultimately, activity looks like things that don’t necessarily have to look like working out. Daily stuff—cleaning your house, weeding your garden, chasing your dog—it all counts. Literally.

Benefits of physical activity: Curr Opin Psychiatry. (2005.) “Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16639173/
Benefits of physical activity: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008.) “2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.” https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/paguide.pdf
Activity & Diet: Acad Nutr Diet. (2014.) “Diet or exercise interventions vs combined behavioral weight management programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of direct comparisons.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25257365/
Activity & Weight-Loss Maintenance: Obes Res. (1994.) “Physical activity and long-term maintenance of weight loss.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16358405/