You don’t need to hit the gym to lose weight.

Making activities fun and convenient means that you are also, more likely to stick with a regime.

Committing time, travel and money to a work out can prohibit how often you will actually exercise.

But allocating a few minutes, consistently, to at-home exercise can yield real results.

Don’t be blinded by the illusion that the only way you can lose weight is if you hit the gym – people are losing weight and staying in shape every day by using the tools they have at home and investing a little money (far less than they would invest in a gym membership!) to buy a few key fitness tools. Follow these tips and clean up your eating habits and you’ll be shedding the pounds in no time.

If you feel that you have gotten a bum deal in the genetic lottery then take heart; a healthy lifestyle and healthy diet can undue bad genes.

Research shows that a healthy diet may undue a genetic predisposition to heart disease.

A diet high in fruits and vegetables appears to mitigate the genetic risk of a heart attack,” says researcher Sonia S. Anand, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and epidemiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The finding, if it bears out, could affect many people at risk for heart disease because of a genetic variant that researchers have only recently linked with heart attack. It could also call into question the suggestion that you can’t help your genes.

New research suggests that eating a Mediterranean diet along with regular exercise, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight could add 15 years to a woman’s life, or 8.5 years to a man’s.

A new study published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that these four healthy lifestyle factors significantly cut the risk of premature death, especially in women.

Research from Maastricht University in the Netherlands used data on diet and lifestyle habits of 120,852 men and women aged 55 to 69.

To add years to your life, the researchers recommend adhering to a Mediterranean diet, stopping smoking, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, and maintaining a body mass index between 18.5 and 25.

To try a Mediterranean lifestyle, the US-based Mayo Clinic recommends the following guidelines:

1. Get plenty of exercise
2. Eat primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts
3. Replace butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
4. Use herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
5. Limit red meat to no more than a few times a month
6. Eat fish and poultry at least twice a week
7. Drink red wine in moderation (optional)