Lifting weights or doing strengthening activities like push-ups and crunches on a regular basis can actually help you maintain or lose weight. These activities can help you build muscle, and muscle burns more calories than body fat. So if you have more muscle, you burn more calories—even sitting still.

Doing strengthening activities 2 or 3 days a week will not “bulk you up.” Only intense strength training, combined with a certain genetic background, can build very large muscles.

Tip: In addition to doing moderate-intensity physical activity (like walking 2 miles in 30 minutes) on most days of the week, try to do strengthening activities 2 to 3 days a week. You can  lift weights, use  large rubber bands (resistance bands), do push-ups or sit-ups, or do household or garden tasks that make you lift or dig. Strength  training helps keep your bones strong while building muscle, which can help burn calories.

Tip: The  2005 Dietary Guidelines  for Americans recommends consuming 3 cups per day of fat-free/low-fat milk or equivalent milk products. For more information  on  these  guidelines,  visit http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines.

If you cannot digest lactose (the sugar found in dairy products), choose  low-lactose or  lactose-free dairy products,  or  other  foods  and  beverages  that  offer calcium and vitamin D (listed below).

Calcium: soy-based beverage or tofu made with calcium sulfate; canned salmon; dark leafy greens like collards or kale

Vitamin D: soy-based beverage or cereal (getting some sunlight on your skin also gives you a small amount of vitamin D)