Health watch: Muscle growth key to losing weight

The first step of any weight-loss journey, including Miki Merritt's, should be a total body weight-resistance workout.

Despite this, many shy away from weight-training - women especially - fearing they will bulk up or add muscle and extra weight. This couldn't be further from the truth.

It is impossible for women to get "bulky" unless they are on testosterone enhancements (steroids) because testosterone is what primarily determines muscle size. Building muscle is important because muscle is what burns calories; the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.

I created a weight-resistance plan for Miki that focuses on...