Whats More Important Diet or Exercise?

Whats more important diet or exercise? When it comes to losing weight, there are some people who arent enthusiastic about the idea of lacing up exercise shoes and sweating it out at the gym. Thats why diet pills that offer "instant results" are such a popular item -despite the fact that they dont work. There are really only two tried and true ways to shed those excess pounds and thats through lifestyle changes.

Exercise or Diet: Do You Really Need Both?

It depends on how long you want to keep it off. Dietary changes and calorie restriction alone will cause weight to come off in the short term, but the weight loss stops at some point and diet will no longer have its magical effect. This is what most people recognize as a weight loss plateau. It occurs because the body gradually adapts to a lower calorie diet -and fights back by slowing down the rate of energy burn. This is when exercise becomes important -to rev up the metabolism again.

Diet or Exercise: Can Exercise Alone Lead to Weight Loss?

Studies are mixed on this, although a recent study was encouraging. Researchers at Landmark Medical in Austin Texas found that people who exercised at a moderate pace at least four days a week for a minimum of thirty minutes lost an average of thirteen pounds over a two month period -without any calorie restriction or dietary changes. Unfortunately, there was no long term follow up to see how many of them regained it at the end of the eight weeks.

On the other hand, some people who use exercise alone to lose weight are disappointed to find that the scale doesnt budge. This could be because theyre gaining lean body mass, or, more disappointingly, because they arent losing anything at all. Many people overestimate how many calories they burn when they work out. Even the calorie displays on machines at the gym grossly overestimate how many calories a person uses while theyre on it. Plus, its tempting to throw in a splurge when youve worked out so hard. Those little splurges add up.

Whats More Important Diet or Exercise: The Bottom Line?

Theyre both essential if you want to take it off and keep it off long term. One may work without the other for short periods of time, but its unlikely to lead to lasting weight control. Do it the right way and combine the two.

References:

Journal Strength and Conditioning Research, 23: 2377-2380. 2009