Which is better for weight loss? Diet or Exercise.

1.Diet or Exercise

Most of the people who are trying to lose weight have a question- What is more important dieting or Exercise? Both are the major part of one’s weight loss journey. You cannot have a perfectly fine shape and healthy body by missing one of them. But the main question is that when it comes to weight loss, which one would be more effective ?

2. Exercise Vs Diet

In order to lose weight you must consume fewer calories than your daily requirement or you should burn higher calories than your calorie intake. In short we can say that to lose weight you should be in a calorie deficit. Your eating habit has more impact on your body as compared to exercise. You can easily lose weight by changing your eating habits and choice of food. Limit your daily calorie intake, have more protein and fibre in your diet and less carbs and fat. Then you will soon hit your weight loss goal.

But dieting alone cannot give you a sustainable weight loss. So far, the most sustainable and safe weight loss is a combination of calorie restriction and regular fitness regime.

3. What does the study say?

Various studies show that cutting calories helps you more to lose weight than increasing physical activities in your daily life.Generally it is said that weight loss is 75 percent diet and 25 percent exercise. From the total calorie intake of your diet,exercise only burns off less than 20 to 30 percent of it. So it is hard to make a significant calorie deficit from exercise. You may have heard a popular saying ‘You can’t out-exercise a bad diet’ by Talbott. A slice of cake can ruin your hard work on the treadmill. So watch your diet more to lose weight.

4. Myths

There are many more myths we hear when we are on our weight loss journey. Among them,

A. All calories are same

All calories are not the same. For example the calorie of protein does not equate with calories of fat and carbs. Same amount of refined food, sugary candies have much more calories than vegetables and fruits

B. Supplements can help to lose weight.

Many companies claim that their supplement helps to shed some pounds. People fall for this marketing strategy but they are rarely found very effective when studied.

C. Carbs will make you more fat

This occurs due to calorie restriction. No food can make you gain weight when taken in moderation. You can even eat junk food in small portions. In fact Carbs are also part of your healthy diet so without carbs your meal is not a balanced diet. In fact, whole foods which have high carbs are a very healthy diet.

D. Skipping your dinner helps you lose weight

It is a big myth that when you skip dinner you will easily lose weight. But for weight loss your whole day’s calories are counted. If you eat sugary and refined food the whole day it doesn’t matter if you skip your dinner or what. So have your healthy all three meals so that you can have a long run weight loss.

5. Eat more and weigh less,

There is good news for those who want to eat more and lose weight. It’s all about smart eating. You can have more protein and fiber rich food and less carbs, fat and sugar. So that it adds to your weight loss. Not all the calories are the same. Fruits and vegetables contain less calories than rice and pasta. They contain few calories but more fiber and water. 100gm of cucumber portion size is much larger and lesser in calories than a 100 gm slice of pizza. Your body is what you eat. But we cannot deny the fact that exercise helps to lose weight by burning mostly fat not muscles but diet won’t. Muscles also take less space and are healthy for the body. Exercise helps to fit clothes better and gives proper shape to the body.

6. Bottom line

Exercise and diet both are very important for long term weight loss and overall health. Besides diet and exercise, your eating habits, sleeping patterns, your lifestyle also plays a key role in your weightloss. So if you want to get rid of these extra fat you must take all these in consideration and start your weight loss journey.