Diet Or Exercise For Weight Loss?

Ideally, a healthy diet and regular exercise should be combined for the best and fastest weight loss results. However, many possible reasons exist for why some people may have to choose just one or the other. In those cases, it’s hard to declare a clear winner between diet and exercise because both have so many health advantages.

Diet Advantages

A healthy, varied diet that is rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients and low in calories, fat, sodium, sugar and cholesterol can help with weight management and improve other aspects of health as well. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), nutritious eating can help reduce the risk of asthma, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions.

Exercise Advantages

Staying fit by exercising regularly also has distinct physical advantages. Because working out burns calories, it may help accelerate weight loss. Additionally, NIDDK notes that near-daily exercise strengthens bones, reduces body fat, builds muscle mass, reduces the risk of many of the same diseases that a healthy diet combats and improves flexibility, balance and mood.

Calories

To lose weight with diet only, it’s necessary to restrict daily caloric intake. One pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, so following a diet that reduces daily calories by 500 per day should result in about one pound of weight loss per week. Losing weight with an exercise plan and no alterations in diet involves burning calories, which contributes to weight loss over time. Depending on exercise duration and intensity, weight may come off quickly or gradually through a workout plan.

Guidelines

Adhering to fitness guidelines can boost the effectiveness of a weight loss plan that focuses on either a healthy diet or regular exercise. To focus on diet, reduce daily calories and choose foods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food pyramid, which has six groups: lean proteins (meat and beans), vegetables, fruits, healthy oils, low-fat and nonfat dairy products, and grains, particularly whole grains. Try to eat fresh, whole and minimally processed items. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that those focusing on exercise get a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate cardio activity or 60 minutes per week of vigorous cardio activity, plus two weekly strength-training workouts.

Diet vs. Exercise

Ultimately, weight loss comes down to a formula of regularly losing more calories than you take in. If combining both methods isn’t possible, try to focus on one, but take elements of another. For example, if reducing daily calorie intake isn’t an option, exercise regularly with a varied workout plan, but also choose healthy and low-calorie options from the food pyramid whenever possible. If exercise is out of the question, try to be active in small ways, such as walking or biking to errands and moving around the house as much as possible. The bottom line is that a combination of both strategies is most effective for weight loss.