How Do Exercise And Diet Compare For Weight Loss?

Cutting Calories

Losing weight is a matter of mastering the simple equation of calories in versus calories out. Consume less calories than you expend and weight loss occurs. Cut enough calories--3500 to be exact--and lose one pound. If you cut out 500 calories a day, a manageable number for most people, expect to lose a pound a week. Many people successfully initiate weight loss by eliminating discretionary calories first--things like soda, alcohol and refined flours and sugars contain a lot of calories with minimal nutrients. Cutting calories has its limits. Dipping below a caloric intake of 1200 per day is not recommended, as it leads to fatigue, extreme hunger and subsequent binges, irritability, potential slowing of your metabolism and lack of energy for activity during the day.

Eating Right

Diet further assists your weight loss when you include certain foods. Studies on whole grains and monounsaturated fats show that including these in your diet may actually assist you in losing weight. An Australian study published in a 2003 issue of the 'British Journal of Nutrition' showed that switching out dietary saturated fat and replacing it with mono-unsaturated fats (like those found in nuts and olive oil) can induce a statistically significant loss of weight in fat without a tremendous change in caloric intake or energy expenditure. In 2008, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reported on a Pennsylvania State University study that showed replacing refined grains with whole grains while following a low calorie diet resulted in a greater loss of body fat. Focusing on healthy foods while reducing calories supports your weight loss effort by providing you with adequate nutrition and revving your metabolism.

Role of Exercise

Diet alone may help you lose pounds, but when you lose weight without exercise, you lose both muscle and fat. Gain any of that weight back, and it's all fat. Because you can only cut out so many calories without starving, exercising gives you a way to create a calorie deficit while still nourishing yourself. If you burn 500 calories a day in addition to the 500 you have cut out with dieting, you create a 1000 per day calorie deficit and may lose 2 lbs. per week. The National Weight Control Registry--a study group of thousands of participants who have lost weight and successfully kept it off for over 5 years--reports that 90 percent of its successful participants participate in physical activity for about an hour a day. Building cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength also improves the appearance of your body by creating lean muscle mass which takes up less space than fat and gives you that tight, toned appearance. As you exercise, you naturally gravitate towards healthier foods because they help give you energy for your workouts.

Limits of Exercise

Exercise without dietary changes usually does not yield weight loss. It takes effort to burn calories--a 150-pound woman burns about 350 calories in a half hour of jogging. All that work can easily be undermined by one "light" snack of a cafe mocha (330 calories) and a low-fat muffin (340 calories). The belief that exercise gives you the permission to eat anything you want undermines weight loss efforts.