Everyone has heard the statement “Your health is 80% diet and 20% exercise” but is this actually true? Of course everyone’s body is different and different things work better for different people, but scientifically which is proven to work better? Weight loss is actually very simple. It is when you burn more calories than you consume. Therefore, both diet and exercise are extremely important. For example, if you work out as hard as you can but eat McDonalds every day, theres a very good chance you won’t lose weight. When choosing what to eat, it is set to choose foods that are not high in fat, but are still filling, such as foods with protein. Every health article or blog you read will say different foods are the best foods to eat. Even with this being said, studies are constantly changing because no one really knows what is best for our health.
Michele Olson who has her PhD as a nutritional biochemist and a former director of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic said, “yes, you can lose weight with diet alone, but exercise is an important component”. Ten pounds of fat takes up much more space than ten pounds of muscle. Therefore, working out and building muscle not only helps you lose weight, but also makes you look smaller. It has also been proven that it is much easier to cut calories than it is to burn them. Therefore, eating healthy is a huge factor in losing weight.
Now, the question of what the right foods to eat comes into play. Many people try to stick to low-carb diets, but this can be very challenging. Scientists say it is best to stick to a vegetable and fruit diet with lean proteins and whole grain carbs. These foods are filling, yet not too high in calories which makes them perfect for weight loss. Therefore, it is best to eat the right foods AND exercise if your goal is to lose weight.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/exercise-vs-diet-for-weight-loss_n_5207271.html
Olivia, I definitely feel like there are certain people who cane do the minimum amount and still lose weight. Metabolism is a really big factor because your metabolism breaks down all of your food. Doing cardio helps speed up your metabolism, which is why exercise is SO important. I have a lot of friends too who don’t eat healthy at all but are still able to lose weight!
I am quite a “health freak” and “gym addict” so this post interests me alot! I pay alot of attention to what foods I eat throughout the day and what kind of exercise I do. It is true that sticking to a low-carb, low-fat diet, and ample amount of exercise is key to losing or maintaining weight. Carbohydrates are essential for energy, but if one consumes too many carbohydrates throughout the day and does not burn them all, then the carbs will turn into fat. Also if people are trying to lose weight, it makes a difference in what type of exercise they do. Any type of cardio is for burning fat and losing pounds, but lifting weights actually makes your weight go up. Your weight increases because you gain muscle mass, which weighs more than fat mass. Everyone has different preferences though, so there are different types of diets and exercise routines depending on what you want your results to be.
This is a great post. I understand that there’s a difference between dieting and exercising, but did you research anything about the specific benefits of dieting and exercising at the same time? A lot of people do it but I’m curious to know the statistics. Also, similar to everyone else’s opinion on this post, I believe that metabolism plays a huge factor in weight loss. I know people (including myself) that eat more food than others and they gain much less weight!
This is definitely something that interests me and I really enjoyed reading this post. I agree with the person above that posted about how metabolism can also affect how fast and easily you lose weight. I know various people as well who eat crap and are still really good athletes and their weight barely fluctuates. I do think that for those who are looking to lose weight it is necessary that you eat well as well as exercise regularly. It seems that if you eat well but don’t exercise and vice versa it’s definitely going to be a lot harder to lose weight the way that you want to.
I know many people who only work out, eat crappy foods and can cut weight very very quickly. Personally, I believe metabolism is a huge factor when it comes to weight loss and it really depends on how fast that metabolism really is. Besides my thoughts on metabolism, I am a firm believer that in order to lose weight one MUST exercise! Love this post though
This was a really good post! My one question is that I wonder if this applies to everyone? I feel like it does for mostly everyone, but are there certain people who can get smaller by just dieting or does everyone have to exercise to get smaller? I think a lot of this also just depends on a persons metabolism, and the difference between a person with a high metabolism and one with a low one. Here is a site that talks about high and low metabolisms. Overall this was really informative!