It’s either diet vs exercise when you think of weight loss, fitness, great body and all or diet alone or exercise alone.
The big question now is, diet vs exercise, which produces the best health goals we all are eager to have?
First, we need to understand why we even either need good diet or exercise or both.
Like any automobile, the body is designed in a “wear and tear” manner. This means that the human body deteriorates over time. However, the rate at which this happens is dependent on how well we take care of the body.
Also, like any other elastic material, the body has the tendency to expand beyond its elastic limit. When this happens, you become overweight or obese, which puts you at the risk of getting affected with a whole lot of diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, and the likes.
It is, however, important to care for the body and nourish it with the right kind of food and physical activities that has the capacity to leave the body in great shape.
You also need to understand that the body deals with calorie intake. So, the amount of calorie a person takes in conjunction with your calorie conjunction level goes a long way to determine weight gain, weight loss, weight maintenance and general body fitness.
Everything you take in contains calories, likewise, everything you do (including just breathing, sleeping, digesting and a whole lot) involves burning calories.
So, if you take in calorie and burn calories, where do the extra calories that end up constituting a nuisance to the body come from?
Truth is, most times we consume way too many calories than we actually need for our daily physical activities.
Anyway, back to our question, which is more important, diet vs exercise?
Here is the thing, diet and exercising go hand in hand. However, while diet takes about 80%, exercising takes the remaining 20% because “only diet will not give you the body you desire, that sculpted look is always a product of exercising your body,” according to Yoga expert Manisha Kohli.
The truth is whatever state your body is currently in (internally and externally), is largely dependent on your food choices and partly on your choice of physical activities.
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According to lead author, Boyd Swinburn, PhD., director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University in Australia, speaking on weight gain “If the actual weight increase was the same as what we predicted, that meant that food intake was virtually entirely responsible. If it wasn’t, that meant changes in physical activity also played a role.”
According to Dr. Rupali Datta, Consultant Nutritionist, Fortis Escorts, New Delhi. “Firstly and most importantly, most of us are not even getting all the nutrients that the body requires for optimum functioning. How do you expect your body to work or workout for that matter without getting all the essential nutrients? So, clean your diet first, get rid of all the bad stuff and understand the importance of various food groups. Once you have got your basics in place, try to maintain it and not falter. Lap it up with consistent exercising and you will see the difference.”
Back to the question once again, diet vs exercise?
Answer; Do both, but place more emphasis on diet. Eat right, exercise right and live well.