Better Weight-Loss Tool: Dieting Vs Exercising

A major factor leading to obesity in developed countries is the ready availability of inexpensive and tasty food. In addition to it a sedentary lifestyle, including desk jobs and time spent watching TV, using a computer, and other “activities” that require little or no physical effort are some other reasons. People are showing more interest in eating foods in restaurants and fast food out lets than the home made foods. Excess body fat has been linked to such health problems as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis and certain forms of cancer.

There are different ways of loosing weight. One of them is by dieting and another is by exercising. But many people diet simply to reduce their weight to look better and slim. They think that the best way to achieve it is “Eat less, weigh less”. There’s nothing wrong with looking good and but they should realize how healthy and strong they are. To be successful, the weight loss should be gradual. The best way to shed body fat and reduce the weight is by dieting or temporarily changing eating habits. Sticking to a sensible eating program can also involve some discipline and sacrifice.

A successful weight loss diet must include adequate amounts of all essential nutrients that the body needs to maintain health. The diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and a few processed foods is the best diet for people who want to loose weight in long term. Plan your diet carefully, avoiding fast foods and any other high-fat, high-sugar foods, foods such as fish, tofu, and the leanest cuts of meats with major protein source are advised instead of burgers and pizzas. An adult woman who is moderately active needs about 2,000 calories per day to meet all her nutrient requirements and maintain a healthy weight.

She must therefore choose her diet carefully which in the long-term should not have any health problems such as kidney problems, bone mineral loss, and other unknown long-term risk factors (Eisenstein, et al. , 2002). People soon become tired or give themselves a vacation from dieting and gain the lost weight back, plus some more. A person’s effective approach to stay slim depends on whether ones weight goal is short- or long-term. If one strictly wants to become slim, they should be strong and determined towards the diet they eat.

If your objective is to reduce body fat and keep your weight at a healthy, comfortable level, research has confirmed that regular exercise is the most important factor for long-term success . Exercising regularly will avoid depositing excess body fat. This is the most important component of your weight loss plan. Exercise will enhance what you’re doing with your diet, but exercise alone will never take the place of changing your diet. Exercise can change the way you look, feel, and perform, as well as have a tremendously positive impact on your health and almost every aspect of your life.

Setting up a simple, economical home gym will also help overcome some of the time limitations by cutting out travel to and from the gym. With a small initial investment and a few square feet of floor space, you can add convenience to the list of why an exercise program can be so effective. A proper diet coupled with regular exercise is the staple to a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes, we don’t commit to dieting until we are sure we can commit to exercise. Or we focus on exercising to the exclusion of our diet. You can exercise every single day for a whole year and I loose t only five pounds because you didn’t correct your diet.

Even to lose weight, one need energy. The best way is avoiding the high-calorie foods. That enables you to pack a tremendous amount of calories into a short amount of time. But it is better to avoid eating too many calories in the first place. An hour’s worth of exercise will not undo the damage of eating 5,000 calories a day. In fact, if you don’t exercise at all, yet you clean up your diet, you’ll lose weight. If you only exercise and don’t clean up your diet, will you lose weight? Maybe, but not much, if your uncorrected diet is anything like mine was.

Research has proven that the only long-term way to reduce body fat (and not body protein and water, which can be quick but ineffective) is to reduce the intake of high-fat and sugary foods and to exercise regularly. Ross et al. , (2000) reported that men in both the diet and the exercise–weight loss programs lost an average of about 16 pounds. Weight did not change in the control group or in the group assigned to exercise without weight loss. Body fat decreased in both weight loss groups, but men in the exercise–weight loss program lost more body fat than men in the diet–weight loss program.

Men assigned to exercise without weight loss lost some abdominal fat. Physical fitness improved in both exercise groups. The tests for early signs of diabetes improved in both weight loss groups. In any weight loss attempt the goal is to lose the excess fat that has been accumulated in the body, rather than to lose weight. Food prepared at home offers the easiest way to make healthy choices about fat, sugar, salt, and so forth, but in today’s world, convenience often wins out over a home cooked meal. A healthy diet along with exercise improves the quality of health and life expectancy.

Health is wealth, what else one need rather than a good health. Being healthy will make a profound difference on anyone’s life, and that should be motivation enough to start your diet and get going on that exercise program—and to keep it up indefinitely. For the best of both worlds, don’t choose between diet and exercise, take the comprehensive approach and allow the two to support one another.

Reference:

Eisenstein, J. ; Roberts, S. ; Dallal, G. ; and Saltzman, E. (2002).

“High-Protein Weight-Loss Diets: Are They Safe and Do They Work? A Review of the Experimental and Epidemiological Data.” Nutrition Review 60:189–197. Lejeune, M. P. G. M. , van Aggel-Leijssen, D. P. C. , van Baak, M. A. and Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S. (2003).

Effects of dietary restraint vs exercise during weight maintenance in obese men. Volume 57, Number 10, Pages 1338-1344 R. Ross, D. Dagnone, P. J. H. Jones, H. Smith, A. Paddags, R. Hudson, and I. Janssen. (2000).

“Reduction in Obesity and Related Comorbid Conditions after Diet-Induced Weight Loss or Exercise-Induced Weight Loss in Men. A Randomized, Controlled Trial. ” It is in the 18 July 2000 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 133, pages 92-103).