DIET OR EXERCISE: WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT?

Whenever we try to lose weight we always wonder what our priority should be: diet or exercise? A person trying to lose weight is looking for a reliable, fail proof way to reduce weight and hopefully maintain it. In the struggle of balancing family, work and weight reduction we want to set our priorities. So, let's try to find an answer to this million dollar question; is diet more important or exercise?

If the answer was that easy then this would not be a million dollar question! Let's first understand how we humans burn or use calories all through the day. Let's assume we burn 100 calories everyday. You will be surprised to know that most of our daily calorie expenditure, almost 70% of it, is used simply to keep our body functioning, just to keep us alive and to do all the basic body functions like respiration, circulation etc. So out of all the calories we eat in a day upto 70% are necessary to mearly sustain our bodily functions. Apart from these another 10 to 15% calories are required to eat, digest and absorb our meals. The remaining 15 to 20% calories are used for physical activity which includes daily activities such as brushing our teeth, bathing, basic moving about in the house and also exercise! Whatever the purpose of calorie burning, they come from our diet. The calories provided by the food we eat are either used immediately during the day or stored in the body as fat and used later on as needed. 

Now it becomes easier to understand how a good diet and exercise regime can contribute to weight loss. As 70% of our daily calorie expenditure is necessary for basic, essential chemical reactions, it's very important that daily diet is well balanced and nutritious. It's important to realise that the good diet is a basic requirement of our body like water and air. Good exercise can not make up for a bad diet. A nutritious, well balanced diet should be our personal and family lifestyle forming the foundation of our health. In case of weight loss however, we need to burn more calories than what we consume. So the food we eat needs to maximise nutrition and satisfaction but minimize unnecessary and unhealthy calories. This well balanced, nutritious diet looks different for each invidual depending on daily schedule, habits, availability of resources etc. 

The imperative 70% to 80% of our daily calorie burn is not entirely in our hands. It is decided by our gender, body size, age, genetics etc. But the extra activity is in our hands. Even small amounts of regular exercise leads to lot of calories burnt over a week or a month. Just like a customised diet, this regular exercise will be different for every individual. 

In short both diet and exercise are very important for weight loss!

The difference is in frequency. We have to make informed decisions about our diet everyday: multiple times. However exercise performed even 3 to 4 times per week can also contribute to weight loss. A combination of diet and exercise wil give us a 'healthy' weight loss. A good diet will lead to fat loss, support muscle building while providing good calories for all essential body functions. On the other hand good exercise will increase muscle mass, reduce fat and provide a good shape, strength and stamina to the body. 

For both of these aspects of weight loss CONSISTENCY is a key!!

Happy Exercising and remember the mantra:

'WHEN IT COMES TO EXERCISE BEING REGULAR IS MOST IMPORTANT'