Should you choose between diet and exercise if you want to lose weight?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

When it comes to losing weight, there are two extremes: strenuous exercise and a strict calorie restriction diet. The middle ground is a combination of regular exercise and nutritional control. But lately, the scales have been tipping towards diet, which seems to play a bigger role in the weight loss process. But does this mean that it is worth completely forgetting about training?

You've probably read articles that prove that exercise does not help you lose weight, and this opinion is supported, among other things, by scientific data. So the conclusion suggests itself:

And why am I only torturing myself? Sweating in the gym or on the treadmill is absolutely useless! This is probably not my way. I'd rather sit on the couch with Diet Coke and low fat ice cream.

No, science doesn't lie. But the results of a separate scientific experiment can always be interpreted in different ways.

Why you should keep exercising, even if you are not losing weight

You don't need to go into details to argue that in addition to weight loss, exercise is beneficial for the body for many reasons.

For example, leading an active lifestyle is necessary to stay in a good mood and sound mind. But not only. There is ample evidence that exercise has a positive effect on physical and mental health:

• improve the condition of bones and muscles;
• prolong life, moreover, an active one - it will be easier to cope with everyday tasks in old age;
• reduce the likelihood of developing diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes, cancer.

And while on almost every list of arguments for exercise the first item is “helps to fight excess weight”, this is not the only reason why you should not skip another workout.

Anyone who regularly practices fitness will name many positive aspects that inspire him to athletic feats.

How exercise helps you lose weight

There is still a lot of evidence that sports can help control weight. You should not pay attention to those who give up and claim that exercise does not help to lose weight, only to justify their own inaction.

Here are some facts supporting the importance of exercise for weight loss.

1. Exercise burns calories, albeit not as much as we would like

There is nothing magical here: activity, which requires energy from you, expends calories, which is obvious. And if you do not eat more calories than you expend, they do not materialize out of nowhere - this is a fundamental law of nature.

Yes, exercise awakens hunger. But this is not at all a reason to increase the portion. Are you simply allowing yourself more in reward for the effort? Then it is worth remembering your goal - to lose weight.

For those who always eat exceptionally healthy foods, enough to satisfy hunger and no more, exercise may not help them lose weight. But how many people do you know of such robots, who at the table are guided only by the needs of the body?

Usually the psyche is also connected, which says: "You deserve one more cookie." After all, the food is so delicious! Any excuse will do to prolong the pleasure. But exercise can reduce the amount of food you eat just for pleasure. Feeling naturally hungry promotes healthy food choices.

Don't like Brussels sprouts or oatmeal? It means that you are not hungry enough. After a good workout, their taste changes.

Increasing the amount of exercise should not be a reason to increase the amount of food. On the contrary, you should take the chance to improve its quality.

2. Exercise improves sleep

Lack of sleep leads to weight gain, and exercise improves sleep. Therefore, exercise still has a positive effect if you want to lose weight.

3. Metabolism depends on the ratio of fat and muscle mass

Sitting in front of a computer, in a car seat, and then in front of a TV screen all day leads to a decrease in muscle mass.

Meanwhile, muscles do consume more energy than adipose tissue. As a result, high-intensity workouts have a lasting calorie-burning effect. Again, if you don't compensate for your calorie burn by increasing your sedentary time.

4. Exercise develops discipline

When you exercise regularly, you get used to the idea that you have will and determination. Gradually, you learn to perceive yourself as a healthy, strong person.

Of course, awareness alone will not shrink the belly. But next time in a supermarket or cafe, you will think about the fact that your body deserves the best. And these are definitely not high-calorie, sugar-filled and flavor enhancers, cheating foods that, without all these unhealthy additives, would seem like straw to you. This is how the right eating habits are formed. And they pull along useful habits in other areas of life, increasing its quality in general.

The first steps may not be easy, but this is the only way to learn how to walk. Too many examples show that exercise can help you lose weight. Surely you can easily remember your acquaintances who lost weight after buying a subscription to a gym or pool. And on Lifehacker there are stories on this topic.

Diet is certainly very important: you should not continue to eat everything in any quantity, supposedly compensating for this with excessive physical exertion. But this does not mean at all that the exercises are useless and it is worth giving up when once again it will be too lazy to get up early in the morning for a run or go to the gym after a hard day's work.