Losing Weight: The Role Of Exercise vs Diet

Exercise — or, more generally, physical activity — is essential for good health. People who move around regularly and in a variety of ways are more likely to have healthy lungs, hearts, muscles, and bones. Being active reduces your risk of cancer, hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, stress, and dysfunctional sleep.  

Just what role does physical activity play in weight loss? Let's take a closer look!

Can you really lose weight by exercising alone?

Yes. But not much, research has shown. 

One study that mainly focused on obese people found that:

• Increasing the number of steps a person takes every day with the help of a pedometer — from less than 5,000 steps to more than 8,000 — helps them adopt a more physically active lifestyle, and can be quite motivating. Just walking around a  bit more was shown to only enable very modest weight loss, however, to the tune of up to one kilo (just over two pounds). This kind of thing isn't going to cut it for folks who want to lose serious amounts of weight.
• Current guidelines recommend that adults engage in physical activity at least 150 to 300 minutes a week to reap significant health benefits. People who took part in aerobic exercise programs to get them halfway to this point lost about two kilos on average (just under five pounds). It is possible to lose more weight by engaging in more aerobic exercise, but not much more. 
• Folks who do resistance training only aren't likely to lose any weight at all, meanwhile. 
• Combining aerobic exercise with resistance training offers health benefits, but people taking this approach aren't going to lose more weight than those who only engage in aerobic work outs — somewhere between zero and two kilos, research showed. Those who want to lose more weight through this approach would have to be working out almost constantly. 

Combine well-thought out exercise routines with a restricted-calorie diet, on the other hand, and you'll soon be making great strides towards scale victories. The same study we looked at earlier confirmed that an approach in which you exercise regularly while also maintaining a calorie deficit is the most successful approach to weight loss. To maintain your new weight after you've already hit your goal, however, physical activity proved to be essential. 

Can you lose weight through diet alone?

The science of weight loss is quite simple, in that it only takes a consistent and fairly significant calorie deficit to lose weight. People who are disciplined enough to, for instance, survive on 900 calories worth of pizza and donuts without being overtaken by food cravings caused by a lack of protein, are still going to drop pounds. It just won't do their health much good. 

Sustainable and healthy weight loss should be the goal, and that means including fruits and vegetables (at least five portions), nice starchy carbs, healthy fats, and enough protein in your diet. Healthy weight loss almost always requires reexamining our diet rather than simply eating less of what we were already getting. Once you start keeping track, chances are that you'll discover you're chronically low on certain vitamins and minerals. A weight loss plan can change all that. 

Diet and exercise: A combo made in heaven