NZ_Rachael

I know you definatly need both to lose weight, especially if you want to do it in a healthy way!

I personally favour exercising a bit more. I like being able to eat treat foods. I also like exercise, it helps me to relax. A good workout at the gym makes me feel like i've accomplished something. Makes me feel strong. And I can see the results quicker then when I change what I eat.

Im not very overweight (Im not sure if you would actually call me overweight at all- I just have gained a few kgs, and have a lil tummy fat, which I am trying to get rid of) So when I exercise I see myself geting really toned which is a bonus!

Buuuuuut I think If I really want to get rid of that tummy fat, A few changes to the diet may be needed.

What works for you? Exercise or Eating?

cjohnson728

I think you are exactly right. They are both pieces of the puzzle, and to get rid of the last little bit of fat, you have to exercise AND eat right. That is not to say that you can't have a treat, but not all of the time and not without compensating. Everything in moderation. Adjusting both eating and exercising is what worked for me. If you exercise without having a good diet, you become a "fit fat" person, and if you diet without exercising, you lose muscle mass and get weaker. However, I am fully aware that others' mileage may vary. My mantra: find what works for you and do it!

NZ_Rachael

It seems that a lot of people do seem to just go crazy for one, and neglect the other. I think people also tend to just think about cutting calories and not about the nutrional value of their food. Eating less and eating healthy are not the same thing!

I spend the last weekend with a close friend of mine who during one whole day ate a piece of toast, had a coffee and then had a small muffin for dinner! She may be skinny as hell. But that has got to be bad for you! No fruit, no veg, no protein. How do people function like that?

rpmcduff

I agree that exercise is important, but I also agree with the statement that 'ABS are made in the kitchen'. NZ_Rachael mentioned a friend that ate badly and was skinny, who wants to be skinny? I want to be fit and muscular and ripped, not skinny. I hope that even the women here want to look more like the fitness competitors (see Bodybuilding.com) than skinny.

I believe it is easier to lose weight just by dieting than by just exercising. However, to become healthy and fit, healthy eating and a excercise plan that includes weight training (even for women) is necessary.

yauncin

I read somewhere diet & nutrition make up 80% of the equation. If you focus on exercising over diet your body may not be getting all it needs to maintain let alone build lean muscle. Without the proper nutrition, strenuous exercise could make you more susceptible to injury and sickness. I obviously don't know what your workout regimen consists of so YMMV but if you ask me diet is the single most important thing when it comes to fitness.

almeeker

In order to lose weight I have to do both. I've tried dieting by itself, had minimal success with it, but the minute I went off plan I was back up the dial. Same goes for exercise, I've been fitfat most of my adult life, but could never gain any ground on developing lean muscle until I added a high protein diet to the equation. So honestly I don't think one is more important than the other.

adamcaa

I think its more of a convenience thing. Its an energy balance, so what ever helps you burn more calories than you take in will work. If you like to eat more calories, then exercise can help put you into a caloric deficit. If you don't care to eat all that much, then you don't necessarily need all the exercise. This is all from a fat loss prospective of course. From a health prospective then it's best to do cardio, weight lifting, and eat a nutritious diet.

SeiferWar

Diet is obviously the number one component to losing weight. You can lose weight by simply eating at a deficit - nothing hard about that.

I would never give up exercise. Exercise allows me to consume more calories and build lean body mass, thus increasing my metabolism and allowing me to eat more calories.

stamatiaa

I agree that what you eat is more important (relatively speaking) than your physical activities for that day, because it’s just too easy to gain weight consuming more calories than you can burn. Particularly, where so many of the prepared foods available are (IMO) excessively high in calories. It’s harder to eat too many calories (than you can burn) if you choose healthier foods.

Like everyone keeps saying… to lose weight, you need to maintain a calorie-deficit over a period of time. Even though people disagree about the correct ratio of fat / carbs / protein, this debate shouldn’t overshadow the calorie-deficit goal. (Of course, you also don’t want to starve yourself either.) I find it easy to keep the calories in a healthy range by eating, whole, nutritious foods.

You shouldn’t be a slug though, either. Everyone needs exercise, whether they’re trying to lose weight or not.

In the end, if you want optimal health and wellbeing, you need both nutritious foods and exercise.

_____________________
Reached my goal to lose that last 10-15 lbs.
New Goal: Keep it off!

yauncin

Hmmm... My response was probably too general. The way I see it, when it comes to fitness, diet & exercise go hand in hand. IMO you can't have one without the other. But of the two I think diet is more important. With that being said...

No two people are created equal so a diet and exercise program should always be tailored to the needs of the individual. But if you are looking to reduce your body fat to within ideal levels, 5-8% men or 10-15% women -- these percentages should reveal ab definition, then it will be very difficult on exercise alone. Furthermore, in order to get the best results possible as quickly as possible I would recommend changing your diet before you even set foot in a gym.

There are several things to keep in mind with caloric restriction. Your body is always trying to maintain a balanced state, homeostasis. You basically put your body into starvation mode when you restrict your calories. You will only see weight loss for the period of time it takes your body to adjust to the new caloric intake. The weight you loose will be a combination of fat AND lean muscle. Now what happens if you go back to eating normally? You now have less lean muscle so you are burning less calories then you did when you started. Also if you go back to eating normally too soon after the caloric restriction your body will think it needs to store fat for the next time you starve yourself. This is why when people go off diets they not only return to their old weight but they end up heavier then before. There are ways to mitigate these affects such as eating 6-7 meals per day to keep your body from going into starvation mode and throwing in some type of resistance training in order to minimize muscle loss.

About the homeostasis thing. This affects many aspects of fitness. If you only do a treadmill or elliptical a few times a week or if your weight training routine stays the same you will notice your results diminish. Which is why it is important to shake things up every couple of weeks. In my opinion, your best bets for weight loss is cross training and/or HIIT. I think I may have gone off topic a bit.