Exercise or Dieting: The Best Way to Lose Weight

With so much weight-loss advice at our disposal, we often wonder whether it’s best to focus on diet or exercise when trying to make positive changes to our health. Some people swear by consuming certain calories or cutting out specific foods. In contrast, others prefer to eat their normal diet but increase the amount of physical exercise they do. Regardless of people’s different approaches, the main thing to remember is that to achieve weight loss; you must be in a calorie deficit, meaning your body needs to burn more than it consumes. But what is the best way to lose weight, and will dieting or exercising produce quicker results?

What are the benefits of dieting?

As a rule, reducing your calorie intake by changing your diet is easier than burning off a considerable amount through exercise. For example, skipping a Venti Classic Hot Chocolate from Starbucks could save you 358 calories, whereas burning off that amount would require a 35-minute run. Likewise, a quarter of a large pizza has approximately 449 calories (depending on the topping) and would need a 43-minute run to burn it off. If you’re short on time, swapping a pizza for a healthier meal with fewer calories seems a sensible option, particularly if you have any injuries that make exercising difficult. If you prefer to lose weight by focusing on your diet, cut out unprocessed foods high in fat and opt for ingredients high in fibre and protein instead.

What are the benefits of exercising? Is it the best way to lose weight?

Exercise takes many forms so it can support weight loss in many ways. Strength training, for example, builds and defines muscle mass, increasing your metabolism and enabling your body to burn calories even when resting. On the other hand, cardio exercise such as running or cycling will help to achieve a calorie deficit and improve aerobic fitness. Still, it will have a different effect on the shape of your body.

Whichever type of exercise you prefer, burning fat and increasing your metabolic rate will allow your diet to be less regimented, so your calorie counting is less intense. But it’s important to be aware that as much as exercising has numerous health benefits in both a mental and physical capacity, the excessive activity could increase your risk of injury, so building up your regime is a sensible approach.

What are the benefits of combining diet and exercise?

As much as exercising more and eating a healthy diet are positive steps towards weight loss, you’re more likely to accomplish long-term results when combined. By adopting both approaches simultaneously, you will have the best chance of achieving weight loss and maintaining it. You will also have a degree of flexibility when it comes to the limitations that you set yourself. If you follow a healthy diet most of the time and keep active regularly, your calorie intake can withstand an element of flexibility.

Likewise, if you mainly avoid junk food and opt for fresh, unprocessed ingredients, you won’t need to worry about missing the odd workout if exercise is usually part of your routine. Whatever method you prefer, the main advantages of combining a healthy diet with regular exercise are that the weight loss results will be more significant and help to keep your body in good shape on the inside and the outside.

What is the best way to lose weight?

If you’d like to find out how food intolerance testing can improve your health and energy levels, you can find lots of useful information on our website or email any questions to [email protected]. As much as we’re happy to help, our advice shouldn’t substitute medical guidance so you should always speak to a doctor if you have concerns about your health.