Losing Weight Vs Exercise

Losing or gaining weight can be a challenge for any person, especially when multitudes of fad diets and products geared toward bulking up or slimming down bombard you in magazines, television ads and even the aisles of your grocery store. Losing or gaining weight really comes down to a simple equation of how many calories you take in and how many you burn. If your goal is simply to be healthy, maintaining a good calorie intake while engaging in moderate exercise most days of the week will fight diseases and keep you strong.

 

It takes 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. If you are trying to lose weight, restrict your calorie intake each day to burn more calories than you take in. If you restrict your current diet by 500 calories each day, you will lose 1 lb. each week. You may find restricting your calories is easy if you cut portion sizes, swap high-calorie foods for low-calorie ones or simply forgo your daily treat or dessert. Talk with a physician, nutritionist or health coach to determine how many calories you need each day to stay healthy before any calorie-restricting diet.

A new study confirms the overall research findings that dietary change, specifically eating less fat, produces more weight loss than changes in exercise. But it also shows that changes in one kind of behavior may help promote changes in the other, especially among women.

Many studies have compared weight loss resulting from changing diet versus increasing activity. Most often, weight loss during programs focused on dietary change produced two to three times greater weight loss than programs focuses on exercise.

The truth is, exercise is a complicated business and there are a number of things that can affect how many calories you burn. Knowing what those are will help you set realistic goals and get the most out of your workouts.