Thursday, August 1, 2013

Should You Exercise Or Diet To Lose Weight?

By Howe Russ


While there are many common myths and questions surrounding weight loss and fitness, it seems whenever you go to a gym you will hear people asking is diet more important than exercise or is it the other way around. Today we will help you to get the the bottom of this conundrum and improve your own fitness results in the process.

Depending upon who you ask and their own fitness background, it's highly likely that you will get a different answer every time you pose this question to somebody. Ultimately, many of us base our decision purely off our own experiences and opinions. For instance, everybody has a friend who is always trying to latest celebrity diet plan. That friend will probably put huge faith in their eating plan being the most important factor because it's what they know.

Of course, if you pay a visit to the other end of the spectrum and speak to somebody who loves going to the gym you would hear the direct opposite answer. You'll be told that you can get away with eating your favorite snacks and junk foods providing you are able to put in the work in the weights room to burn them off. The big question is which approach is the right one?

Believe it or not, neither approach is the right one.

One of the biggest, yet most common, mistakes is for people to attempt to prioritize one aspect over another. You'll hear things like percentages being used, with people often telling others than exercise is 60 percent of the deal whereas nutrition is the other 40 percent.

Following just one principle tends to make people fall into one of two potential categories. While everybody is different in build and stature, there are certain stereotypical features to watch out for here. The next time you are having a discussion about how to lose weight and this matter pops up, take a look at the individual in question and they will probably fit into one of two fields:

* Those who always keep up to date with the latest eating plans. They're always looking for the next miracle food and tend to follow celebrity magazines which promote this type of mentality. However, you will notice that while these individuals know how to cut calories and drop unwanted pounds they don't actually look any healthier than when they started because they haven't been stimulating their muscles at all.

* Those who love training in the gym but hate watching their nutrition. Sure, they may down a protein shake after a tough workout, but that is as far as it goes. When outside the confines of the local gym they will happily consume junk food, takeaway meals and alcohol on a regular basis. While their workout sessions will lead this person to developing some shape and tone to the biggest muscles in their body, they tend to struggle when it comes to toning their abdominal area and achieve a stocky, square look.

The fact of the matter is that common sense must prevail if you are to get anywhere. If you are interested in dropping unwanted pounds and actually maintaining the results you should be avoiding falling into one of the two popular stereotypes shown above.

If is comparable to a keen gamer trying to decide whether a game is more important than a console. You need both in order to get the most from either one. Rather than seeing them as competing aspects, see them as a great team because that is exactly what they are. With a few simple changes to your eating habits and a regular exercise routine you will experience far superior results.

To sum up, listen to bodybuilder Jay Cutler's response when he was recently asked the question is diet more important than exercise or vice versa. Jay advised that placing importance on one over the other is a useless mentality which leads to long term failure and you should be focusing 100 percent on your workout routine as well as 100 percent on your eating habits. Most people aren't trying to become champion bodybuilders, of course, but if you apply a similar mentality to your fitness regime you will notice that discovering how to lose weight isn't rocket science after all.




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