Exercise Vs. Diets
My friend asked me the other day which was the most effective at helping us lose weight: exercise or dieting? He asked after we drove by one of those gyms where you can see dozens of people running on treadmills in the window, and we were so struck by the sight that he wanted to know if all that running was going to help those people really lose weight. I told him it was a great question, and to answer it fully we got into a lengthy discussion. In today's article I'm going to answer as best I can, explaining the difference between the two and what you should do to ensure the best possible results if you are seeking to slim down.
First, let's differentiate between fat loss and weight loss. Say you go for a run in the midday sun and sweat like crazy. Upon getting home you see that you have lose five pounds. What are the odds that is water weight you have lost, and not fat? Conversely, say you go on a month long vacation, and eat nothing but donuts and full fat milk. When you come home you see you have gained 10 pounds. What are the odds that you have put on fat and not muscle? As you can see, it is important to differentiate between what you are losing, since losing ‘weight' can mean losing water, fat, or lean body mass.
Second, exercise will only help you lose a little weight. One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so if you want to lose a pound of fat, you need to burn those calories. That means that if you jog three times a week for half an hour, burning about 10 calories a minute, you'll lose a pound of fat a month. Clearly that's not a great rate to lose weight.
However, if you just diet by restricting caloric intake you will lose weight quickly. But what are you losing? Mostly a mixture of lean body mass and fat, which means you are getting weaker as you get thinner, something nobody wants. That is where exercise helps you out. Though it won't help you lose much weight, it will ensure that you lose more fat than muscle, which will help you look great at the end of the diet, not just a skinny mass of pudgy bones. That is why you should exercise and diet, not just do one alone.
First, let's differentiate between fat loss and weight loss. Say you go for a run in the midday sun and sweat like crazy. Upon getting home you see that you have lose five pounds. What are the odds that is water weight you have lost, and not fat? Conversely, say you go on a month long vacation, and eat nothing but donuts and full fat milk. When you come home you see you have gained 10 pounds. What are the odds that you have put on fat and not muscle? As you can see, it is important to differentiate between what you are losing, since losing ‘weight' can mean losing water, fat, or lean body mass.
Second, exercise will only help you lose a little weight. One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, so if you want to lose a pound of fat, you need to burn those calories. That means that if you jog three times a week for half an hour, burning about 10 calories a minute, you'll lose a pound of fat a month. Clearly that's not a great rate to lose weight.
However, if you just diet by restricting caloric intake you will lose weight quickly. But what are you losing? Mostly a mixture of lean body mass and fat, which means you are getting weaker as you get thinner, something nobody wants. That is where exercise helps you out. Though it won't help you lose much weight, it will ensure that you lose more fat than muscle, which will help you look great at the end of the diet, not just a skinny mass of pudgy bones. That is why you should exercise and diet, not just do one alone.
