What’s More Important Diet or Exercise?

This is a guest post from Jamie Knop of Electric Bloom. I thought the topic was pertinent given that we're entering the off season where we think a lot about our diet! Enjoy.

In order to be healthy and look good, we need a mixture of both a good diet and exercise. Some of us prefer to diet whereas others prefer to just exercise and eat what they want. A big question that many have is what’s more important?

What’s your goal?

In order to answer this question, it really depends on what your overall goal is. Whether it’s to lose weight or just tone up. It should be apparent based on your end goal as to which is more important to you.

In a perfect World

Ideally you should do a combination of both, as they are both equally as important. It’s also important to have a mixture of the two for your overall health.

Diet

Most people who are trying to lose weight go wrong on the diet part. Some can’t find the time to exercise whereas everyone has the time to diet, no matter how busy you are. If your diet is bad, then it doesn’t matter how much you put in at the gym as all that exercise is going to waste.

Diet also comes into play when it comes to exercise, as to make the most out of your exercising regime it is important to eat the right foods such as protein or complex carbs.

A downside to exercising is that if you do eat junk food, you’d have to do spend a lengthy amount of time at the gym working it off.

Most professionals say that it’s better to have your diet as the prime reason for your weight loss instead of relying on exercise. Once you’re on track with your diet you can then begin to add exercise into the agenda. 

Exercise can also result in making you hungrier, so you tend to eat what you work off.

Exercise

Exercise is needed for strength and visual benefits. Visually you want the weight loss to look good, which is possible with the use of exercise; it helps to tone up your body.

Reducing your calorie intake can put you at risk of nutrient deficiencies.

Exercise helps to make your metabolism faster, meaning your body breaks down your food quicker.

Exercising gets you into good habits, and gives you a healthy outlook when it comes to your lifestyle.

Keeping to a fitness program is easier than keeping to a diet, and usually means that your weight loss is long-term.

Being active helps to build stamina, strength and flexibility, which all help to minimise the chances of any future health problems and give you a better quality of life when older, as an active lifestyle will help to make you more mobile.

Through exercising instead of dieting, it often means you can eat healthier however still eat the foods you love and make them a part of your meal plans.

Who’s the winner?

It’s no surprise that neither wins, as ultimately a combination of a good diet and an exercise plan is the winner! You can get great benefits from both although you can have success with just one.

Treat yourself

If you’ve learnt the success of combining fitness and diet then why not treat yourself with a fitness holiday abroad. These holidays are great for fitness fanatics, as they make it easier and more exciting and fulfilling to exercise and diet hand in hand. The staff make all your meals for you and plan some thrilling, new sports for you to dabble into. These types of holidays are a great first step for those looking to live a healthier lifestyle and combine fun, diet and exercise.