Diet and Workouts. Do I need both?
- Web Developer
- Aug 25, 2020
- 3 min read
As a fitness trainer and nutrition coach, I come across a lot of resistance to both. People who don’t mind working out, but refuse to change their diets and habits. On the other hand, people who will starve themselves, deprive of a social life, let go of what they enjoy eating but refuse to start any kind of physical activity.
Last week, on a nutrition guidance call, I was told “I don’t mind drinking only juices, but I hate exercising and I don’t want to work out ever!” I have long term clients, who sweat out day after day in our workout sessions but can’t let go off the daily beers.
It’s not something you want to hear, but you do need both, a healthy diet and some kind of exercise to reach your fitness goals. No matter what they are!
To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Exercise can help you achieve this by burning off some extra calories.
Exercise is often advised for weight loss, but people should really aim for fat loss. If you simply reduce your calorie intake to lose weight, without exercising, you will probably lose muscle as well as fat. In fact, it’s been estimated that when people lose weight, about a quarter of the weight they lose is muscle.
When you cut back on calories, your body is forced to find other sources of fuel. Unfortunately, this means burning muscle protein along with your fat stores. Including an exercise plan alongside your diet can reduce the amount of muscle you lose. This is also important because muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Preventing muscle loss can help counter the drop in metabolic rate that occurs when you lose weight, which makes it harder to lose weight and keep it off .
Additionally, most of the benefits of exercise seem to come from improvements in body composition, overall fitness and metabolic health, not just weight loss. Even if you don’t lose “weight,” you may still be losing fat and building muscle instead.
So, add a fitness regime to your current diet plan. No matter what it is! Run, lift, dance, play, do yoga. Whatever you enjoy. If you want to know the benefits of exercise in details, you can read it here.
Now, if you are someone who hits the gym everyday but can’t seem to put an effort in managing their diet, let me show you something.
To put this simply. A pint of beer is around 140Kcal. A plate of fries is 190Kcal, a burger is 528Kcal. calories and a milkshake is 289Kcal. So, if you eat a burger, fries and have couple of pints for one single meal some day, you need to work out just 5-6 hours at a high intensity to make a dent in it. Forget about the calories you already needed to burn. You have just added a truck load more. Your goals slip back by another 2 weeks!
It’s not just about weight loss or burning calories. It’s about eating right and healthy for health and longevity. Just counting calories won’t get you anywhere. It’s not just quantity but also the quality. Are you consuming nutrient rich foods? Are you consuming the right, healthy and good fats your body needs? Are you eating fiber rich fruits and vegetables?
You have to make the right choices with your food and fitness regime to make a sustainable and long term change. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. You can’t be successful with just one of them. Start small. Small and healthy changes to your lifestyle. It could be deciding to spend 30 minutes 3 times a week on some kind of physical activity and/or eating only home cooked meals through the week.
Look at this as a way to love and support yourself and not as a punishment. Health is yours. All yours. What you do to your body affects you more than anyone else. No one would reap the benefits or the repercussions of your actions more than you. Respect yourself and take care of your body and mind.
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