It is not nearly as important as cutting calories!
So what if you frequently sneak a bit of dessert after dinner or often indulge in your favorite Ice cream? You can always work it off, right?
The answer is NO!
Although a mixture of diet and exercise leads to increased weight loss, most research finds that individuals lose more weight when they are told to eat fewer calories rather than exercise more. “People totally overestimate how many calories they’ll burn when they exercise,” says Susan Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston. “Exercise for weight loss is often unhelpful,” says Roberts. “Several years ago, a study looked at the individual response to an exercise program. It was discouraging because they found a huge variability.” Some people lost a lot of weight, but some gained weight.
Exercise is not completely useless!
Exercise will help individuals build muscle. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Therefore, if you have five more pounds of muscle and five fewer pounds of fat, it will make a bit of difference, but not a huge one. Also, you need to keep exercising for your health. Being active prevents disabilities and problems in old age. So while exercise plays a vital role in the strength of one’s body; it is not the solution for losing weight.
The bottom line is this: exercise when you can, but the most crucial path to increased weight loss can be found by cutting calories and eating healthier foods.
For more information about balancing your diet and introducing exercise to your daily routine, contact our Genensis Healthcare Partners Nutrition Specialist, Mariam Bandarian.
Make an appointment today!