Which is more important? Diet or exercise?

This question gets asked a lot and a lot of answers get thrown out there. A lot of people say that diet is 80 percent of weight loss and exercise is 20 percent. I really don't agree with that at all. I think they're both very important and you should definitely focus on both, but for sustainability of your metabolism, I think exercise is more important.

You can diet all you want and will the weight come off? Well, yes, BUT if you stop dieting ever, you'll have no buffer and will gain weight right back. This explains the "yo-yo" effect you often see in people. They're dieting and dieting, they lose the weight, they go back to normal and bam, weight back on.

Why does this happen? They're missing a very crucial ingredient: muscle mass! If you have very little muscle mass, your body will have a lower metabolism and will not be very efficient dealing with calories. If you have muscle mass you will burn more calories 24/7 than people who don't and the more muscle you  have, the more calories you'll burn. I've quoted the statistic before: it takes 10 calories per day just to keep 1 pound of muscle alive. That may sound insignificant but it adds up really fast! If you have 10 more pounds of muscle than you do right now, you'd burn an extra 100 calories EVERY day. Just for having muscle.

Typically this is why people find it so difficult to keep weight off later in life. We've all been told that after you hit a certain age you can expect your metabolism to just stop. That's completely untrue. When we're young we tend to have more muscle mass and are generally more active. As we age and things stop being as easy as they once were so we hang up our activity hats and sit it out. Our muscles get smaller and less efficient and our metabolisms go right with them.

Good news is: you can fix this! Add a strength training program to your life 2-3 days a week with 48 hours in between the same muscle groups and you can reclaim the body you had 20 years ago, or better! You'll also be preventing or reversing bone loss, fighting cancer, sleeping better, feeling better, lowering your blood pressure, looking better, have more energy, and all the other benefits that go with strength training.

Ah yes, the other side of the coin. Suppose you exercise like a boss but don't diet. Well, you'll still lose weight because your body will be an efficient machine, but if your diet is poor, you could still have a beer gut, bloating, or you'll never see your muscles because they're covered in a layer of fat. I still think it's not as bad as the dieter who doesn't exercise scenario, but at the end of the day you need both diet and exercise to be as healthy as possible. Not to mention that if you're exercising all the time, your body will need more key nutrients, like protein, calcium, potassium, etc, to maintain your new physique. If you're not getting proper nutrition then your overworking and under nourishing your body which isn't good either.

Of course, whether you exercise or not, you still want to be sure you're getting the proper nutrients. This is why I recommend "My Fitness Pal" or something similar as a way to track your diet and see how you're doing from a food standpoint. You can download a free app for your phone or track online (free) at www.myfitnesspal.com.

That's enough for today! More tomorrow!

In wellness,
Cassandra Wyzik
B.S. - ACSM Certified Personal Trainer
Fit To You Brevard
Satellite Beach, Florida