What’s Most Important for Weight Loss – Exercise or Food Intake ?!
As we get older, many of us experience an inevitable weight gain, as a few pounds or kilos seem to be added on to our bodies each year. Just think – you add on only two pounds or maybe even two kilos a year, and in 20 years you are 40 pounds or 20+ kilos heavier. Just looking at people in various public places, and you can easily see the increased number of heavy and even obese bodies. There are many reasons for this development, with two primary factors being lack of activity/exercise, and also improper nutrition habits.
In my own experience especially in my earlier years (from mid 20’s-early 50’s), I figured I could basically eat whatever I wanted, as my levels of daily exercise were quite high – I would just burn off the calories from any type of foods I was eating – including bagels, bread, pasta, pizza, ice cream, potato chips, pretzels, crackers, sodas, etc …. I believe that many people today still feel this way. Yet, you can easily surmise that the “quality” or nutrient density of these so-called foods mentioned is not ideal, for sure!
In recent years, as I have started to advise friends and colleagues who have asked about the best ways to lose any amount of weight, I have stressed nutrition as being the main factor, with exercise not being as important. I still believe one of the main concepts of my Primal lifestyle – “that 80% of your body composition is determined by your diet, not how you exercise” – but I also realize that exercise can also play a very important role in weight loss. My own health & fitness guru – Mark Sisson, explains this very well here – Why Exercise Does Actually Matter for Weight Loss.
As mentioned in the article, the focus should likely be “fat loss” and not just weight loss. I have heard received a number of requests/comments from friends-colleagues and current clients in recent years; regarding their desire to lose fat in various areas of their bodies – their midsection, backside, legs, arms, etc …. A common occurrence as people seeking to lose weight/fat increase their daily exercise level – their clothes start to fit better, even though they may not have seen the number on the scale go down. They are able to wear clothes that were previously tight and are now more comfortable – this is a great start in their quest to reduce weight and/or fat! Eventually, that number on the scale should also start moving down, especially when combined with a healthier diet of primal, real nutrient-dense foods and beverages.
Thanks for listening this week, and there will be more to come on this topic next week.
“Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it.”
GROK ON !
Bob
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