What's More Important - A Well Balanced Diet Or Regular Exercise?

There are two parts to any weight loss programme - a well balanced diet where you're

eating a combination of carbohydrates, protein and vegetables and at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, whether this means heading to a London gym every day or cycling for several miles once or twice a week.

Some people find eating healthily easy and have no problems distinguishing between what's healthy and what's not, whilst others find it a lot more difficult.

Similarly, some people looking to lose weight are motivated enough to be able to attend a London gym and work out every day, whilst others struggle to even walk 30 minutes around their local park.

So if you fall into one of these categories, is there any benefit to just eating a well-balanced diet or exercising regularly?

On a very broad basis, the simplest answer would be no. If you were exercising five times a week but still eating a bad diet, for example, you'd find your level of health would not be increasing greatly.

The same can be said for the opposite, as if you were eating the best diet possible but weren't doing any exercise, you'd lose weight, but you'd also risk losing muscle and you're more likely to become thin and frail rather than slim and toned.

Looking into it in more detail, however, and eating a well balanced diet or exercising regularly may not be as bad as first thought.

Imagine you were seriously overweight. You'd benefit a lot more from going to a gym 5 times a week and carrying out a lot of cardiovascular exercises than you would by just eating a plate of potatoes, vegetables and grilled chicken.

Saying that, however, if you were overweight and were sticking to your diet of, for instance, burgers and chips, you'd find it a struggle to be motivated enough - and not feel overly lethargic - to carry out exercise for any substantial length of time.

Although there are people who will believe that eating healthily is much more important than exercising on a regular basis and vice versa, it would be wise to go on the belief that generally speaking, one isn't useful without the other.

Of course, if you're finding you're particularly lethargic and for instance have poor hair and skin, you'll often find that you'll benefit from a better, more balanced diet than you would working out. Similarly, if you were eating a healthy diet but found it difficult to lose weight around a certain area of your body, regular attendance at a gym to focus on that part of your body would no doubt be the most suitable option.

However, whichever side of the fence you sit on - or if you're sitting right on the middle of the fence itself - it's important to remember that for most people, a well balanced diet and regular exercise should go hand in hand. They're both useful components to healthy living individually, but together they make up the ideal way to lose weight and stay healthy.

by: Paul Delaney

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