Trying to lose weight is difficult, particularly if it has crept on overtime and without notice!
While we know a good combination of exercise and diet is essential – if you had to choose, should you be exercising more, or eating salads? The classic advice is to create a deficiency between the energy consumed (diet) and the energy expelled (exercise), energy is measured by calories.
There are many ways that this can be done; let’s use 200 calories as our benchmark unit of measure for our example. We can “burn” 200 calories running for 20 minutes, skipping rope for 15 minutes, doing modified jacks for 20 minutes or singing for an hour and a half!
Now, compare this to consuming a small chocolate bar of 200 Calories. You can walk for an hour to burn those calories, or you could simply not eat the chocolate bar. Which sounds easier?
Given I dislike exercise more than I love chocolate, the choice is easy for me! But it’s not always the best choice. Exercise does have many health benefits beyond weight loss, for example, it slows the aging process and improves mental health.
Studies do show that diet does indeed play a more significant role in weight loss management. But, it is in exercising that we get a long term quality of life and a sense of well-being.
Being on a diet is demoralising and depressing! Exercise may not be enjoyable at the time but the smiles and feel good last well beyond the discomfort of the moment.
So…if I had to choose my weight loss strategy, it would be exercise a little more, and eat a little less chocolate – but never diet!
Get started with daily exercise with our WELLth program, go to the link below for more information and to get your FREE beginner 9 minute cardio, core and strength workout.
Live well with Health and WELLth!
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