Exercise or eating in moderation: Which results in more weight loss?

Whether you want to drop a dramatic amount of weight – like 20, 30 or 50 pounds, or are having difficulty with those last pain in the you know what 5 pounds, how do you do it? Will you go to the gym and alternate between yoga sessions, Zumba classes and weight training or will you watch your caloric intake? Or will you do a combination of all the above?

Do you think that losing weight requires an increased heart rate, a whole lot of sweat and stinky workout clothes or cutting out sugar, flour, excess carbs and processed foods? 

Phrased another way, why do you even have 30 pounds (or just 5) to lose in the first place? Do you think it’s because you sit on your backside at the office all day? Or do you think it’s because you eat convenience food instead of spending time in the kitchen preparing healthy meals?

Well, my friends, many of us have assumed the reason we have those pesky 5 pounds to lose is because we don’t exercise enough. Many people believed that they could eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, as long as they worked out harder and longer. But I read an article recently that suggests that diet is more to blame, not your workout routine (or lack thereof).

Evidently some researchers went to Tanzania and spent time there studying hunter-gatherers to gain some perspective on why Westerners have enormous weight issues. One might assume that people as active as they are would answer why they are in such great shape.

What these researchers found is that while this is in part true, their diet is more likely the reason they aren’t fat. Diets consisting mostly of grains and the occasional animal, the fact that they don’t eat McDonald’s and have never microwaved a high fat, high sodium frozen dinner is more significant than how much exercise they get.

What do you think about all this? Does it explain many unanswered questions about why Westerners are overweight?

I should close this blog by saying that this is NOT to imply that we should stop sweating our butts off. Whether there is any grain of truth to this or not, the health benefits gained from exercise and eating right can’t be overlooked. Inactivity, whether it causes weight gain or not, will surely promise to pay you back with a multitude of health issues.

Until next time,

Peace, love and vitamin C!