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Eating Healthy Vs. working out(burning calories).

saundts
saundts Posts: 51 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I want to hear from either side, what is better for weight loss, what are some of your advices, typical goal and accomplishments for both. Further, input on people doing both Eating healthy and working out.
Share some pics, share some charts please!!!
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Replies

  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    Almost everyone is going to say diet because what you eat is like 80% of losing weight. Instead I'm going to say that personally, because I have a low calorie allotment and tend to eat out 3-4x a week, I make more progress with a daily combo of scheduled eating habits (certain times = certain meals or snacks) and 30-60 minute workouts that alternate between strength and cardio. Cardio is C25K currently, and Strength is BodyPump (overall workout).

    What works for me might not work well for you. Understanding nutrition and making fitness goals will assist you in a successful weight loss.

    Stats for reference: 5'2, female, SW 207.8#, CW 194.2#, GW 130#

    Daily net calories: 1270 (until I hit 20# lost)
  • JetJaguar
    JetJaguar Posts: 801 Member
    What do you mean by "eating healthy", exactly? A calorie deficit is all that matters for weight loss. You can lose weight on a diet consisting solely of doughnuts and gummi worms if you wanted, and put on weight by filling up on healthy fruit smoothies.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Desertcolt07 wrote: »
    cant out exersize a bad diet

    Diets aren't good or bad (black or white) with no in between. And you can out-exercise some of the in between.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    saundts wrote: »
    I want to hear from either side, what is better for weight loss, what are some of your advices, typical goal and accomplishments for both. Further, input on people doing both Eating healthy and working out.
    Share some pics, share some charts please!!!

    My advice is don't look at it as one or the other, do both. And know it's not eating "healthy" that makes you lose weight, it's eating the right amount to lose weight.

    Accomplishment = burned almost 1,500 kCal on Sunday biking more than 40 miles.
  • cdahl383
    cdahl383 Posts: 727 Member
    A calorie deficit will get you to lose weight. You can accomplish that by either eating less alone, working out alone, or a combination of both. I've personally found it's easier to lose weight by eating healthier rather than just eating the same and working out more. I feel the best when I eat healthy AND exercise. I think a combination of both is best, but everyone is different.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    When I'm sedentary my maintenance is about 1800. That means to lose 1lb a week of have to eat 1300 calories. I'd much rather eat 15-1600 and do a moderate amount of exercise to raise my tdee to 2100. For me, that's as simple as taking 10k steps in a day. Another vote for both since it's more humane on your calorie allotment haha
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Desertcolt07 wrote: »
    cant out exersize a bad diet

    But it's also hard to "out diet" a sedentary lifestyle. ;)
    I disagree because I lost 40kg without doing any exercise whatsoever - purely clean eating. I may not have been fit and probably lost muscle too, but I did lose the weight. I wouldn't do it again though. This I'm not dieting and am doing cardio and strength training so it's a much slower but more enjoyable process.

  • CaliMomTeach
    CaliMomTeach Posts: 745 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Desertcolt07 wrote: »
    cant out exersize a bad diet

    But it's also hard to "out diet" a sedentary lifestyle. ;)

    I did. Not saying that it is the healthiest road to take, but I lost 55 pounds with calorie restriction alone (followed what it said on her for daily calories). Now, I am adding exercise for the last month, about 30 minutes elliptical 5-6 days per week, and I have actually gained weight. What happened? I ate more. :) Working out makes me hungrier.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,961 Member
    saundts wrote: »
    I want to hear from either side, what is better for weight loss, what are some of your advices, typical goal and accomplishments for both. Further, input on people doing both Eating healthy and working out.

    Do whatever it takes to accomplish CI<CO.

    On some occasions I have lost some weight by increasing my CO.
    On some occasions I have lost some weight by decreasing my CI.

    This most recent time I did both.

  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited May 2017
    Both.

    Sort of.

    To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn - or burn more calories than you consume.

    "Eating healthy" means different things to different people. If "eating healthy" is a thing that helps you lower your calorie intake, it will help you lose weight. Increasing my vegetable intake tended to help reduce my overall calorie intake. Snacking on an apple and cheese instead of crackers tends to reduce my overall calorie intake. But replacing diet soda with fruit juice or smoothies or some other caloric drink because you think diet soda is unhealthy won't help you lose weight. And portion size matters. Nuts and avocados are healthy, but they're very calorie dense and large portions of them will tend to make it hard to lose weight (unless you're very active).

    "Working out" also means different things to different people. I think that it's more important to be physically active as much as possible throughout the day rather than necessarily having to "work out" at the gym. Working out at the gym is great if you enjoy it, but there are many ways to increase your daily physical activity and therefore calorie burn. And increased physical activity allows you more flexibility on the eating side. If you want to eat out much, you're probably going to need physical activity to offset that - but you're also going to need to make smart choices and get as informed as possible about calorie content of restaurant food.

    Technically, it's possible to lose weight by only cutting calories and it's possible to lose weight by only increasing physical activity - but it's a whole lot easier to do it with a little bit of each.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,471 Member
    For weight loss alone, deficit and thus controlling calories in will win every time for those that can easily do it. For many of us, eating less for long periods isn't always easy, and exercise to burn calories often comes into the picture. Even if body composition isn't a concern, some people simply find it easier to exercise and watch what they eat rather than just watch what they eat enough to create a deficit.

    I think if I ever had serious injury limiting activity and exercise I would personally find it hard to just eat less for long periods, even though in theory it would be the "easiest" way to lose weight.

    In my case I enjoy working out to some degree, so the combination of both works best.
  • mortuseon_
    mortuseon_ Posts: 257 Member
    It's really dependent on your own situation. I feel ill often, so right now I'm having trouble sticking to a workout routine because I feel too sick or am in too much pain to work out (even though I enjoy exercise). Calorie control is a 'foolproof' method to lose weight. It just depends if you'd rather be hungry or active (!) I do think that it is difficult to completely compensate for a high-calorie diet with exercise, though.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    Desertcolt07 wrote: »
    cant out exersize a bad diet

    But it's also hard to "out diet" a sedentary lifestyle. ;)

    For weight loss it would just mean eating a little less. For health it's darn near impossible.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    For weight loss neither is all that important. You can be sedentary and eat a crappy diet and lose weight. But for health both are very important.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Why do so many people view this as an either/or premise and use weight as the sole marker of success? Health, wellness, fitness is a continuum that should include nutrient dense foods and exercise. And while there's no easy way to set a minimum level of each, one should strive to incorporate as much of both as feasible to create a healthy lifestyle.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    bdj11q0ffwez.jpg

    Weight is all about the calories. Exercise is for fitness and body composition.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    edited May 2017
    I've lost weight with barely any exercise. Currently I work a desk-job and my exercise is a daily half-hour walk with my dog. Still losing more than a pound a week and not feeling very hungry. I'm eating 1400 calories a day.

    I personally think it's much easier to just say "no" to the 300 calorie cupcake than having to run for half an hour to burn it off.

    Now that's from a pure weight loss perspective. For health purposes, exercise is very important.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    Of course weight is all about calories, but what about adherence to your plan? It's a lot easier to walk around a bit (which I find SUPPRESSES my hunger anyway) and eat 1600 calories a day than to stick to 1200 for the long term. Adherence is being overlooked to a fault imo
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    mrsnattybulking wrote: »
    Of course weight is all about calories, but what about adherence to your plan? It's a lot easier to walk around a bit (which I find SUPPRESSES my hunger anyway) and eat 1600 calories a day than to stick to 1200 for the long term. Adherence is being overlooked to a fault imo

    Not all of us have to eat such low calories but this is why it helps to choose the right foods to make your calories go farther and keep you satisfied. I am a big fan of exercise but it actually increases my appetite.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    If your goal is to lose weight, you're probably fine just eating a lot less. But if you want to look fit, be strong, feel a sense of accomplishment, get that "glow," have less jiggle in your wiggle, get thee to a gym.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    cerise_noir wrote: »
    Better for what? Weigh loss?

    I'm going to say none of the above. Option C: calorie deficit.

    Or all of the above. I had a calorie deficit, and created it through exercise AND eating less, and my diet was healthy (which to me means calorically appropriate for one's goals, not too high, not too low, plus nutritionally sufficient). I don't get why eating healthy and working out would be something to choose between. Personally I eat better when I'm working out, normally.

    Rant not directed at you, cerise noir, I just tagged on to your post, which I agree with, and kept writing, heh! ;-)
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    Chadxx wrote: »
    mrsnattybulking wrote: »
    Of course weight is all about calories, but what about adherence to your plan? It's a lot easier to walk around a bit (which I find SUPPRESSES my hunger anyway) and eat 1600 calories a day than to stick to 1200 for the long term. Adherence is being overlooked to a fault imo

    Not all of us have to eat such low calories but this is why it helps to choose the right foods to make your calories go farther and keep you satisfied. I am a big fan of exercise but it actually increases my appetite.

    I understand that. As a 5'6" female with not that much weight to lose, however, if I were sedentary I'd have a pathetic amount of calories to stick to to lose 1lb/week. I could get by with 1400ish if I changed to .5lb/week as sedentary but gosh that doesn't leave me much room for those inevitable higher days/special occasions and logging inaccuracy and i'd end up spinning my wheels with little to no progress. Admittedly it's better than nothing, but from an adherence perspective... meh.
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