Diet or workout??

hisgirl86

For some of us, doing a complete over haul of our daily life by changing diet plus exersise regimen is a daunting task, so if a person were to take on one before the other, just to get used to one before adding the other, which would you suggest? I can see the pros and cons of either, but would just like some of you guys input.

sharleneloveless

start strength training!!!

christibam

I'd say start the diet first so that you can make yourself get into the habit of making the right decisions. Add the workout in after a couple weeks.

LatinaGordita

Start with diet first, then workout when ready

KareninCanada

Diet. There are many who say that 80% of the equation is diet, and fitness takes care of the rest. I love and recommend Tosca Reno's "Clean Eating" series... there are a few things in them that turned me off just a bit, but for the most part they are great.

ceejay000

If your goal is to lose weight, I'd say diet first. Weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise, so you'll see faster results changing your diet first. Once you get used to eating healthily, you can start trying to work that exercise in.

QueenHelga

Start your diet first, then in a few weeks add the exercise in.

BrenB150

They say weight loss is 70% eating and 30% exercise.. You can always start off the exercise with walking at home program, but focus on eating healthy..

jarrettd

You can eat your way through any sort of exercise regimen, and you will hear on here (repeatedly) that 90% of your success will be found in the kitchen.

Make sustainable, healthy changes to your eating habits (cause "diets" never last), and start doing physical activities that you enjoy. This doesn't have to be torture.

You've taken the first step by deciding to take the first step. Have a happy, healthy journey, and good luck!

daisydieter

I started in January with a 3 day commitment to go to gym, even I just walked on the treadmill and talked to my friend, I was there same time every time. Then last week added the diet part. Now goal for February is to continue the diet and increase those 3 sessions to one hour cardio ones then the other 3 be training run sessions. Sunday is off day. March I will weight training and hiking again. Diet is a very nutrient dense one that is sustainable mostly at home. Travel and all bets are off.

Sp1nGoddess

Diet beats exercise every time. Focus on eating healthy and establishing that habit. No processed or junk food. Then add exercise. It makes you feel great and will help maintain your weightloss.

Experts say your body composition is:

80% Diet
10% Exercise
10% Genetics

I personally.. need to tighten my diet!

junyr

I've always heard that the overwhelming majority of personal fitness is diet with exercise making up the balance.

Sixalicious

I would change eating habits first.

krbn2

Diet--when I work out and don't pay attention to what I'm eating, I'll accidentally eat more!

jenbison

I think diet because you will see weight loss results where as with exercise and building muscle, you might see gain or slower weight loss. Also, it is good to get a handle on your diet before you start an exercise regimen so that you are not feeling hungry before, after, during exercise cuz that's no fun.

moseler

Well... I started with the diet first. I was honest on MFP and initially entered no exercise. I lost 30 pounds in 5 months by just logging in my food and learning what to eat and what to stay away from... after losing 30 pounds, I felt SOOOO much better that I began just walking my dog around the block, then further and further all summer long, every morning. I actually got up to walking just over 3 miles in less than 45 minutes... my poor black lab was typically exhausted and ready for a swim the minute we got home (we live in AZ so it's pretty hot by 8:30am in the summer!)

By the end of summer... I was ready to join a gym... I hadn't been to a gym in nearly 20 years and now I love it. I never in my life thought I would actually love exercising... I still hate to sweat... but I just get on equipment that is closet to the fan and point it right on me... that's what has been working for me... I have lost 67 pounds this year and I feel GREAT! I can't wait to meet my 100 pound goal and I am hoping to get it done by the summer. I would love nothing more than to buy a swimsuit from the average size rack! :happy:

brandyosu

Looka like the overwhelming consensus is diet! :happy:

I'll say for me personally, I started with the diet first because it was the thing that didn't require effort for me to change since I didn't feel like I had the motivation to start both at once. After losing a couple of pounds, I was feeling a lot more motivated and felt more confident adding in the exercise, too.

calgarychick2012

the first week i concentrated on diet then started walking week two 1 mile a day then 2 now doing 3 push aquafit and zumba once each per week it hasnt taken long to start having more stamina and energy thing is to keep building on the lifestyle change

hisgirl86

Awesome response time guys! I'm gonna take your advice and eat healthy, because I most definatly agree that its not a "diet", its a lifestyle change. I've been reading this blog lately (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/) and its is Awesome--and very eye opening! As someone who grew up in the south, and quite poor, we ate fat, sodium, chemical filled junk. I grew up on Cokes and sweet tea with half a bag of sugar in it, along with lays, doritos, little debbies, not to mention my mom and mammaws butter, lard, bacon and cheese filled home cooking. We didnt have a garden, so our veggies were froma can and our fruit were covered in sugar. Soooo.....its no wonder I am here today. Doing all this research has really opened my eyes about how truely bad processed food is. Its great reading to get some one jump started on eating the right way!

moseler

Diet. There are many who say that 80% of the equation is diet, and fitness takes care of the rest. I love and recommend Tosca Reno's "Clean Eating" series... there are a few things in them that turned me off just a bit, but for the most part they are great.

I LOVE her magazine... My husband and I made her "Food Truck" Lobster Rolls and they were DELICIOUS!!!

taso42

Honestly I would say either one. Doing something is almost always better than doing nothing. Personally I started with diet first, because I needed some time to get some equipment together for a home gym. And a few weeks later, added the exercise routine. But I see no harm in doing it the other way around depending on circumstances and preference.

kp1439

Diet is the hard part ... once u can do it you can start work out ... while u waiting on diet to be on place u can just walk ... may be a little running ..

Sweet_Potato

If your goal is to lose weight, I'd say diet first. Weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise, so you'll see faster results changing your diet first. Once you get used to eating healthily, you can start trying to work that exercise in.

I'm not sure that's true. When I first joined MFP I stuck with a calorie deficit and my regular level of activity. I didn't lose any weight until I started exercising three months later., and then I was losing up to a pound a week!

cnsmith2

Diet first! The website is designed such that it makes it "easier" for you to adjust your diet by allowing you to keep track of everything. By making small modifications at the start with your diet, you can lose weight which will in turn make exercising easier on you. Honestly the majority of my weight loss has been through diet. I have increased my exercise somewhat but not a substantial amount and I'm still working on keeping the consistency of my exercise. (It's coming, I promise!!)

deniserenee_02

I'm not dieting at all, but I have been following MFP and exercising and I've lost 4 lbs in 8 days

I choose exercise

angieleighbyrd

I changed my diet first. I never would have been able to exercise with all the crap I was eating.

auntiebabs

You are right to overwhelming and stressful to do it all at once.

I started with diet and even did that in small incremental changes.

--I tracked with out worring about losing at first.
--Then I saw where I could make small changes that would hurt the least.
--Then every couple of weeks I see where I can make another couple of small changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort.
sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves.

--Then I started slowly adding activities my Ex made fun of me for counting every step in staircases.
BUT I was moving and kept adding more bit by bit, when I started going to the gym, I got myself there by saying "I'll go for 10 minutes"... once I got there I'd usually get into it and do more... but if I didn't get into it I wouldn't force myself , because I didn't want to associate the gym with suffering.

I'm doing well if I make it 2x a week, I'm not where I want to be yet, but my workouts got longer and longer to the point where my boss yelled at me for taking too long of a lunch.

taso42

Diet is the hard part ... once u can do it you can start work out ... while u waiting on diet to be on place u can just walk ... may be a little running ..

Interesting. Makes me realize how different the experience is for each of us. For me, diet is the easy part. I know what to eat, so when I get hungry, I eat what I need to eat. Simple. But loading up a barbell with more weight than I've ever lifted before in my life, and picking it up 5 times. That's fricken hard work man!

SammyKatt

For me, working out has always been first. I would rather build strength and stamina and stay the same weight than to lose weight and not be able to do a damn thing.

Get in the habit of moving and doing something everyday and then work out your diet.

Soapstone

For some of us, doing a complete over haul of our daily life by changing diet plus exersise regimen is a daunting task, so if a person were to take on one before the other, just to get used to one before adding the other, which would you suggest? I can see the pros and cons of either, but would just like some of you guys input.

The elements of a successful program include cardio and resistant exercises as well as addressing food intake .
I am not trying to be unkind, but for those unmotivated to take the proper action, failure is assured.

Don't even bother.

You know, you have really thoughtful things to say sometimes, but this isn't one of those times. It's taken me YEARS to learn proper eating habits, after growing up with a very unhealthy diet. Exercise is the new part for me, and truth be told, I still struggle to eat "clean" meals, every meal, every day. But it's important to be gentle on one's self, and to keep trying. Telling people not to bother is flat out rude and discouraging.
To the OP- FORGET THE HATERS, KEEP AT IT!

Rhea30

I started with exercise first, I just started to feel so much better and loved what I was achieving so then I started to change my eating habits as well since I wanted to be healthy and love just how it feels getting healthier and healthier. You could always just pick a small goal at first with either diet or exercise and build from there.