Whats more important: Diet or Exercise?

Diet, probably. Certainly if you have a lot of weight to lose.

BUT I think the importance of exercise increases as you lose more weight, because diet alone won't shift the last stone or so, at least that's what I've found anyway. I had 2 stone (28lb) to lose, the first 11lb came off when I changed my diet without doing much else, but I found I needed to increase my exercise and do the right exercise to start losing the second stone.

Exercise has also changed the look of my body, increased my self esteem and improved my health (cardiovascular fitness, endurance etc). So, I think exercise is particuarly important for keeping the weight off. Improved fitness means you want to do more, to challenge yourself, maybe try new types of sport or activity, because you are physically more able to. Increased self esteem from improving at your fitness goals, or the social aspects and accountability of being part of a team/fitness group or club means that you are less likely to comfort eat and fall back into bad habits. Improved body composition has health benefits such as being at less risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and even certain cancers, because you reduce the visceral fat around the organs. Exercise combined with healthy diet is more successful at reducing this kind of fat than diet alone.

I also tend to think, not from a particularly scientific point of view but more from my own experiences, that when you take a holistic, long term view to losing weight, and you do it to improve your whole body and life not just a scale number, it tends to be more successful for longer than people who just "go on a diet". And this is just what I've observed really from the type of work I used to be involved in (health promotion campaigns) and from observing friends and family try and lose weight.

Both go hand in hand. One helps with maintaing a healthy life, one builds strength and endurance. Diet is #1 though.

You can't out exercise a bad diet....

not to say one can't have indulgences, but it needs to be balanced-not ruled by indulgences with occasionally eating healthy.

As far as dropping pounds, every little thing I eat makes a big difference. So I'd say diet. Exercise is definitely necessary, but if I am eating unhealthy foods or simply too much food, the cellulite and fat rolls and pounds aren't gonna budge. I exercise to burn calories so I can eat a little more (and of course to gain muscle and strength, etc.), but I do a lot of yoga simply for my MENTAL health. And when I'm healthier mentally, I can make better eating choices. So they go hand in hand, but diet is probably a little more important if you want to see pounds drop fast.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand for total health. Someone said 'you can't out train a bad diet'; this is true! Good luck!

im a firm believer that your diet is what helps you drop the pounds and clean your insides and exercise is great for your cardio vascular and respirtory health as well making you strong!! Ive exercised without any real nurtition at all (i was eating normally for who I was then) and I was seeing no results and barely any changes from working out.

without exercising and just nutrition, I saw a drop but for me it wasnt quick enough and i like i was going to end up flabby with looose skin.

coupled together, exercise and nutrition is a force to be reckoned with and it works for me

Diet or exercise - that's a loaded question! Agreed diet first 80% and exercise 20%, but equally impt.

Check out : http://www.livestrong.com/article/407857-what-is-more-important-diet-or-exercise/

You can get alot info from them.

I love that quote: coupled together, exercise and nutrition is a force to be reckoned with and it works for me

Healthy lifestyle is the key not a "diet." Diets produce short term losses always followed by long term gains. Lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise.

Healthy lifestyle is the key not a "diet." Diets produce short term losses always followed by long term gains. Lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise.

EXACTLY! :drinker:

For me personally it has to be both. Just watching diet is eh, just exercising is eh, put together and that's when all the happy happens!

This ^^^^^^

is what I call S-Y-N-E-R-G-Y !!! :happy:

Only speaking from my experience, but I would say both are key depending on what your trying to achieve. Your body type and what foods you include in your diet can make a difference in your results. I started out with excercise first and only noticed a physical change once I changed my diet and calorie intake. I feel if I had changed my diet earlier, I would be a tad bit leaner (but I will never know).

I would say both. Simply for this reason, if you just diet, you'll tend to have more jiggle/loose skin (the more weight you lose, the more this will happen) Where as if you diet & work out, you're tightening & toning everything up