Exercise or eating right...which one is more important?

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  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    Personally, as much as it pains me to say it... diet outweighs (no pun intended) exercise. I spend an hour a day on cardio (eliptical machine and treadmill) 6 days/week and use weights. Ive only lost 10 lbs in 6 months but its because I can't seem to quite get a handle on my nutrition (or lack thereof). Everyday is a battle,

    Sounds to me like you are over-training. I would suggest investing in a heart rate monitor (you can get them the cheapest on Amazon.com). You don't need an hour/day of cardio...in some people that causes the body to store fat and go into a mode where their body thinks something is wrong and they are running from something. An HRM will show you if you are over training. If you are over training you may store fat. I've seen people lose weight just by wearing a HRM.

    On days you do weights do 10 minutes of cardio as a warm up. On days you don't do weights a 1/2 hour of cardio is just fine and you can follow up that 1/2 hr by doing some power yoga or other full-body workout that tones your whole body.

    Trust me, at this point you're actually doing too much cardio. People that do the same thing every day end up hurting themselves.
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
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    Ok just a scenario for this... A few years back I was cycling over a 100 miles every saturday. Doing spin classes 3 days a week and working out 5 days a week. I never changed my diet and some days when I was riding burning up to 7000 calories in one day. I never lost any weight or fat. Because I never changed my diet of fast food and malnutrition. I exercise half that now and eat very clean and I am the same size I was right out of high school pretty much.

    I would have to vote on healthy eating...You can lose weight and have a better lifestyle just by proper nutrition.
  • suzyviper
    suzyviper Posts: 2 Member
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    Eating right, most definitely. Way too many people think that they can eat whatever they want if they spend an hour at the gym. This is simply not true!
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
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    I definitely believe that eating right / well is the best way to lose / maintain weight.

    That said, for me personally, I can't do it without exercise. I always eat lots of fruits, veggies, whole foods, etc... and have never been one to overeat. I've watched calories before to no avail. It's really the exercise that pushes me over the weight loss hurdles. YMMV.
  • sweetCJ
    sweetCJ Posts: 144
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    Your right, both are important, but I know that you can lose weight by only eating right. Change your eating habit for clean eating, add you will lose weight...just not as fast as if you were exercising.
  • littttlelaurra
    littttlelaurra Posts: 229 Member
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    I would say eating right is more important of the two iif I can only do one thats the one thats a must even though if we can doing both is key. I know that when I eat right my diabetes is pretty much perfectly controlled but if I blow it then not so much. I see instant results if I have eaten healthfully and watched my portions and for me the timing of eating as well, every 3 hours smaller meals 6 times a day. keeps blood sugar in check and hunger at bay.
  • ccupps83
    ccupps83 Posts: 9 Member
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    I believe the saying...."It's 20% about exercise and 80% about what you eat". I LOVE how exercise makes me feel but to drop Lbs......it's mainly about the food :)
  • Superdupermom
    Superdupermom Posts: 149
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    I think that there is no excuse to be eating bad so you cant be like ok so I exercise 3hours im gonnaeat what I used to every day. you still need to try to make better choices. no yaknow you can treat yourself but there is a limit. you almost always need to eat healthy and adding in exercise is a great bonus! so eatng healthy i guess it the start and exercise is what completes the healthy life. so both need to be done after you have been on a healthy diet. if you dont get to exercise everyday though dont get upset just eat healthy.
  • torregro
    torregro Posts: 307
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    2 dozen Krispy Kremes Vs. 2 hours of exercise..............guess which wins! LOL
  • debcarv
    debcarv Posts: 256 Member
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    Definitely eating right. Had a week that I was un-able to exercise due to an injury, so I made sure I stayed focused with nutrition and ate right. I still managed to lose a pound in eating properly without exercise. However, I was glad to be able to get back to my routine for it makes me more limber and I just feel better with doing exercise.
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    both are important.

    personally excercise got me losing weight and looking better, even when i was still eating pretty crappy.
    but a lot of factors play into that.
  • Chicka_Boom
    Chicka_Boom Posts: 62
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    I know they are both necessary on the journey to health and wellness, but I"m curious. Do you think one is more important than the other? If you were only able to do one of them, which would you choose?

    That's a toughie! I'd say eating right is probably more important for me.. When I decided to lose weight, I started out just walking on the treadmill every day. I didn't start seeing really noticeable results until I joined MFP and began monitoring my caloric intake. That led to me working to improve my eating habits all around, not just in terms of calories but also in trying to make good choices and eat a balanced, nutritious, satisfying diet. The results I saw from that pushed me to invest more in my health & fitness, and that's when I started really working out consistently & in earnest.

    Truthfully, though, I think that you need to do both and find a balance that works for you. It's not about eating nothing but steamed broccoli and tofu or spending hours doing high intensity circuit training, it's about finding a way to eat well & get moving in a sustainable way, so that it's a change you can make for life.
  • daveymck
    daveymck Posts: 14 Member
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    Eating less calories than you use over the course of the week = weekly weight loss

    Theres lots of people with all sorts of complex theories on this site but thats the crux of it. It doesnt really matter what you eat or how much you exercise as long as that formula rings true you will lose weight. You dont have to hit the gym (I try and walk as much as possible and thats it for me) you dont have to cut out the "bad" things you like as long you hit your daily calorie targets you will lose weight.

    Whether at the end by not changing your diet and excercise you keep the weight off, have a longer healthier life etc etc is probably another matter.

    Dieting isnt complicated, the mentality of dieting is the main hurdle most people have.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
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    Eating right....

    You could technically burn enough calories to live on fast food but you wouldn't be healthy.
  • Last_15
    Last_15 Posts: 129
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    you cannot out-exercise bad nutrition.

    exactly!
    Eating right....

    You could technically burn enough calories to live on fast food but you wouldn't be healthy.

    again, exactly!
  • Cristy_AZ
    Cristy_AZ Posts: 986
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    you cannot out-exercise bad nutrition.
    Love this! I think I need this tattooed on my forehead.
    Have to say for me though it has to be both. I have to exercise, maybe its because I'm older and/or have slow metabolism, not sure.
  • Chicka_Boom
    Chicka_Boom Posts: 62
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    Eating right....

    You could technically burn enough calories to live on fast food but you wouldn't be healthy.

    This. I used to think that as long as I was exercising, I could eat whatever I wanted. That worked out fine until I was in my 20's, and then I started gaining weight. I was able to stay within a reasonable weight range but I could never get to where I wanted to be. Then, when I was sidelined from exercising by a serious injury, my weight totally ballooned because I had never gotten in the habit of eating well.
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
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    I'll answer your question with a question:

    If you eat right ( staying within your allotted daily intake each day) and do NOT exercise, will you be healthier and still lose weight?

    If you exercise all day long, and then go eat out at McDonalds, will you be healthier and still lose weight?


    Hint: I can tell you from personal experience that the second question is NO. That's why I'm here.
  • laurasimmons
    laurasimmons Posts: 578 Member
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    If I could only do one, I would choose exercise! I love how it makes me feel!
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,734 Member
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    I know they are both necessary on the journey to health and wellness, but I"m curious. Do you think one is more important than the other? If you were only able to do one of them, which would you choose?
    For weight loss, I'd say eating right is most important. For health and wellness, eating right and being active are equally important in my opinion.

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