Losing weight is one of the toughest endeavors anyone could every take on, but it is also one of the most important components of living a long and healthy life. Though exercise can help reduce body fat and build muscle mass when done correctly, eating healthy is actually a more effective weight loss tool than exercise alone. The whole concept of losing weight is really just a simple numbers game; burn more calories than are consumed each day and positive weight loss results will follow. Correcting bad dietary habits will not only benefit those looking to shed a few pounds, but eating better can also help to improve overall health and wellness in other areas of the body as well.

Exercise should be a consistent part of the day for everyone. When viewed primarily as a weight loss tool, exercise can help burn calories, boost metabolism and increase muscle mass. Exercising 30 to 60 minutes per day can realistically burn 300 more calories each day; that equates to a minimum of 2,100 calories per week or slightly more than half a pound of bodyweight. That being said, exercise should be used primarily as a way to improve cardiovascular health and overall wellness rather than exclusively as a method for losing weight. The reason being, exercising while eating an unhealthy and high-calorie diet will still lead to weight gain despite all the time and effort spent exercising. Although these truths may be a bit unsettling, it’s important to note that regular exercise can help reduce cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health. Heart disease is currently the number one cause of disease-related death in America today; however, taking part in a consistent exercise program can help to greatly reduce the risk of becoming a part of this alarming statistic.

The two primary types of exercise are called aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic workouts are great for improving heart health. Additionally, aerobic activity can help to regulate blood pressure as well as several other positive health benefits. Jogging and walking are two of the most common examples of aerobic workouts; swimming and biking would also fall into the category of aerobic activity. In order to maximize the health benefits of these types of exercises, each workout session should be completed at a moderate intensity level for a period of 30 to 60 minutes and approximately three to five times per week. On the other hand, anaerobic exercises are high intensity workouts that are intended to build speed, power and strength. Weight lifting, also known as resistance training, is a prime example of a type of anaerobic workout. Working out anaerobically can help promote muscle growth, which in turn helps to burn fat more efficiently in the human body. Muscle has been proven to stimulate the fat loss process by burning it as fuel. A fitness plan which includes an anaerobic element designed to increase muscle mass is an excellent long term solution for burning fat and losing bodyweight.

An effective aerobic workout, such as jogging or swimming, can help burn several hundred calories per day. On the surface, this form of aerobic activity may sound like a great way to reduce body fat, but that way of thinking is not entirely true. The average adult consumes approximately 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day, so a few hundred calories burned on the treadmill each day will hardly make a dent in the average person’s daily caloric intake. For this reason alone, exercise should not be used as the primary tool for shedding excess body fat. Looking at these numbers, aerobic activity is just not efficient enough to stimulate any sort of substantial weight loss results. However, aerobic workouts should be used as a way to improve cardiovascular health and as part of a diversified weight loss program. In order to burn enough calories to see any substantial weight loss, healthier eating habits need to be a priority from day one.

Burning more calories than are taken in through food and drink is the basic foundation of weight loss. So with that in mind, it’s easy to see that the root of the problem all comes down to diet. Eating healthier foods that are low in calories, sugars and “bad” carbohydrates will jumpstart the weight loss process. Most dieter’s will notice their clothes fitting looser within a week or two of starting a healthy diet program. On the contrary, consistently exercising while not making any major changes to dietary habits will often take six to eight weeks before any significant fat loss is achieved, sometimes even longer than that. These facts prove that healthy eating, when compared to a weight loss program consisting exclusively of exercise and no specific diet regiment, is a much faster and more efficient way to shed those unwanted pounds.

What are healthy foods? It’s a question that many people are confused about, and for good reason. The type of foods found on grocery store shelves today are largely unhealthy, even those which claim to be “fat free,” “low carb” and “sugar free.” Needless to say, it’s no surprise that the people of America are confused about how to eat right. In a nutshell, any type of vegetable, fruit, whole grain and some lean meats are all healthy foods. The ideal meal plan for losing weight consists of five servings of vegetables, three servings of fruits and two to three servings of a protein dish (chicken, fish, turkey and others). Eating a plant-based diet provides the greatest weight loss benefit, and eating this way may even be the best choice for improving overall health. A plant-based diet doesn’t mean that meat or dairy products should totally be eliminated from the meal. This term simply means that two-thirds of a meal should include plants (i.e., vegetables, fruits and whole grains) while the other one-third of the plate should be filled with a protein dish (i.e., lean meat or protein shake). In other words, meat should become a side dish rather than the main course. Red meats and fish should each be limited to about one to two servings per week but for different reasons. Fish contains traces of mercury—some types of fish have more than others—and this element can be unhealthy in large quantities; this is especially true for children and pregnant women. Red meats, on the other hand, contain high levels of saturated fats and cholesterol, which can eventually lead to heart disease and high blood pressure when consumed more than a couple of times per week. Eating a plant-based diet will keep the daily caloric intake low and will help promote better cardiovascular health at the same time; it’s almost like “killing two birds with one stone.”

Aside from kick-starting the weight loss process into high gear, a healthy diet also leads to several other positive health benefits. Consuming healthier foods, such as whole grains and vegetables, can help balance blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of diabetes. Obese individuals are at a far greater risk of developing type II diabetes than people who fall into the “normal” weight category. Furthermore, eating the right foods can also have a positive influence on metabolism levels in the body, essentially boosting energy levels and speeding up fat loss. In a somewhat similar respect, exercise can also prove to be extremely beneficial to overall health, but eating a balanced diet in conjunction with a consistent exercise plan will yield the best overall results possible. This is the reason why diet and exercise, used in tandem, is recommended by most health professionals.

When the goal is to lose weight and burn fat, most health experts would agree that calorie consumption is what controls levels of fat in the body. The same experts would also agree that exercise’s primary benefit is that of improving cardiovascular health. Taking this general knowledge into consideration, it is far more efficient to first focus on healthy eating habits when first starting a weight loss program. Once a healthy diet plan is established, a workout program can be thrown into the mix for a more thorough attack on body fat and improved overall wellness. Although eating the right foods can burn fat more efficiently than exercise, focusing both on a healthy diet and consistent exercise is the only way to achieve optimal fitness levels.

Some people may get confused when it comes to losing bodyweight. There are many people out there who believe that the best way to tighten their tummy is by slaving over the treadmill seven days a week. In reality, the best way to drop those extra pounds is to quit eating unhealthy food, which includes consumption of sugary snacks, salty treats, foods loaded with carbohydrates and foods high in saturated fats. Exercise is a great tool for boosting metabolism and improving cardiovascular health. For all of these reasons, as well as several other excellent health benefits that exercise brings to the table, working out on a consistent basis is an important piece of the fitness puzzle, just not the one and only answer to weight loss. Eating healthy and exercising should go hand in hand, and that is the best way to obtain a level of total fitness and wellbeing.