For Weight Loss, Nutrition Is More Important Than Exercise

The popular saying is true: Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.

Looking to discover the best way to lose weight? Signing up for a gym membership might actually be a bad choice. Every January, millions of Americans make a New Year's resolution to shed pounds. For many, the next step is to commit to an intense fitness program or at least significantly increase their visits to the gym.

Scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows this is the wrong approach. Study after study shows that nutrition is by far the biggest driver of weight loss results. And for several reasons we'll cover, a focus on exercise can often do more to hurt your efforts than help.

Exercise has incredible health benefits and increasing your activity level long-term is a great idea. But as a strategy for weight loss, focusing on exercise rarely works.

To illustrate: a typical blueberry muffin has around 450 calories. With a nutrition focus, we might start a diet that teaches us to avoid that muffin. To achieve a similar calorie reduction through exercise, the average person would have to run for 45 minutes. Which seems easier? Running for nearly an hour or simply not picking up a muffin? (1)

Of course, you can choose to eat less and move more. Interestingly, studies have shown that when dieters significantly increase exercise, they often compensate with a much higher calorie intake. That is to say, they actually end up eating more calories than they burned from increased exercise. (2)

Lastly, and most importantly, trying to break a weight loss plateau through exercise is just another approach that relies on the flawed Calories In - Calories Out equation. Whether the calorie deficit is created through nutrition or activity change, our metabolism will still adapt to balance out the equation. This might help temporarily, but will ultimately make lasting results more difficult.

If you're looking to for a weight loss plan or just a little help on your journey, you should pick a structured, science-based program. Any program that is truly science-based will focus on nutrition more than activity.

Contact me today about how I can help you on your wellness journey!