Diet vs Exercise
Authored by Kyle Golden (August 5, 2022)
Fitness professionals get asked all the time if it’s better to focus on exercise or diet to help achieve health and fitness goals. The honest answer is both are very important and necessary for achieving your goals. Being physically active and eating a nutrient-dense, healthy diet work together in improving your overall health and well being.
It’s pretty hard to work off a poor diet. If someone eats a nutrient deficient, calorie heavy diet they will more than likely not be able to exercise enough to offset the calories consumed in a day. For example, 2 chicken fajita tacos on flour tortillas at a favorite local Austin eatery comes to over 700 calories. If you add the 8 oz chips and green chili queso at over 900 calories that one meal comes to around 1,600 calories. Running at a 6 mph pace for an hour would burn about 550 calories on average, that’s only a third of that meal. You can see how fast those calories can add up and not be used. 3,500 extra calories equates to one pound of body fat.
Balancing the right amount and types of food in your diet along with regular cardiovascular and resistance exercise is the key to helping with weight loss goals. Including a variety of nutrient packed, fiber filled vegetables, leafy greens, legumes, and whole grains is a good way to get full with fewer calories than the standard American diet. Aim for getting a minimum of three 30 minute cardio workouts and two 30 minute resistance workouts per week. Start with brisk walks and simple body weight resistance workouts and progress as you get stronger.
(Consider this article as general information on health, fitness, and lifestyle. Always consult your physician or health care provider before making significant changes to your diet or lifestyle.)
Hi, I’m Kyle Golden,
Founder and Coach at Vireo Fitness. For over 16 years I have helped hundreds of clients just like you find their path to better health. Get in touch today and find out how I can help you embrace a better lifestyle and realize your full potential!