Diet or exercise - what is really more important when losing weight?

There are many different opinions on the subject of weight loss. It is often said that diet accounts for 70% of success and exercise is responsible for the remaining 30%. Is this really true?

But first, let's take a look at how losing weight actually works. Basically, one can say that weight loss is always accompanied by an energy deficit. This means that your energy expenditure must be higher than your energy intake. This is already where there is a big difference in nutrition and exercise. While you control your energy intake through your diet, energy consumption is determined by several factors. In addition to everyday activity, this also includes exercise.

Let's have a look at 2 examples

In both examples, we assume the same person. Maria works in an office, is 32 years old, 168 cm tall, and weighs 160 pounds. Her goal is to lose 10 pounds. To maintain her weight, she would need to consume about 1800 calories. She currently eats around 2000 kcal a day. Marie wants to lose 1 pound of fat per week.

Example 1: Losing weight by changing your diet

In order to reach her goal, Maria must maintain a daily deficit of 500 kcal. This means that she is allowed to eat 1300 kcal per day. This is well within the realm of possibility. At first, she may feel hungry and tired, but she can counteract this with the right meal plan.

Example 2: Losing weight through physical activity

Marie only wants to lose weight with the help of exercise. As already mentioned, she eats about 2000 kcal per day. So she has to lose 700 calories a day through exercise. In numbers, that means she has to jog, swim or go to the gym for about 2 hours a day. The risk of overtraining and injuries is very high here, especially for inexperienced athletes. In addition, there is an immense time commitment of more than 10 hours per week.

Conclusion

While losing weight is possible with both the right diet and exercise, going the exercise only route, your risk of injury is significantly higher. That doesn't mean that exercise isn't conducive to weight loss. On the contrary. However, nutrition should always serve as the basis of a weight loss goal. In any case, being active is a good way to stay healthy and maintain your weight. You can supplement your meal nutrition plan well and positively influence your energy consumption and metabolism through exercise.

Whether you exercise or not - we have the ideal meal plan for you! Download the feastr app and see for yourself. If you have any further questions on this or other topics, please feel free to write to us in the app chat. Happy feast!