Diet or Exercise?
Ever seen a friend lose 5kgs/10lbs in a month with a pill/crash/fad diet while you were huffing, puffing & almost dying doing that extra minute of workout everyday & still not getting that result? Now, whether it was the fact that I love food too much to give it up or my cynicism basis what I had seen & read about fad diets - long term adverse health impact, saggy skin & getting back the weight & more post going back to normalcy, I didn't succumb to the temptation of a fad diet & am so glad I didn't. My verdict from a decade long struggle & eventual success of losing big in 6 months & finally months of peace of maintaining it is that you DON'T need a pill/crash/fad diet to lose big. Eating right (healthy) is essential but exercising right is THE key. Here is why:
The Longer-term Fix - Exercising beefs up the metabolism so once you are done with losing, you can actually win (Read: Relish that chocolate/sweet/pizza without needing to run that extra mile). Dieting on the other hand has a shorter term impact, the weight comes right back within weeks of getting back to a regular diet.
The After-burn - A great cardio helps you burn fat hours post your work-out. Further, exercise builds lean muscles needing extra calories to be burnt, just to maintain. So, exercise enables you to burn calories even while you literally do nothing! With dieting, on the other hand, the lean muscles are lost before fat is, so the weight comes right back when you revert to normalcy
The Fun Factor - Whether it's the form (run/cycle/swim/dance/play/yoga), the place (outdoors/swanky gym/home), the company (yourself/spouse/friends/family/kids) or the impact (happier/fitter/stronger), you are likely to find one or many reasons to love it & hence continue with it. Food deprivation on the other hand, can be depressing, at least for some of us :)
The Challenge - Once you are into working out, it's fun to push yourself to achieve more - faster, longer, better & it's great to see yourself emerge stronger out of each challenge. Crash/fad diets on the other hand could leave you physically weaker.
The Impact: Working out gives you a lean, toned, sculpted look, which makes you feel/look great, while a crash/fad diet is likely to give you sagging/lose skin that eventually, only exercise can fix.
So, next time, when tempted with a fad diet, be sure which way to go - the workout way :)
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