Every January, one of the top New Years resolutions is to lose weight. And if youre looking to be successful, theres something you should know: Diet is far more important than exercise – by a long shot.
Think of it like this: All of your “calories in” come from the food you eat and the beverages you drink, but only a portion of your “calories out” are lost through exercise.
For most people, basal metabolic rate accounts for 60 to 80 percent of total energy expenditure, Kravitz said. He cited a study that defines this as “the minimal rate of energy expenditure compatible with life.” As you get older, your rate goes down, but increasing your muscle mass makes it go up.
According to calculations by Harvard Medical School, a 185-pound person burns 200 calories in 30 minutes of walking at 4 miles per hour (a pace of 15 minutes per mile). You could easily undo all that hard work by eating four chocolate chip cookies, 1 1/2 scoops of ice cream or less than two glasses of wine.
The sentiment here is that youve “earned” what you eat after working out, when instead – if your goal is to lose weight – youd be better off not working out and simply eating less.
Of course, not all calories are created equal, but for simplicitys sake, 3,500 calories equal 1 pound of fat. So to lose 1 pound a week, you should aim to cut 500 calories every day. If you drink soda, cutting that out of your diet is one of the easiest ways to get there.
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