The role of exercise in dieting has come under fire in recent months.
Depending on the study and who you believe exercise will work and to some it will not.
There are many studies that show exercise does not really aid in weight loss but has still has many benefits for the body.
There are as many or more studies showing you the benefits of diet and exercise.
The key to this is addressing both sides of the equation.
You need to be able to cut calories from food you eat without causing the starvation process in your body to be started and exercising to lose weight.
There are many types of exercise which are under two basic headings anaerobic and aerobic exercises.
Aerobic exercises uses oxygen in the exercise such as walking, cycling, rowing and other exercises like these.
The anaerobic exercises are weight training and high intensity workouts.
So who do you believe? When deciding whether exercise or no exercise is best for your weight loss plan it will come down to time, resources available and how motivated you are.
If you increase the energy needs of your body and decrease the types and amounts of foods going in, the net gain should be weight loss.
In most of the studies that I have read that state exercise is not necessary they did not address diet.
They maintained a normal diet of high carbohydrates and fats and high calorie input.
When dieting, the idea is to cut your calories and increase your exercise.
You can lose weight without exercise.
That is a fact and if you are patient you will lose weight just not as fast as you can with both diet and exercise.
Exercise is like your wild card.
If you one day eat too much or have that forbidden food you can burn it off with a little more exercise.
The truth is you need both anaerobic and aerobic exercise to help lose weight and get in shape.
If you need to choose only one exercise initially it should be the easiest and the exercise you can increase as you lose weight.
This exercise can be walking or cycling.
Riding a bike or even using a stationary bike will help your body use the stored fat you have.
It will get the blood flowing and exercise your heart.
For true weight loss lifting weights cannot be beat.
The building of more muscle will increase your body's energy demands.
It will strengthen you and help your joints from becoming brittle and tight.
The biggest benefit of building muscles is that the more muscle fibers you have the more energy you burn at rest.
By increasing the amount of energy burned by your muscles at rest will also aid the weight loss equation.
In weight loss you need a well balanced diet and a balanced exercise program to allow you to lose weight quickly and safely.
You can lose weight with just exercise or with just diet but either way will take longer.
A well balanced program will maximize your body's ability to burn the excess fat from your body.