I remember during my college days, I was trying to shed off the extra baby fat. I used to get up early, climb stairs, go for early morning runs followed by basketball practice. It was almost 2 hours physical exercise.
However there was hardly any weight loss. It was because I used to eat a good amount of hostel food (those burgers, cutlets, potatoes fries). I was and still am hardcore against dieting.However I had this notion in my mind that since I am exercising a lot, I can eat anything without feeling guilty.
And yes I was wrong!!! It was only after I changed my eating habits, I found my baby fat gone. Diet and exercise are both an important part of the losing extra weight in a healthy way. You will definitely lose weight if you diet alone. However, the portion of weight loss is from the fat. You will be stripping away muscle and bone density.When you workout, you build up your muscles.
“A pound of muscle uses between 75 and 150 calories a day (remember, it’s working and using energy), while a pound of fat only needs 3 calories a day (fat does nothing to help your body, the ingrate, so it doesn’t need energy to maintain itself). Maintaining that friendly, fat-burning muscle mass only takes a few minutes—10 minutes, three times a week, to be exact.” Source
Hence the more muscles you have the more calories you burn.
Also, from healthy eating perspective (Diet), it is easier to cut calories than to burn them off.One should focus on a balanced plan which includes fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grain carbs. Don’t try to cut calories too low as you will start losing your muscle mass because of slow metabolism.This is not good for the body. Also, your body will be deficient of the important nutrients.
More important, if you dont have a healthy body, there are little chances to have a peaceful mind ~ happiness. So, always eat mindfully and keep exercising.
