What's More Important; Exercise or Nutrition?

If you are like most people, then the fad diets and trendy exercises that are splashed across popular magazine covers probably leave you more confused than ever about how to meet your fitness goals. It seems like every week there is a new ‘results guaranteed’ technique for melting pounds or sculpting muscles.

That is probably why so many of my clients approach me with the age-old question: “Which should I focus on to quickly meet my goals—exercise or nutrition?”

This is a great question…and the answer to it may very well be the catalyst that transforms your physique in a way that you never thought possible.

But before I answer the question, let’s back up for a moment and clearly define the healthy eating habits and exercise fundamentals that successful fitness programs are made of.

There are four must-have habits for healthy eating…

Healthy Habit #1: Eating a well-balanced diet. In practical terms this means including plenty of veggies, whole grains and lean meats in your daily meals. It also means staying within a reasonable number of total calories for the day. Everyone has specific dietary needs based on goals, health, lifestyle, family health history, and many other factors. If you are looking for specific advice, I recommend that you either talk with a registered dietition or have one of our detailed nutrition analyses done to give you a very clear picture of how to best structure your eating plan.

Healthy Habit #2: Avoid junk food. While this may seem obvious, your definition of “junk food” may need an alteration. Refined sugar is one of the biggest culprits in the junk food world—this includes soft drinks, blended coffee drinks, cookies, cakes, packaged snacks, and other sinfully sweet treats. Processed fat is another monster. As a rule of thumb you can safely view all processed or refined items as less healthy than their unprocessed counterparts. Eat whole!  We offer entire seminar series on how to eat whole and nutritionally. If you are interested, please let us know.

Healthy Habit #3: Eat small meals frequently. The key here is to never let your metabolism “crash” by going hours without eating. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to skip breakfast—as this is the meal that ‘breaks the fast’ that your body goes into each night. Stick with eating small meals every few hours and avoid stuffing yourself at any given sitting.

Healthy Habit #4: Eat Intuitively. This is a challenging concept to grasp for many people, especially since we have all had many years to perfect our destructive eating habits! But, you can learn to restructure your pre-programmed thinking patterns about food and eating which will, in turn, directly impact your eating tendencies. Research has shown that thinking differently and addressing the root, underlying issues that have been barriers in the past is the most effective way to establish long term success with a nutritional program. I cannot stress the importance of listening to your body and gaining awareness of your tendencies enough!

There are three fundamentals for results-driven exercise…

Exercise Fundamental #1: Safety first. I’m not just talking about the usual “consult with a physician before starting an exercise program”—though you always should. The key to successful exercise, that avoids injury while promoting results, begins with the proper use of equipment and correct body alignment.  You may not feel pain from working out, but you may be perpetuating a slight imbalance that inhibits results or even leads to an injury in the long term. You MUST learn to exercise properly to get the results you want safely.
 
Exercise Fundamental #2: Consistency is KEY. The truth is out—if you want amazing results then you have to exercise with amazing consistency. There is just no way around it! Make exercise a habitual part of your daily life and be prepared to feel healthier, more energetic and younger than ever.

Exercise Fundamental #3: Challenge yourself. Your body is such an advanced organism that it quickly adapts to physical demands. This means that the exercise routine that you have been doing for the past six months no longer results in noticeable results. Use your body’s unique ability of adaptation to your advantage by constantly challenging yourself with new and exciting exercise routines. In addition, the changes that you make in your routine should be carefully planned to progress your forward in relation to your specific goals.

Now back to your question…“Which should I focus on to quickly meet my goals—exercise or nutrition?”

The bottom line is that exercise and nutrition work hand-in-hand to produce the results that you are after. Results won’t come as a result of intense exercise coupled with a poor diet. And likewise a healthy eater has no way to sculpt their body without the use of exercise! For the fastest most permanent results, eat a healthy diet and exercise consistently. That is why we often recommend a nutrition analyses to any new personal training client and vice versa.

Want more detailed information on this subject? Contact me now to take control of your health and begin meeting your fitness goals today!

Katie Oldham

MS, LWC, President
MissFIT Complete, Inc.

Katie's passion is to help women connect the 'how to' of personal wellness with the deeper issues of changing habits and behaviors. Her education in exercise physiology and health psychology is indicative of this perspective.
Katie has spent her entire professional career in the fitness and wellness industry beginning as a group exercise instructor, then a Personal Trainer, and then moving to management in a medically based wellness center. She found her niche when she began pursuing Wellness Coaching with women and then decided to start her own company where she can offer the types of programs not widely available but greatly needed. Katie works hard to provide all of the MissFIT clients and anyone she encounters professionally with a fresh and optimistic perspective on achieving wellness goals. Find out More >