Weight loss or weight maintenance

[Ron]

Is exercise more important for losing weight or keeping the weigh off or both? I've always wondered this. I get so confuse because I swear studies bounce back and forth from saying that losing weight is all about diet or exercise is essential to weight loss....personally I think that both are important but I'd like to better understand exactly how exercise benefits the whole weight strategy thing so I can use it best to my advantage.

[Mike]

Really? I had no idea that resistance training was so good for helping to lower fat. I guess it makes sense, but I always though it was aerobic exercises that were best for weight loss.

Me, too! Lifting weights really is good for weight loss and your body's fitness. When you build muscle, you burn fat and when the fat starts to recede, you get some nice muscles under there. :)

[Kyra]

Exercise is good for helping with weight loss but it's truly best for weight maintenance, overall health, building muscle, increasing stamina and improving flexibility. From what I understand, when you want to burn fat, resistance training is often best because building muscle helps to decrease fat and when you have more muscles, you also have better metabolism as you burn more calories with more muscles. Aerobics is good for burning calories, but is often the most idea for increasing stamina and strength.

Really? I had no idea that resistance training was so good for helping to lower fat. I guess it makes sense, but I always though it was aerobic exercises that were best for weight loss.

[bonniekins]

Exercise is good for helping with weight loss but it's truly best for weight maintenance, overall health, building muscle, increasing stamina and improving flexibility. From what I understand, when you want to burn fat, resistance training is often best because building muscle helps to decrease fat and when you have more muscles, you also have better metabolism as you burn more calories with more muscles. Aerobics is good for burning calories, but is often the most idea for increasing stamina and strength.

[tracy1976]

Time and time again studies have proven that a combination of calorie control and exercise is what leads to effective weight loss and weight loss maintenance. It's just good common sense. Try not to think that one is better than the other or more important. They are equally important for weight loss and health. Thinking otherwise just leads to the risk of making excuses to forgo one or the other.

[anne]

In my opinion, calorie control is the most important for shedding excess weight, while exercise is very important for losing weight at a faster rate and for maintaining weight loss. That said, both efforts go hand in hand. You won't experience the best and most healthful weight loss by doing only one of these things.

[Penny]

The answer is both. It's ideal for both things. Exercise is important for losing weight and for maintaining weight loss, just as much as dieting is. They go hand in hand. Both can be beneficial but neither are as effective alone. It's when you bring them together on a consistent basis that the real magic happens. :)