Is diet or exercise more important?
You want what millions of other people do—to be lean and fit. Whether you want to trim off extra pounds so you’ll feel better, look better, or be better prepared to tackle whatever demands come your way, you probably want to find the most efficient way to do it.
Well, with this email, you can figure out if you should put your emphasis on diet or exercise to get the results you want. I present the contenders for your weight-loss attention…
In the Left Corner: Diet
While fad diets have tried their darndest to malign the fine name of dieting, proper diet continues to be a vital way to lose weight. In fact, research has shown that if you’re only going to do one thing in your journey to weight loss, it should be dieting.
What does dieting mean exactly? It means taking very careful note of every bite you put in your mouth. But you can’t stop there. Because paying attention to what you eat isn’t going to make you lose an ounce of weight. You’ve got to take note of it and then reduce the number of calories you consume. If you want to lose even more faster, you’ll even want to make sure your calories are good calories. In other words, you can’t eat just Twinkies and Big Macs every day. You’ll want to go with fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein sources, and lots and lots of water.
In the Right Corner: Exercise
Like diet, there have been all sorts of fad exercise programs that have spanned from dangerous to ridiculously funny. But exercise hasn’t lost its place in the race for weight loss. Why? Because savvy people realize you’ve got to hit the gym if you’re going to maximize your weight loss. The best technique for weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in, and exercise is your golden ticket for shredding calories and building muscle.
There are other reasons exercise rocks in the world of weight loss. It is the best way to ensure that the weight you drop is fat and not muscle. Also, when you exercise, your muscles tone up and grow stronger. With more muscle, your body’s ability to shave off calories increases, making it easier to burn calories even when you’re doing nothing at all. Diet can’t do that!
Who Wins the Battle?
More than likely, you read this hoping that exercise alone would help you lose weight because you hate the idea of watching what you eat. Or maybe you’re just the opposite, and you prefer to watch your diet but absolutely loathe exercise. Well, there’s bad news for you either way. This battle that has been waging on for decades (okay, make that centuries) is ultimately a draw.
If you’re not willing to eat right and exercise, the success you see today will be gone tomorrow. Try as you might, one of these ingredients alone is not enough to help you lose weight, keep it off, and have an overall healthy lifestyle. In fact, you will find that once you become serious about losing weight, you will be careful about what you eat because you don’t want to put all that exercise to waste. At the same time, you’ll push yourself harder in the gym because you realize you could burn even more calories and get closer to your weight goal today.
So stop pitting diet against exercise and do both. Your good health and leaner self await!
I’d love to be your solution for challenging, effective exercise program. Call, text, or email me today to get started!
The Importance of Small Decisions
You become fit and lean by a culmination of small decisions.
What you eat for breakfast, whether or not you will exercise today, what you eat for lunch, whether you take the elevator or the stairs, what you eat for dinner, and whether or not you’ll eat that dessert.
Each and every small decision that you make throughout your day adds up to the shape and fitness level that you have. If 80+ percent of these small decisions are made with fitness in mind, then your body will show it in the most attractive way.
Cauliflower, Kale and Chicken Casserole
Here is another healthy, homemade dinner that’s easy to get on the table after a long, busy day of work. That’s why recipes like this one are so wonderful to have on hand – it only takes a few minutes and tastes fantastic.
This casserole like comfort food, but without the guilt. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, filled with calcium, and numerous vitamins and minerals.
What you need
Serves 6
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups kale, chopped
dash of salt and pepper
Pinch of each, dried: thyme, rosemary, tarragon, and parsley
4 links nitrate-free, chicken sausage, sliced into half moons
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded and divided
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a casserole dish with olive oil. Place a large pot of water to boil with a pinch of salt.
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the olive oil, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, dried herbs and chicken sausage. Mix well, and then add kale. Cover for about 3 minutes, until kale gets bright green and wilted, then remove cover. Sauté for an additional 3 minutes until everything is tender. Set aside.
3. Place the cauliflower florets in the pot of boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, drain, and return cauliflower to pot.
4. Add the kale mixture to the pot as well as the chicken broth, lemon juice, ricotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese. Mix will over medium heat until all has been incorporated.
5. Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and serve.
Nutrition
One serving equals 238 calories, 10g fat, 584mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 18g protein
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