As important as exercise is for losing weight, boosting your immune system and improving your energy by following a primarily raw, plant-based diet gives your body the fuel it needs to get through a workout, while also offering more weight-loss benefits than exercise.
Making healthy lifestyle choices is critical to treating your body right, ultimately warding off disease and promoting longevity. Certain habits, such as eating well and exercising, can also help you look and feel you best. One is more crucial than the other, however, and acts as the ultimate foundation to overall wellness: following a healthy diet. As important as exercise is for losing weight, boosting your immune system and improving your energy by following a primarily raw, plant-based diet gives your body the fuel it needs to get through a workout, while also offering more weight-loss benefits than exercise.
Exercise vs. Healthy Eating
While running on the treadmill to burn those excess calories you devoured for dinner seems like the easy way out, starting with smarter eating habits and cutting calories initially ends in better results. An analysis of 700+ weight-loss studies found the best short-term results came when participants chose to eat well, according to Shawn M. Talbott, Ph.D, nutritional biochemist.
"On average, people who dieted without exercising for 15 weeks lost 23 pounds; the exercisers lost only six over about 21 weeks. It's much easier to cut calories than to burn them off," he told The Huffington Post.
Following a healthy diet builds the foundation for effective exercise.
Think about it this way: Have you ever considered how much energy you use per day while exercising? According to Dr. Mercola, working out only accounts for 10 to 30 percent of the energy your body uses in any given day. Additionally, your body's specific metabolic rate controls how many calories you burn. On the other hand, you have control over how many calories you consume. This is what makes healthy eating more important than exercise.
When you consume a diet that's loaded with refined sugars, saturated fats and complex carbohydrates, you're damaging your body and counteracting the benefits of exercise. A natural, whole-foods diet can support your body and fuel it for an effective workout.
Start With a Plant-Based Diet, Followed by Physical Activity
While we understand that fueling your body with the natural sustenance of the earth comes before exercise, that doesn't mean you should remove physical activity from your habits. As stated earlier, following a healthy diet is merely the foundation to receiving the maximum benefits of exercising. By fueling your body with a multitude of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and organic whole grains, you'll receive the vital vitamins and nutrients your system needs to thrive. This ultimately promotes increased energy and a strong immune system, muscles and bones, all vital elements to a beneficial workout.
Remember: We recommend Hallelujah Diet followers stick to our primarily raw, plant-based eating regimen while supplementing with our organic products. To reach optimal wellness and promote longevity, older adults should also spend at least 150 minutes per week dedicated to aerobic activity, with two days a week focused on muscle-strengthening exercise.
Following a healthy diet builds the foundation for effective exercise.
