Is a strict diet all that important when working out a lot?

[Lysis]

I joined a gym since florida is sucky in the summer - it rains all day long so jogging outside is kinda killed. Besides, I want to weight train and do something different.

One of the biggest things that always get to me is that I see little to no results from working out. Now that I'm freelancing, I have more free time to workout, so I plan to do 45 mins of cardio and 45 mins of weights.

I'm not asking if it's ok to eat a whole pizza every day, but is counting calories and watching everything you eat really that important if you spend 2 hours a day working out? I've read people go both ways - some people have said it's important and others say they eat what they want, just not a lot of it, and work out hard every day.

 

[hoopyfrood]

Depends what you're trying to do I guess. For losing body fat, I'd say diet is more important (in my experience). For gaining muscle, you eat lots of protein, etc, with weightlifting.

I'm no expert, but if you have a goal set for yourself, don't skip out on anything. Proper excersise AND diet are best for you.

 

[Coolio]

For gaining muscle, diet is 95% and working out is 5%.

 

[Schwein]

Good diet is top priority when excercising consistently. Just use discipline and don't deprive yourself.

Calorie counting is bullshit though. Just focus on eating well and working out and you'll get results.

 

[sunyata]

as long as you are getting plenty of protein and good fats (omegas) the introduction of 30-60 minutes of aerobic training per day coupled with every other day resistance training (heavy) will produce excellent results.

I'd tend to err on the lower side of carbohydrate consumption and also make sure you get in lots of leafy greens.

I never have and never will count calories. I think its bullshit concept. Every day your body needs a different amount of food depending on what you are doing and have done recently. I feed my body by paying attention to hunger levels and looking in the mirror periodically to assess fat loss/gain and muscle gain. The idea of a constant maintenance is make-believe.

 

[An Iz]

Whåt kind of results we talking about here? Could you phrase it in terms of swolleness? Like "I wanna get so swoll that ____"

I think it'd be a little easier to help you if we had a good analogy.

 

[ranunky]

It really depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to lose weight then diet is just as important as activity. Remember, you will only lose weight if you are eating less calories (energy) than your body uses. Bottom line. This is a general rule, the diet should also be tailored, to be lower in fat and stuff but I'm no nutritionist, you should always talk to your doctor before trying to lose weight.

If you want to get in shape, be more healthy, then what you eat becomes the imperitive rather than the amount eaten as in losing weight. A balanced diet, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, all that good stuff.

To gain muscle (I don't think anyone wants to gain fat!), you need to modify your both your excercise and diet. The muscles should be exerted to their maximum with heavy resistance and low reps. The diet should be high in calories and protein.

As for eating what you want:
1. Losing weight: Pizza and other crap should be cut out completely. They are far too calorie dense to leave you satiated for a time period proportional to their calorific content, resulting in you eating more and overshooting your energy consumption target.
2. Maintaining/improving overall health: Treats should be consumed sparingly, they are treats after all. See health department guidelines.
3. Gaining weight: Eat whatever you like, on top of your already calorie-filled/proteinous diet.

 

[spacefacethebassace]

I've never thought it was too terribly important to diet strictly...you should be eating a more or less balanced diet anyways. In my experience, limited as it is, strict dieting has never been necessary, but it does depend on one's goals. My goals have always been to maintain a fairly high level of fitness, and for that nothing more is required than 3-4 aerobic workouts a week, bicycling/walking instead of driving, and eating a balanced diet.

If you want to be a beefcake, or to get really cut, then diet is an issue. I don't think that most young males who exercise regularly need to maintain a strict diet.

 

[PARooolller]

Here's a general rule of thumb if your goal is to gain nice, lean muscle mass

-Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (for example, if you weigh 180 lbs., then consume 180grams of protein a day)

Also, hit the weights before the cardio..You don't want to deplete all of your glycogen stores before you get pumped.

 

[Binge Artist]

I've always favored diet over cardio for weight loss.

As far as I know, the only real use for cardio is to condition the heart. Not to say that's a bad thing by any means.

But, depending on what you do with weights, you would probably have a healthy heart WITHOUT cardio. For example, I don't believe anyone who's tried it can tell me with a straight face that mindlessly "steppin' it out" on a treadmil for 45-60 minutes can even remotely compare with what the entire cardiorespiratory system undergoes during a few sets of heavy squats.

Basically, when I do cardio, my rule of thumb is this: Stay on the treadmill only long enough that your total calories burned is equal to the number of calories you consume in SUGARS on a daily basis (which should be pretty low, anyway, if you are dieting). Good, complex & low GI carbs are what we want, but I believe it's nearly impossible to eliminate sugar. Even at my current carb intake of 170 grams/day, with very strict selection, some 30 g's of sugars manage to creep in. Insidious little bastards.

Other than that, a high protein intake coupled with weight training will help maintain muscle (or possibly even build muscle--possible to do, even with a calorie deficit if you're a "newby", or are extremely adept at "shocking" your muscles) while the (mostly) diet and (partly) cardio cut the body fat.

And isn't that what we all want? A higher muscle to fat ratio (which is basically what people mean when they speak of "toned").

BTW: You should probably disregard my entire post, because I'm green as hell when it comes to cutting. When I first started lifting, pro-wrestling was en vogue, so my goals had always been centered around "bulking"--I wanted that "big and strong" look like Stone Cold Steve Austin or the Rock, so 15-20% body fat never bothered me. It's only recently that I started getting into cutting. Oh, and that thing I said about doing cardio to equal total sugar intake...that's complete BS, with likely no scientific basis whatsoever--just what I'm doing at the moment.

 

[kroozer_*]

When i prefer to try and keep a lower body weight, while at the same time increase my strength and muscle mass:

make sure you do not overtrain-do not work the same body part 2days in a row, or any more than twice a week.

eat more meals, but make the meals not as big, and higher in protien and lower in fat

when eating, try and have an Eating Schedule

also a big tip, the closer you can go to 1gram of protien Per pound of body weight the better(that is while trying to keep your body weight in check.

Also, try to find out how many calories you lose in a day not working out, and when you are working out. find a baseline number. All depends on what goals you are wanting to reach

 

[Schwein]

The rule is actually eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of desired bodyweight, not current.

 

[PARooolller]

The rule is actually eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of desired bodyweight, not current.

It's all about macros--the ratio of protein, fats, and carbs...if you consume 1 gram of protein for every pound of desired weight, you will inevitably gain fat...

 

[Schwein]

Lean protein, unstaturated fat, eating your veggies, busting ass in your ass in the gym you will gain muscle.

 

[ebola?]

I'm not asking if it's ok to eat a whole pizza every day, but is counting calories and watching everything you eat really that important if you spend 2 hours a day working out?

Yes. As exercise will ratchet your hunger upward, you will have to track your caloric intake if you wish to lose fat.

However, intensive exercise makes it okay to eat simple sugars, at least right before and after said activity (as you will actually be making use of these sugars).

ebola