The Official Blog of Tara Marie Segundo, M.A.

Dear Tara Marie,

I hate exercise.  Can’t I just diet and get the same effect?

Thanks, Joanne

Dear Joanne,

Oh honey, absolutely not!  Dieting slows the metabolism, and this is the last thing that you want to do when you are trying to transform your body.  The only way to maintain lasting weight loss is to cut your caloric intake in addition to adding movement to your life.  You ask if dieting alone will give you the same effect…just what effect are you going for?  I am assuming that you want to be toned, healthy and vibrant.  Excessive dieting will not yield these results.  Rather, you will end up flabby, unhealthy, and have low energy.

Dieting alone will not only slow your metabolic rate, but you will lose the beautiful muscle that you currently have, resulting in an even lower metabolic rate.  You will also systematically degrade your shape, considering all the muscle you will be losing.

Conversely, exercise revs the metabolic rate, and high intensity exercise keeps the metabolic rate higher for a longer period of time than lower intensity exercise.  You see, there is a period following a bout of exercise during which the metabolic rate remains elevated, and the degree to which it remains elevated and the length of time that it remains elevated are both determined by exercise intensity.