If one wants to live a long, healthy lifestyle, there are two essential ingredients, namely, diet and fitness. Some believe that these two factors mean one and the same, but the truth is they are a lot different. It is possible however to have an extremely healthy diet with bad fitness levels. Similarly, one may be physically fit but may follow an unbalanced dieting program.

There is a clever line in the song “Fruitcakes” by Jimmy Buffet, when his ‘lady’ grieves
“I treat my body like a temple
You treat yours like a tent”

I just can’t avoid thinking about this line when I observe people around the globe, who keep adopting crazy diet plans with the hope of achieving weight loss like those who market the product.

Truthfully speaking, one can lose weight through effective diet plans alone, but it is a difficult process. One can be maintain physical fitness and still be a little on the heavier side. Our lifestyle is largely dependent on the kind of food we consume. If our diet plan has high fat and low substance products, our bodies will lack the necessary fuel to burn excess fat. Similarly, if we don’t give our bodies the tools required to build muscles, the number of weights we lift is of no significance.

In order to produce best results related to a healthy lifestyle, diet and fitness must work hand in hand. Your fitness regime must burn the excess fat and calories while a healthy diet must supply the fuel and nutrients necessary to build muscle. I have often heard that a pound of fat weighs more than the same amount of muscle. Though this is not completely true, we know that a pound of muscle will occupy less area in the body when compared to a pound of fat. Talking in terms of pounds, I would prefer mine to be made of muscle rather than fat. Throughout your efforts, you must keep in mind that dieting alone will not build muscle.

You must realize that, in the process of adding muscles, you may be losing weight without showing significant progress on the weighing scale. It is essential that you remember this throughout the weight reduction program. If you measure progress by relying on the scales, you will be misled to a large extent. Many people do not realize this, and tend to give up due to frustration, while they are actually beginning to make progress. Do not let yourself be misled by the weighing scale. Look in to the mirror, wear a pair of tight pants, and then measure your waist. Don’t measure your weight loss success by checking how many pounds you lost this week, instead, see how it feels after climbing a few floors.

By merging your diet routine with your fitness regime, you help the body to lose any extra fat that may have been consumed. You can use this trick to make up for your tiny urges. All you have to do is burn off the extra calories by working out a little more than the usual. It is better to avoid doing this frequently, but occasionally using this “cheat” is fairly acceptable as it will not produce any mammoth effect on your diet plan.

One must look at diet plans and fitness programs as a simple ball and glove relationship. Though it is possible to play ball without using the glove, it works better when you use both. When diet and fitness are combined effectively, it will produce excellent weight loss results to people who take both seriously. The important thing to be remembered here is that neither will work well alone, and they will not work at all unless you are serious, focussed and willing to put in every ounce of effort. You must give it a high priority in your daily lifestyle, so that you can achieve fantastic results.