Focus on Quality Not Quantity of Your Diet and Exercise: Study

The quality of exercises and daily diet regimes aid weight loss not the quantity, finds a study.

Diet fads and popular work-out tips that make individuals set unrealistic weight-reduction goals are not only ineffective but also harmful to the body. Fitness experts found doing multidimensional exercises like yoga and pilates that involve stretching and endurance and resistance training along with intake of protein substances help achieve slimmer waists and lean body mass.

The study, led by Paul Arciero a member of American Heart Association, discovered that a balanced lifestyle of good quality workout and dieting controls blood pressure, insulin levels and overall body fat.

They observed 36 women and 21 men aged between 35 and 57 with low fitness levels to record the impacts of good quality workout and diet.

These participants reportedly exercised for less than an hour in a week and had never taken part in resistance workout since a decade. On an average, their BMI was 28.6 and the overall body fat was about 36.6 percent.

All subjects were asked to consume 60 grams of protein daily for 16 weeks. These individuals were divided in to three groups- a group that did not exercise, a group that followed high resistance training for four weeks and a group that followed multidimensional exercise regime.

At the end of the trial, participants following multidimensional exercise were recorded having the highest weight reduction, less abdominal fat and improved health and blood glucose levels. This group was able to achieve leaner body mass compared to other participants. 

The study noted protein intake in all subjects improved health. Increasing protein levels in daily food by 35 percent curbed total fat in the body and abdominal region. These findings debunk the common myths like doing too much exercise, eating less or avoiding protein can cut down excess body weight. The authors advise people to focus on the quality of exercise and eating habits and not on quantity. They urge public to remember and incorporate PRISE- Protein, Resistance, Interval, Stretching and Endurance to improve physical health.

"Your exercise regimen needs to encompass as much of what makes you a fully integrated living person as possible. It's not about simply doing more exercise," said Arciero in a news release.

"It's about doing the appropriate range of exercises and activities that most effectively promote health and fitness. After all, it's about 'keeping your 'eye on the PRISE' in order to achieve optimal health."

More information is available online in the Journal of Applied Physiology.