Diet VS Exercise For Fat Loss: Which Is Better?

Losing weight makes a world of difference to any individual. In a world, the way you appear online and offline has a significant impact on your professional and personal life in 2025. 

As much as having a moderate weight is essential, the approach of many people towards weight loss is one-dimensional (Diet Or Exercise).

This approach wastes a lot of time, and the results (if any) are often not maintainable.

In this blog, we will list out healthy ways to lose weight,without losing your mind (and money).

Diet VS exercise for weight loss, whichis the best option?

The simple answer is the combination of both (& one more factor). Eating within a prescribed limit (calories) and engaging in physical exercise are important to lose weight in a balanced way. 

Excess of either of them will have a physical and mental impact.  

1. Diet

You can have anything in food, including sugar, fat, etc and still lose weight. How?

“Calories In, Calories Out”. You need to have food that is 300-500 calories below the maintenance level (You can find your daily calorie requirements for maintenance here). 

If your daily calorie requirement is 2,200, then your calorie intake should be 1700-1900. 

The gradual and consistent system of consuming fewer calories will assist in losing around 0.3-0.5 kg each week. What's even better is this type of weight loss will not lead to muscle loss, which is important even if your goal is not building muscles. 

2. Exercise

Strength training and Cardio are two popular types of exercises.  And before you opt for any, you need to understand that losing weight is different from losing body fat. Your goal should be to lose fat.

If your fat percentage is over 30%, (You can check your tentative body fat percentage here) you need to prioritise Cardio over strength training until you reach around 20-22% body fat. 

Some of the best types of cardio are:

• Walking 10k steps daily (suggested)
• Swimming 
• Boxing Bag working (for instant results) &
• Cycling

A heavy boxing bag workout is an excellent option for burning calories. Not only will it assist in burning around 800-900 calories per hour, but learning to box will also help you in real-life circumstances. 

The catch always is to engage in exercise that you love doing. A boxing bag workout is fun, especially in group classes that usually consist of new joiners.

In India, there are few exclusive gyms for boxing, and you also have Cult Fit, which conducts group sessions and it is also very accessible in Tier 1 & 2 cities. With this type of physical activity, you can lose up to 400-450 calories with a 30-minute session.

3.The Last But An Important Factor-Additional Tip

There is a high probability that you may do everything right in your weight loss journey, including engaging in healthy eating and being in a calorie deficit, and yet you may not lose fat or, worse yet, gain weight.

This has to do with the food we consume. In most cases, Indian food has a high concentration of starch, sugar, and oil. Our body is meant to break these elements with the aid of stomach acid, which is formed naturally in our body. 

However, because of the type of food we have, this rarely occurs. 

The results: 

If you consume 2000 calories, the impact is possibly of 2500 calories or more. 

To deal with this issue (with the consultation with the doctor), you can consider taking Betaine HCL, which increases the stomach acid that can break down the food molecule.

Betaine HCL is no substitute for physical activity and eating healthy food. It is one of the natural ways to reduce weight loss in combination of other activities

Other Popular FAQs

1. How many hours of fasting for weight loss?

Fasting in itself will not reduce your weight. In a 24-hour window, if you fast for 23 hours and consume 2,300 calories in the remaining hour (when your maintenance level should be 2,000), you will still gain weight.

You need to be in a calorie deficit in a 24-hour window to reduce weight. It is suggested that you distribute your food intake, including protein, in 3-4 meals a day.

2. What exercise burns the most belly fat?

No exercise targets a specific body part, including the belly. If you want to lose fat near the stomach or hips, or arms, then you need to lose overall body fat. 

3. Is walking enough exercise?

Yes, if you take 10,000 steps each day, the walking is sufficient for your weight loss journey. In fact, experts highly recommend walking 10,000 steps over any type of physical activity.

4. Is 70% diet and 30% exercise true?

This notion is incorrect. If anything, the diet is 33%, physical activity is 33%, and good sleep is 34%. Your weight loss journey should be a combination of all elements for long-term results.

5. How to lose 5kg in 2 weeks?

Losing 5kgs in 2 weeks is possible but not suggested. Even the MMA fighters lose plenty of weight in a few weeks, but that only makes them appear lethargic and unnatural during weigh-ins. 

They focus heavily on daily calorie consumption in last few weeks of competition, and get involved in intense exercise like cardio, etc, to lose excess weight in a short time.

6. How much weight will you lose if you exercise for 1 hour daily?

The weight loss will depend on the type of exercise or cardio you are opting for and how many calories you are consuming daily. 

If you choose to opt for high-intensity training, you can lose between 1- 1.5kgs of body weight weekly, if you are in calorie deficit. 

7. Can I gain muscle while losing weight?

Yes, you can gain lean muscle even on the small calorie deficit, but you need to have right amount of protein intake (1.6gms per kg of body weight) and avoid extreme cardio, which often comes at expense of muscle loss.