Diet vs. Exercise: Which Is the Champ?

Great news! You don't have to starve yourself to get that perfect, fat-free frame. In fact, you shouldn't.

Because even if you lose weight through dieting alone, your body won't burn fat any easier. To rev up your fat-burning engines, focus less on how often you empty your plate and more on how often you fill your walking shoes.

Fat Burning and More
When a group of sedentary and overweight older adults recently tested three weight loss systems -- exercise only (mostly walking), diet only, and exercise plus diet -- there was no question about the results. When it came to fat burning, the walkers won hands down over those who simply watched what they ate. The bodies of the people who strutted their stuff used more fat to fuel their activity. (Know how to pick the perfect pair of sneaks? Watch this video for tips on the best walking shoes.)

A Little Goes a Long Way
Just 30 minutes of daily walking gives you a host of health benefits besides extra fat burning, including more disease protection and better stress stomping. Get started with these six simple steps to walking off the fat.

Separate and combined effects of exercise training and weight loss on exercise efficiency and substrate oxidation. Amati, F. et al., Journal of Applied Physiology 2008 Sep;105(3):825-831.