New Study: Nutrition Trumps Exercise for a Lean Body – Should You Adjust Your Program for Better Results?

If you’ve been following the EnergyFirst Program (without cheating), you’re in luck. A new study suggests that what you eat determines whether or not you’re fat or thin, and the EnergyFirst Program supports these findings by putting nutrition first, using the following equation for optimal health: 75% nutrition, 20% exercise, and 5% supplementation.

The Results are In: Thin People Eat Well But Don’t Necessarily Exercise A Lot

"Weight loss is not likely to happen without dietary restraint," says nutritionist Amy Luke, a researcher on the recent study, suggesting that nutrition is the key player when it comes to staying lean. Luke also says: "Evidence is beginning to accumulate that dietary intake may be more important than energy expenditure level." This means that if you cut back on exercising, you can still stay lean as long as you eat well!

Nutrition Trumps Exercise

The recent study, conducted by Loyola University Health System, University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Howard University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public, Health and University of Wisconsin, and published in the September 2008 issue of the journal Obesity, took a group of obese African American women from metropolitan Chicago (average weight: 184 pounds) and compared them to slender women in rural Nigeria (average weight: 127 pounds). It was expected that the slender Nigerians would be much more physically active and burning more calories than the obese Americans, but the researchers found that both groups of women, slender and obese, had the same activity/ energy expenditure levels!

Their diets, however, were dramatically different. The women from Chicago ate 40 – 45% of their diets in fat and had plenty of high processed foods, like processed white flour and sugar. The women from Nigeria, on the other hand, ate plenty of fiber and unprocessed carbohydrates and skipped the fat and animal protein, or just ate small portions of them.

Are you focused on what you need to be thin (and healthy and happy)? First things first!

Exercise is still very important in achieving your ideal weight as it helps to strengthen your body and speed up your metabolism, both which help you burn fat. But, as Gerry Morton says, " Regardless of how much someone exercises, they’re never going to achieve the results they want without ideal nutrition."

That’s where the EnergyFirst Program’s focus on 75% nutrition / 20% exercise / 5% supplementation comes in and how you can adjust your own focus to achieve a lean body. (Click here to review the EnergyFirst Program or get started if you haven’t already.)

For years, the EnergyFirst Program has been working on the principle that the quality of food you put in your body affects your biochemistry. The quality of food meaning the food source and the ratio of proteins to fats to carbohydrates.

This is important because eating lean protein and good fats with carbohydrates works to stabilize your blood sugar level. The lean protein and good fats slow the conversion of carbs into glucose, keeping your blood sugar level stable. The more stable your blood sugar the more energy you have, the stronger your immune system, the better your performance and longevity AND, importantly, the more fat you burn!

Yes, eating a "fist size" of lean protein, a "thumb size" of healthy oils, and a "fist size" of unprocessed carbs is where it’s at when it comes to being slender. Follow the "Fist, Thumb, Fist Rule" for every meal and enjoy the results. Even if the only exercise you get is pouring things into your blender to make your favorite breakfast shake.

A Simple Trick to Eating Right and Putting Nutrition First: the EnergyFirst Shake

One of the cornerstones to the EnergyFirst Program is having the EnergyFirst Shake for breakfast. If you do nothing else, try at least this to help you get on the good nutrition bandwagon because it contains all the items to satisfy the Fist, Thumb, Fist Rule:

• 4–6 oz of lean, complete protein (whey protein powder),
• A tablespoon portion of good fats/oils (omega–3 fish oil or omega raw seed blend)
• No more than 1 serving of unprocessed carbohydrates (green drink powder)

Plus the EnergyFirst Shake is easy and quick to make so you’re more likely to stick to it. Click here for EnergyFirst Shake recipe and info. Then click the following to stock up on the ingredients (all currently with money–back guarantee): ProEnergy Whey Protein Powder, Greenergy green drink powder, omega–3 oils.

We also have a variety of tasty shake and smoothie recipes. Click here for recipes and enjoy the fast–metabolism, lean body results!