Exercise is a vital component of a healthy lifestyle, but exercise alone cannot help resolve people's weight issues. Some people engage in strength training because they want to develop a more muscular body and actually want to gain weight. The majority of people, though, find that exercise is a useful tool to help them fight the battle of the bulge. Exercise is important for everybody, no matter what their fitness goals may be or how much they weigh or want to weigh. However, simply exercising regularly is not enough to help people reach their weight targets or to maintain their weight if they do not consider the impact that diet has on their body.

Probably the most obvious point to make is that losing weight requires individuals to burn more calories than they feed their bodies. Exercise plays an important part in helping people to lose weight because regular exercise helps individuals to develop muscle tone in place of fat, and it speeds up their metabolism meaning calories are burned more quickly and efficiently. However, people who are aiming to lose weight sometimes find that they try to justify to themselves eating extra calories; calories which often come from unhealthy sources.

It is important to eat after exercising to replenish the body with food that contains complex carbohydrates, as the body has expended a lot of energy, and protein to help repair damaged muscles. Many people simply use the fact that they have burned more calories than usual as an excuse to eat a bar of chocolate or a slice of cake, though. Eating properly after exercise is essential if they want to recover quickly and avoid damaging themselves, particularly as the beneficial effects of exercise only come if it practised regularly. If people hurt themselves by exercising too rigorously and depriving their bodies of essential nutrients they may be out of action for awhile.

When people choose to eat junk food as a treat for exercising there is a good chance that they will undermine their weight-loss efforts, and the food they eat will cancel out all their good work. Even people who are aiming to maintain their weight cannot generally just eat what they want all day without thinking about the consequences. If they are toned and slim their bodies may burn calories more efficiently, but weight gain still works in the same way if people choose to consume more calories than their bodies use up, they will put on weight.

Although they would appear to be in the minority, some people actually want to gain weight, and so they need to consume a lot of protein, particularly if they are working on building up their body strength. Even so, calorie control still remains important, if they are to build muscle rather than excessive layers of fat.

People need to learn to eat a balanced diet which complements their exercise routine. A marathon runner is going to require a higher number of calories and more carbohydrates than somebody who lifts weights, whilst individuals who do not exercise regularly will have completely different nutritional requirements. Individuals therefore need to assess their own nutritional requirements and ensure that their diet meets them.

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