Diet vs. Exercise - Which Helps You Stay Slim?

When it comes to weight loss, what's more important: Diet or exercise? The answer is both -- exercise alone isn't enough to make you slim, but that doesn't mean you can live the life of a certified couch potato if you watch what you eat.

Most of us favor a balanced approach -- we eat well most of the time and try our best to get at least a few workouts in each week. But not everyone is alike -- some can stay slim without lifting a single dumbbell, and some can eat what they please because they burn it off with intense and frequent exercise. Yet others don't even pay a passing thought to diet or exercise -- they just can't be bothered with either. So I'm wondering, which are you?

Last week, I asked you if you preferred group exercise to solo workout sessions. Surprisingly,

• 56 percent said no -- you prefer to work out alone, without distraction.
• 24 percent said you like both -- some exercises are better alone, while some are best done with others.
• 12 said sometimes, depending on the activity.
• 8 percent always prefer a social workout -- exercising alone can be boring.

But whether you like workouts with others or not, just make sure you get out there and do something, like walking -- it's very effective for weight loss.