Is it true that … you need to work out if you want to lose weight?

To shift the pounds you need to create a calorie deficit, which means changes to your diet, exercise, or a combination of the two In order to lose weight, most people need to maintain a calorie deficit over a sustained period, says Bethan Crouse, a performance nutritionist at Loughborough University. “This can be done by increasing exercise to boost your calorie expenditure and therefore create a deficit,” she says. “In that case, exercise might be the key to losing weight. But you could approach it the other way: by choosing less calorie-dense foods and reducing your energy intake, you can create a deficit without changing how much you exercise.” Relying on workouts alone for weight loss can be challenging. “If you’re aiming to burn an extra 300 to 500 calories a day, that’s an awful lot of exercise. You’re likely to need some kind of nutritional intervention as well to create that gap between energy intake and output.” She recommends focusing on diet, ensuring meals are built around a good source of protein, plenty of vegetables and fruit, healthy fats and a wholegrain carbohydrate – but don’t make carbs the majority of the meal. When it comes to moveme