Which is better, dieting or exercise, or are they equal?

ok obviously a combination of both diet and exercise is best regarding weight loss, but some friends and I were trying to figure out which (if either) brings the most results. I always thought they were equal but some of my friends say clean eating plays the main role in weight loss. My other friends, however, swear that exercise is most important. so which is it? diet? exercise? or are they equal?
please note i am not asking for weight loss tips or a new diet/exercise program, i am happy with my current health, i am simply looking to settle a debate, thank you!

Stop Excusing Yourself From Losing Weight and Lose Weight

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If you are exercising but still overrating you won''t lose weight. So I think dieting

• It depends on what you define as "health." If "health" to your friends is merely being thin, then diet is the most important. If you''re being honest with yourself and define health as a combination of both physical and biochemical balance, you need both diet and exercise. Exercise improves your heart''s performance and decreases your blood pressure, two very important long-term health indicators. Diet improves your body''s tolerance to insulin, reducing your odds of getting diabetes.
• Since the vast majority of your daily calories are used to keep your body going (breathing, temperature regulation etc) you have to do a LOT of exercise to cover additional calories. So, eating sensibly is more important than exercising for hours. Although you''ll never get toned just from diet, tone requires exercise. And it''s not the volume of food that makes the most difference, it''s the type of food. 2000 calories a day of fast food will make you a lot more unhealthy (and fat) vs 2000 calories from vegetables. That said, most people who are ''naturally thin'' are twitchy types who can''t sit still - incidental exercise helps.
• Rather than dieting as such, healthy eating is very important combined with exercise. The difference is this. The stomach may become full or be tricked into feeling full, but the cells of the body also have a sense of hunger. If they are not getting their nutrition, they will remain hungry.
  
  If you eat the same amount of food but eat non-processed and organic foods, you will be getting much more nutrition. Processed foods are often drained of most of their nutrition.
  
  As for exercise, just cardio alone isn''t enough. While that does burn calories, each muscle must be made to go through its "paces" so that individually, the each muscle is using calories. In this way they will become toned.
  
  Great exercises for working each muscle - Pilates, Yoga but especially the Zookinesis age reversal exercises.
  
  With these two tips (cellular nutrition and the exercising of all the individual muscles) you will be well on your way to weight loss and toning.