Maintaing a healthy lifestyle requires a balance of diet and exercise [1], but is one more effective than the other? The video above (which was published to YouTube yesterday and already has over 500,000 views!) offers a comprehensive breakdown of what plays a greater role when it comes to weight loss — and the answer may surprise you.

It turns out that eliminating certain foods from your diet will contribute to greater and quicker weight-loss success. While exercise is essential to staying healthy beyond losing weight [2], if your goal is to shed pounds, pay closer attention to what you're eating.

Watch the clip and see how simple lifestyle changes — like ditching soda and candy bars — can yield better results.