'Motivated' with Mara Schiavocampo: Do you even need exercise?

— -- When it comes to weight loss, there is often a dispute on whether exercise or diet is most important.

ABC News’ Mara Schiavocampo sat down with obesity expert Dr. Louis Aronne and trainer Noah Neiman to tackle this topic for the first episode of ABC News’ new health and wellness podcast, "Motivated."

There is no denying the positive effects of exercise, Aronne said. “Exercise is key to good health. One of the most important things people can do to improve their health is exercise regularly.”

But when it comes to dropping pounds, your diet plays a major role. “There is tremendous research that shows for the weight loss part itself, it's really what you're eating but once you [lose the weight] you need the exercise,” Aronne said.

He added that he tells his patients diet is key to losing weight but exercise is critical for maintaining your weight and overall health.

“You can't out-exercise a bad diet,” Neiman agreed.

Still, he argues losing weight is not all about diet and exercise -- it’s also about your mindset. “I was 215 pounds at my heaviest ... I would go the gym and train for a physique,” he said.

“That’s the most baseless form of training. ... Train for a feeling, train for the emotional rewards, train for that belief in self,” he continued.

His advice is to do as much as you can with the time you have. “It's not selfish to prioritize 20 to 30 minutes a day to do something," he said. "... Don't try to reinvent yourself overnight -- small systemic changes and you will end up being a stronger and healthier person."

New episodes of "Motivated" are posted every Monday on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music, ABCNewsPodcasts.com and the ABC News apps.