Swimsuit season is right around the corner, and if you’ve been putting off planning out an effective diet and fitness strategy for weight loss, a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine suggests tackling diet improvements and regular exercise at the same time produces optimal results.

Researchers recruited 200 adults aged 45 and older who hadn’t been eating very healthy or getting much exercise. Some were encouraged to start eating healthier and exercising right away while others focused on either diet or exercise for a couple of months before incorporating the other aspect into their weight loss program. Those who went all in with both diet and fitness were much more likely to get the recommended amount of exercise each week and consume 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

True Strength Moment: While you probably aren’t eating as poorly as these middle aged subjects and are likely to be a lot more active than they were before this intervention, it might help to know that the second best option for weight loss was hitting the gym right away and dialing in your diet a little later. Now that you’re regularly hitting personal bests, take a look at how you’re reinforcing those gains in the kitchen.