Well done on the gym and junk food reduction!!!! That's awesome!
I do think that diet plays such a huge part in your health and emotions - way more than people realize and way more than the gym... but obviously the gym is great too.
I looked into those rings a while ago and didn't want to spend them money, but I definitely think there is value there - especially in figuring out what types of foods might have different effects - as much as I love it, I know my body reacts worse to bread than rice - but it's taken me years to figure that out.
I think it is two (also more) pronged. The diet is huge though, especially with sugar, as it really affects hormones a lot. I think the gym is "useless" if living a normal active life, but most of us aren't these days, so have to fake activity to keep the balance.
While not too much of an issue now as I am on special medication, it was the same for me for my stomach. However, the worst was any carbohydrate (especially bread) mixed with protein. It was a killer.
Yeah, I totally agree about the uselessness of the gym, I loved living in the forest and chopping wood, fixing fences, collecting branches, carrying buckets of water for the sheep, digging holes, moving stones, etc. Not only were the ranges of movement more comprehensive but I felt like I was contributing to multi-year projects - so there was an added sense of accomplishment - but I don't think there's literally enough land for us all to have that.