I think the answer lies in the question you just asked. It's a balancing act. Too much diet with not enough exercise is counterproductive, as is exercise without proper diet.

One thing I don't agree with, you mention TIME saying that heavy exercise makes you hungrier, and therefor more likely to eat "crap". You're only more likely to eat unhealthy food if you already eat unhealthy food, so perhaps a start would be only keeping healthy food and snacks around your house and/or office.

If you find yourself hungrier when you're going to the gym regularly, try supplementing your diet with protein. Protein fills you up, will help your muscles repair themselves, and it's an excellent alternative to crap.

Also, you have to keep in mind your goals within the boundaries of your genetics. Do you want to be skinny as a rail but you come from a rounder-than-most family? Do you want to have biceps the size of cannonballs and a shredded 6-pack? In some cases it simply is not possible, and if you're not genetically predisposed to have that physique no amount of diet or exercise will help you attain it.

In closing, I truly believe that dieting and exercise have far too many benefits to be written off so easily by these publications, TIME in particular. If "exercising too much" is the problem, then exercise LESS, but don't quit exercising all together. Same goes for dieting, if you're dieting TOO MUCH then diet JUST ENOUGH.

Oh, and drink lots of water. That helps keep you full, too. ;)