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80% diet, 20% exercise.
LisaMarieSwain
Posts: 9 Member
in Debate Club
"I tell my students that we control our body weight by what we put in our mouth and we control our fitness through exercise," Gibala said.
I pulled this quote from a link in an article posted on MFP. It got me thinking; by diet alone (restricting calories according to loseit app guidelines), I lost over 50 pounds a couple years ago. And here I am, 70 pounds over weight, and understanding I made a wrong turn somewhere.
I had a doctor once tell me that weight loss was 80% diet and 20% exercise. I am beginning to question that. Perhaps the actual physical weight loss, measurable on the scale is affected proportionately to those percentages, but without exercise, the physical appearance changes (and there are some extraordinary benefits to losing weight for sake of your health) but internally, you aren't improving.
I know that the less you weigh (down to your healthy weight) puts less strain on your body. I'm talking about the changes that come from body chemistry as you begin to and continue to exercise.
I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
Does anyone have any research to back this up, or similar experiences that support (or dispute) this?
I pulled this quote from a link in an article posted on MFP. It got me thinking; by diet alone (restricting calories according to loseit app guidelines), I lost over 50 pounds a couple years ago. And here I am, 70 pounds over weight, and understanding I made a wrong turn somewhere.
I had a doctor once tell me that weight loss was 80% diet and 20% exercise. I am beginning to question that. Perhaps the actual physical weight loss, measurable on the scale is affected proportionately to those percentages, but without exercise, the physical appearance changes (and there are some extraordinary benefits to losing weight for sake of your health) but internally, you aren't improving.
I know that the less you weigh (down to your healthy weight) puts less strain on your body. I'm talking about the changes that come from body chemistry as you begin to and continue to exercise.
I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
Does anyone have any research to back this up, or similar experiences that support (or dispute) this?
3
Replies
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Weight loss is 100% calorie balance. Take in less than is used by the body, regardless of exercise.
Exercise has many benefits, but weight loss is about energy balance. Full stop.14 -
Weight management is 100% about balancing energy consumption and expenditure. Exercise has numerous health benefits...and yes, exercise is going to change how you look and your overall composition...it also makes weight management easier in that you are expending more energy...but it isn't necessary to weight management.
That said, I've been in maintenance for going on three years this week and regular exercise is a pretty key component to that in that it makes it more difficult to over eat...it's certainly not impossible to overeat, but I have a lot more latitude than if I didn't exercise. If I didn't exercise, I'd just have to eat quite a bit less to maintain...which would be sucky.
If you look at most people who maintain a healthy weight, they tend to maintain a healthy lifestyle in general...they tend to eat relatively well and they tend to get regular exercise and are often just more active in general.
It's too easy to overeat when you're sedentary.11 -
Physically, like others have said, it's energy balance, and exercise can play a major role in that or almost none.
Mentally, it probably depends on the person. It's very important to me (I seem to maintain my weight easily when active). So I hate things like that 80/20 -- makes no sense and is basically meaningless. I tend to see losing weight as part of an effort to be as fit and healthy as I can be, too, and for me exercise is an essential part of that. That said, if I couldn't exercise it is nice to know that I can maintain weight simply by adjusting my intake.3 -
cmriverside wrote: »Weight loss is 100% calorie balance. Take in less than is used by the body, regardless of exercise.
Exercise has many benefits, but weight loss is about energy balance. Full stop.
This^
For me maintenance = exercise. I've always been able to take the weight off.....exercise or not. Losing weight is a temporary state. Maintenance is a lifetime.
I have concluded that I need to get my butt off the couch or I will always be fat. I don't want to be on a diet forever. So adding exercise gives me a little wiggle room.5 -
LisaMarieSwain wrote: »"I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
Does anyone have any research to back this up, or similar experiences that support (or dispute) this?
I know exercise is key for me. I'd rather be overweight than eat as little as I'd be able without exercise.
If your question is purely about weight control then obviously weight can be gained or lost without exercise. But activity level does play a part in weight control. You may actually lose fewer pounds with regular exercise since you'll likely retain more muscle.2 -
I have heard weight loss is 80% eating at calorie deficit, 10% exercise, 10% heredity.
And the fact is, eating more calories than you burn results in weight gain, whether or not you exercise.
Moving more, is beneficial to your body, but you still have to eat less calories than you burn to lose weight, calories burned vs calories eaten, has to be equal to maintain, and you will gain weight if you eat more calories than your body burns.1 -
I appreciate all of the feedback. I just like thinking of this as a new way of life; I'm never going back to couch sitting!2
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Weight loss is NOT simply calories. As I understand and work on, weight loss is like a three leg stool. Leg 1 can be diet, leg 2 would be exercise, and leg 3 would be sleep. I would not have lost 90 pounds simply following a starvation diet CICO. I have able to keep this loss off by paying attention to diet, exercise, sleep and reducing stress.11
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I'm always amused by the 80% diet/20% exercise rule that's always regurgitated everywhere you look. It may be true for someone who was overeating and has to cut back, but it's different for someone who's not overeating but creates a deficit from exercise rather than reducing intake.
At 152 lbs, i was maintaining on ~1500 calories, while sedentary. A year ago, I started exercising A LOT - elliptical, spinning, swimming, hiking, cycling etc. I've been eating ~1700 calories and I've lost 34 lbs, down to 118 lbs.
So was it diet or exercise? I didn't eat less, in fact, I ate more. I'd say it was 100% exercise and 0% diet in terms of where I derived the calorie deficit that resulted in weight loss. And now in maintenance, since I want to continue eating about 1700 calories, I continue to exercise but since I don't need a deficit any more, I don't have to exercise as much as I did when losing.9 -
Traveler120 wrote: »I'm always amused by the 80% diet/20% exercise rule that's always regurgitated everywhere you look. It may be true for someone who was overeating and has to cut back, but it's different for someone who's not overeating but creates a deficit from exercise rather than reducing intake.
At 152 lbs, i was maintaining on ~1500 calories, while sedentary. A year ago, I started exercising A LOT - elliptical, spinning, swimming, hiking, cycling etc. I've been eating ~1700 calories and I've lost 34 lbs, down to 118 lbs.
So was it diet or exercise? I didn't eat less, in fact, I ate more. I'd say it was 100% exercise and 0% diet in terms of where I derived the calorie deficit that resulted in weight loss. And now in maintenance, since I want to continue eating about 1700 calories, I continue to exercise but since I don't need a deficit any more, I don't have to exercise as much as I did when losing.
You say you are exercising A LOT, so you are burning A LOT more calories, so you can eat more and still lose weight. Eating 1500 and maintaining @ 152 while sedentary vs: eating 1700 and losing and exercising A LOT would indicate that you are burning more than 200 extra calories, so you should be losing weight. You are eating less calories than you are burning. Now you are at maintenance, eating the same amount of calories 1700, exercising less. Nothing amusing, just CICO, eating less calories than you burn to lose, eating the same amount of calories to maintain and exercising less, and it is not 100% because of exercise it is CICO.
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psychologically I think the exercise component is important. When I exercise, I feel inclined to be healthy in other aspects of my life, it makes my body feel more energised and keep me away from stuffing myself. On a day when I don't keep active, I tend to eat too much - the weekend was a case in point. I drove everywhere, I ate too much, I drank too much wine.
Yesterday I rediscovered the joy of walking into the city for a class, then feeling energised I walked home again rather than take the bus. I chose not to eat too much and fill my stomach BECAUSE I had that feeling of being energised. I think the concept of weightloss alone by diet is terrifyingly boring. I care far more about getting fitter so I can do more things, than a figure on a scale, and the weightloss is just a by-product brought on by my more active lifestyle. I doubt you can separate the two, and I imagine that those who succeed long-term, are those who do both.
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LisaMarieSwain wrote: »"I tell my students that we control our body weight by what we put in our mouth and we control our fitness through exercise," Gibala said.
I pulled this quote from a link in an article posted on MFP. It got me thinking; by diet alone (restricting calories according to loseit app guidelines), I lost over 50 pounds a couple years ago. And here I am, 70 pounds over weight, and understanding I made a wrong turn somewhere.
I had a doctor once tell me that weight loss was 80% diet and 20% exercise. I am beginning to question that. Perhaps the actual physical weight loss, measurable on the scale is affected proportionately to those percentages, but without exercise, the physical appearance changes (and there are some extraordinary benefits to losing weight for sake of your health) but internally, you aren't improving.
I know that the less you weigh (down to your healthy weight) puts less strain on your body. I'm talking about the changes that come from body chemistry as you begin to and continue to exercise.
I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
Does anyone have any research to back this up, or similar experiences that support (or dispute) this?
Physical activity is key to health, it is not key to losing weight. You will have benefits from exercise when overweight, same as weight loss will help improve health even when sedentary.
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snowflake930 wrote: »Traveler120 wrote: »I'm always amused by the 80% diet/20% exercise rule that's always regurgitated everywhere you look. It may be true for someone who was overeating and has to cut back, but it's different for someone who's not overeating but creates a deficit from exercise rather than reducing intake.
At 152 lbs, i was maintaining on ~1500 calories, while sedentary. A year ago, I started exercising A LOT - elliptical, spinning, swimming, hiking, cycling etc. I've been eating ~1700 calories and I've lost 34 lbs, down to 118 lbs.
So was it diet or exercise? I didn't eat less, in fact, I ate more. I'd say it was 100% exercise and 0% diet in terms of where I derived the calorie deficit that resulted in weight loss. And now in maintenance, since I want to continue eating about 1700 calories, I continue to exercise but since I don't need a deficit any more, I don't have to exercise as much as I did when losing.
You say you are exercising A LOT, so you are burning A LOT more calories, so you can eat more and still lose weight. Eating 1500 and maintaining @ 152 while sedentary vs: eating 1700 and losing and exercising A LOT would indicate that you are burning more than 200 extra calories, so you should be losing weight. You are eating less calories than you are burning. Now you are at maintenance, eating the same amount of calories 1700, exercising less. Nothing amusing, just CICO, eating less calories than you burn to lose, eating the same amount of calories to maintain and exercising less, and it is not 100% because of exercise it is CICO.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is CICO?0 -
LisaMarieSwain wrote: »snowflake930 wrote: »Traveler120 wrote: »I'm always amused by the 80% diet/20% exercise rule that's always regurgitated everywhere you look. It may be true for someone who was overeating and has to cut back, but it's different for someone who's not overeating but creates a deficit from exercise rather than reducing intake.
At 152 lbs, i was maintaining on ~1500 calories, while sedentary. A year ago, I started exercising A LOT - elliptical, spinning, swimming, hiking, cycling etc. I've been eating ~1700 calories and I've lost 34 lbs, down to 118 lbs.
So was it diet or exercise? I didn't eat less, in fact, I ate more. I'd say it was 100% exercise and 0% diet in terms of where I derived the calorie deficit that resulted in weight loss. And now in maintenance, since I want to continue eating about 1700 calories, I continue to exercise but since I don't need a deficit any more, I don't have to exercise as much as I did when losing.
You say you are exercising A LOT, so you are burning A LOT more calories, so you can eat more and still lose weight. Eating 1500 and maintaining @ 152 while sedentary vs: eating 1700 and losing and exercising A LOT would indicate that you are burning more than 200 extra calories, so you should be losing weight. You are eating less calories than you are burning. Now you are at maintenance, eating the same amount of calories 1700, exercising less. Nothing amusing, just CICO, eating less calories than you burn to lose, eating the same amount of calories to maintain and exercising less, and it is not 100% because of exercise it is CICO.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is CICO?
Calories in, calories out
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@GBrady43068 thank you for clarifying! That post makes more sense now.
Now to my next question ... Is there an accurate formula that can be used to determine how many actual calories you are burning? (I've heard that Fitbit and similar trackers are an average, but what if I wanted to dial it in?)0 -
LisaMarieSwain wrote: »I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
It is for me, without question. I won't speak for others though.
The periods of my life where I haven't had regular exercise in my life (either due to work commitments, laziness or both) correlate with periods of flabbiness, low mood, irritability and general lack of my usual kickassedness.
Exercise drives my health in a way that diet cannot match as it creates a self reinforcing circle of good behaviours which diet alone cannot hope to achieve.
Exercise is the best medicine for me. Always has been...
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snowflake930 wrote: »Traveler120 wrote: »I'm always amused by the 80% diet/20% exercise rule that's always regurgitated everywhere you look. It may be true for someone who was overeating and has to cut back, but it's different for someone who's not overeating but creates a deficit from exercise rather than reducing intake.
At 152 lbs, i was maintaining on ~1500 calories, while sedentary. A year ago, I started exercising A LOT - elliptical, spinning, swimming, hiking, cycling etc. I've been eating ~1700 calories and I've lost 34 lbs, down to 118 lbs.
So was it diet or exercise? I didn't eat less, in fact, I ate more. I'd say it was 100% exercise and 0% diet in terms of where I derived the calorie deficit that resulted in weight loss. And now in maintenance, since I want to continue eating about 1700 calories, I continue to exercise but since I don't need a deficit any more, I don't have to exercise as much as I did when losing.
You say you are exercising A LOT, so you are burning A LOT more calories, so you can eat more and still lose weight. Eating 1500 and maintaining @ 152 while sedentary vs: eating 1700 and losing and exercising A LOT would indicate that you are burning more than 200 extra calories, so you should be losing weight. You are eating less calories than you are burning. Now you are at maintenance, eating the same amount of calories 1700, exercising less. Nothing amusing, just CICO, eating less calories than you burn to lose, eating the same amount of calories to maintain and exercising less, and it is not 100% because of exercise it is CICO.
^that. If you were burning more from exercise, you probably created a bigger deficit when you were just eating to maintain. You may have burned 300 cals per day and it put you at an additional 100 cal deficit. I've lost weight at 1,200 calories and 1,700. The difference was how hard I was working in the gym.
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@msf74 I love the idea of exercise as medicine! And I really hope it be able to replace my medication at some point (under Doctor supervision of course).
I also like the idea of exercise being the driving force behind health, creating a cycle of healthy habits than "diet alone can not hope to achieve".
Very insightful and encouraging, I appreciate it!1 -
LisaMarieSwain wrote: »"I tell my students that we control our body weigmoht by what we put in our mouth and we control our fitness through exercise," Gibala said.
I pulled this quote from a link in an article posted on MFP. It got me thinking; by diet alone (restricting calories according to loseit app guidelines), I lost over 50 pounds a couple years ago. And here I am, 70 pounds over weight, and understanding I made a wrong turn somewhere.
I had a doctor once tell me that weight loss was 80% diet and 20% exercise. I am beginning to question that. Perhaps the actual physical weight loss, measurable on the scale is affected proportionately to those percentages, but without exercise, the physical appearance changes (and there are some extraordinary benefits to losing weight for sake of your health) but internally, you aren't improving.
I know that the less you weigh (down to your healthy weight) puts less strain on your body. I'm talking about the changes that come from body chemistry as you begin to and continue to exercise.
I'm beginning to think that exercise; regular, daily activity, is key to long term results; to life changing habits being formed, and becoming accustomed to and desiring the chemical releases that happen to you during and after a workout.
Does anyone have any research to back this up, or similar experiences that support (or dispute) this?
I'll be the odd one out here-lost the extra weight with zero exercise and now 3 years into maintenance with no exercise regiment. For me it's been 100% diet /calorie intake, 0% exercise. And I'm in excellent health by all the markers my doctor goes by, even without regular exercise. My blood panels improved and are now good across the board (used to have higher glucose numbers, those have now stabilized into the 80s), blood pressure improved and is now good, I have no health issues, take no medication etc etc.4 -
People tend to overestimate their calorie burn during exercise. Losing weight is mostly about food control and nutrition. The exercise has other benefits for your health so it is only good stuff (cardiovascular health, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, etc). However, too many people try to exercise off the weight (I ate a donut so I'll do ten extra minutes today) and it doesn't work that way. I've been successful with calorie control and walking/bike riding. That's all I've done for exercise and I'm down 78lbs. I'd guesstimate it being more like 90%/10%. Just my humble opinion.2
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