Weight loss is 90% food, 10% exercise?
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I've seen the 80/20 reference a lot. I think what it means is that too many people think exercise causes a lot more weight loss than it does. It doesn't mean exercise isn't important. It does mean that just because you walk two miles every day (some people think this is SUCH an accomplishment when it's really the minimum for good health), it doesn't mean you're "due" at least 2 lbs. of weight loss every week just for doing it! People really think that; they think if they have been sedentary that walking two miles a day, but still eating whatever they have been eating, and not tracking anything, will cause weight loss. And they get all upset when it doesn't.6
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Weight loss is 100% calorie deficit.13
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I don't buy those extreme percentages.
The fact is you can exercise off your calories ...but can you keep that up forever? some do... Look at the Biggest Loser show..that is what they do..and they prove it works. Yet most if all of them gained back..because who can work out 6 hours a day?
Cutting calories alone does work too.. I've done that.. Many balance the two to suit their live style.
I read the best advice here on a success forum. a guy at goal said he has learned to control his eating because he doesn't have to out exercise his calories any longer. At first he exercised a lot to keep at a deficit..but for the long term it wouldn't have worked for him, so he'd rather just control his eating more at this point.
So...balance the two for your life, personality, what would be sustainable for you for the rest of your life.3 -
elisa123gal wrote: »The fact is you can exercise off your calories ...but can you keep that up forever? some do... Look at the Biggest Loser show..that is what they do..and they prove it works. Yet most if all of them gained back..because who can work out 6 hours a day?
They lose on the show with a combination of extreme exercise and starvation diet...and, depending on who you believe, street drugs.
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Weight loss really is 100% food, but are any of us really here for just weight loss? I know I want to be able to do more, have better blood test numbers, be more healthy in my old age and look better. In short be healthier. Exercise is a huge aid in all of this goals as well. For my weight loss I have to focus on my food, for my health I have to ramp up my exercise. There is the added benefit that exercise gives me a modest amount of calories extra to eat and still lose weight, but I wouldn't equate a candy bar as worth an hour or two of exercise. That hour or two is worth it though to eventually be able to play tennis well again.4
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rainbowbow wrote: »I would say....
weight loss is 100% diet
fitness and strength is 100% exercise
both are equally as important to the overall package that is you.
I saw the title and popped in to say that trying to quantify it with percentages is pointless and meaningless, but this one I agree with 100%. ;-)
OP, if you've been exercising for fitness and eating the extra calories you burn (with an overall deficit from maintenance) then you are doing it right. Arbitrary percentages people put on exercise vs. diet doesn't change the fact that you lose weight by eating less than you burn and if you exercise you burn more. Someone who exercises hard and has an uncontrolled diet likely won't lose weight (although some will). But similarly, someone who exercises hard and eats at a deficit based on a pretense that they don't exercise at all will be eating too little and probably burn out hard.4 -
I've heard that, but I'm not sure I agree with it. Weight loss is just creating a deficit, that can be done 100% through restricting calories or 100% through increasing the level of activity provided intake stays the same. The only thing I believe works in 100% of the cases is that lasting weight loss is 100% adherence.5
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Trying to nail down the percentage of diet vs exercise is a rather nebulous exercise. They blend together to create the final outcome so it's really irrelevant in practical terms, but we can say that diet is the over riding factor since it's the one that is the easiest to control for most people. When I was at my most active I was burning over 21 calories/pound per day, meaning I was doubling my BMR in activity and exercise so I could eat a lot more and still lose quickly. For a person who is only moderately active they have to be more aware of what they eat.
Overall, I really do like the idea that diet for weight control and exercise for health because it indicates that exercise is more than just a weight control tool that you stop doing when you hit your goal weight.2 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Also, the saying "you can't out train a *kitten* diet" exists for a reason. Just ask every powerlifter walking around with a pack of hotdogs on the back of his neck, and a wheeze when he walks.
I'm a powerlifter and can run 10 miles in under 90 mins so you can't just stereotype everyone based on the super heavy division. Most underclass powerlifters I know could easily be mistaken for body builders.
Of course, I may be misreading your post and you are only talking about the tanks of our sport.1 -
CorneliusPhoton wrote: »Gallowmere1984 wrote: »Also, the saying "you can't out train a *kitten* diet" exists for a reason. Just ask every powerlifter walking around with a pack of hotdogs on the back of his neck, and a wheeze when he walks.
Almost spit my coffee at the pack of hotdogs image. EW!
Some things are better not to think about!
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It may be way more than 90% even. It's all about what you eat. I burn around 300 calories during my gym workout. Doesn't account for a lot overall.2
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CasperNaegle wrote: »It may be way more than 90% even. It's all about what you eat. I burn around 300 calories during my gym workout. Doesn't account for a lot overall.
Yea, it takes a lot of work to exercise-off calories. If you are already good at keeping your calories within a good range, then exercise can help you maintain your deficit if you slip up a bit.
For weight loss it is mostly about the food. For long-term health and looking awesome, exercise figures much more prominently.3 -
I have heard that losing weight is heavily down to diet and I am a strong believer the abs are made in the kitchen.3
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You can quibble about the ratio of calories eaten and calories burned through exercise, but the fact really is that calorie deficits are what lead to weight loss. Those calorie deficits are created by both eating less and moving more. And that's true in the UK, EU, and Australia as well as in Ghana, Uganda, Costa Rica, and Fiji.8
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That is true. I constantly exercise but couldn't seem to lose weight as I would eat too much. Then I started to cut down on my food intake and that combined with my exercise meant that I now have an amazing body at 47 and a half years old4
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For me it was probably 40/60 in favour of exercise - I really struggled to keep down to my calorie limit on exercise-free days, but only ate part of my exercise calories on days when I was cycling for up to 2½ hours a day. My "comfortable" number of calories is probably around 2-500 above my daily calorie limit - no problem when I'm exercising, but otherwise - problem.1
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I have heard that losing weight is heavily down to diet and I am a strong believer the abs are made in the kitchen.
Yes and no on the abs. You need to get below 15% bf as a man to get abs and full six pack comes in around 10% but there are people with low BF who don't have the visible six pack because they don't have enough development to see them.
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Thx for all the replies! Lots of great info in there. I've been trying to keep a calorie deficit whilst eating much healthier along the way. At the same time I've really upped the activity levels but like many have said here, MFP or my iPhone is clearly overstating my steps/activity. I'll chalk some off this score in my head and overestimate my food intake, this will then be a truer reflection of my day and help me achieve my goals sooner0
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Weight loss is 100% caloric deficit. How that deficit is established between changes to food and changes to exercise is going to vary person to person so you can't just apply some percentage split to everyone. I think a lot of people do it mainly from food, I establish much of mine through activity...but I wouldn't try to put a number on it.8
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themetz3838 wrote: »Has anyone else heard the phrase weight loss is 90% what we eat and 10% what we do, ie exercise? If this is true, then I've been placing way too much emphasis on exercise whilst wrongly thinking I could eat more
Weight loss and weight management in general is about energy (calorie) balance. Exercise and weight management can/do go hand in hand...but exercise doesn't mean you're going to lose weight or even maintain weight.
I cycle quite a bit and when I was training for my first century I was up to about 150 miles per week...I ended up gaining weight whilst doing that...you know why? Because I consumed more energy (calories) than I was expending. You can't out-exercise a *kitten* diet...it all comes down to energy balance.3
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