Is losing weight more diet or more exercise?

piexcore

Alright. I'll admit it. I eat badly. I eat processed junk food for most meals BUT I always eat within my calorie limit. I exercise everyday for at least and hour, usually more (high impact Zumba, jogging, walking, eliptical, yoga ect.) I've been in a long plateau, and recently I've upped my calorie intake, started eating back some of my exercise calories, even weight training (>_<) to no avail.
Am I just being impatient? Or do I honestly just need to eat better?

beckajw

Losing weight is more diet. You get a better looking body (more toned) through exercise. And, yes, exercise does help to burn a few extra calories. But diet is key.

I'm not sure how long you have "upped your calorie intake", but you should give it at least a month.

kristen6022

Diet. You HAVE to change the way you eat to lose weight, IMO.

Others will tell you otherwise, but until I got my mind wrapped around eating the right things for my body the weight stayed around.

vtmoon

Diet is the biggest thing when trying to lose weight. You have to clean your diet if you want better results sadly. Don't get me wrong exercise helps but the diet is the big one.

neverstray

90% diet.

fallonrhea

I didn't start to get close to my goal weight until I paid attention to my macronutrient ratios (%carbs vs. %protein vs. %fat). I lost ~20 pounds by increasing my exercise over the course of a year or two - but now that I'm getting closer to my goal, decreasing my carbs and increasing my protein has been extremely helpful.

What works for me may not necessarily work for you or anyone else though...I would talk to a nutritionist!

KyleB65

I would say 80% eating.

I used to workout big 4x plus per week but I ate way too much!

As soon as I started logging my meals I was astonished at how many calories & sodium I was consuming daily. From there I started following the MFP suggestions and I lost over 80 lbs in less than a year.

piexcore

Losing weight is more diet. You get a better looking body (more toned) through exercise. And, yes, exercise does help to burn a few extra calories. But diet is key.

I'm not sure how long you have "upped your calorie intake", but you should give it at least a month.

Lol, I only upped the base by fifty calories, but I've been eating around 200-300 more than usual (eating back exercise) for about a month. To be honest, I've been eating nearly exactly 1200 calories a day since I was 17 so my metabolism may be a little shot.

newmooon56

I worked like a dog for years at the gym- at first I shrunk- I had to - I had some extra fluff... but then it stopped on a dime. I was 23.5% body fat after a long challenge I did at the gym and figured I had 'DID IT' - however I often wondered why I never improved from there as I worked so hard still... I wondered why other ppl never changed either that Id see spin that bike hours a week and lift weights..

Then I learned without changing the diet some things simply will never change no matter how many hours running or lifting light weights. As women we get tempted into thinking some 8# bicep curls 3x a week is all we need and we'll be toned and healthy.

Meh! Someone spot me! I still love running- but I want to continue to lift more and more as I get stronger. I also will watch my diet for the rest of my life knowing if I dont I will gain back, as I did the last few years when my work outs slowed to almost a halt.

We need to eat right and exercise our whole lives. I cant imagine there comes a time where exercising regularly wont be needed as much as wanted. As for diet- if you tweaked it- you might just be amazed in as little time as 2 or 4 weeks by your results.

eganita

I didn't start to get close to my goal weight until I paid attention to my macronutrient ratios (%carbs vs. %protein vs. %fat). I lost ~20 pounds by increasing my exercise over the course of a year or two - but now that I'm getting closer to my goal, decreasing my carbs and increasing my protein has been extremely helpful.

What works for me may not necessarily work for you or anyone else though...I would talk to a nutritionist!

I am about 10-15 lbs from my goal and having trouble now myself. What macro ratios worked well for you? Thanks in advance!

stylistchik

Definitely more diet, and although any calorie deficit will result in weight loss you'll get better results with a quality over quantity mentality. Clean, unprocessed foods are best including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Exercise has many benefits besides weight loss so it shouldn't be overlooked. It improves cardiovascular strength, immune function, and builds muscle which burns more calories than fat to maintain and gives you a lean figure.

locolew

It is mostly a game played between the ears.

alibel

Both are necessary for health. If you have recently included weight training into your routine you may not see the difference on the scale as much as the difference in how things are fitting you (as muscle is more dense than fat). Great job on adding weight training, it's known that adding that into a routine helps burn calories - muscle burns more calories even at rest than fat.

If you eat all processed foods you are filling your body with bad "fuel". Transfats are evil, our bodies don't even know how to process them (as they are man-made) and you can find them in processed foods in spades - this includes junk food AND supposed "health" food.

I have found that I keep my metabolism sparked by an occasional (once a week) eat-whatever-the-hell-I-want meal. This does two things: 1) "Surprises" my metabolism into gear & 2) Helps me not feel deprived.

You could always try a juice fast/reboot to detox all that stuff out of your body. Do be aware, it is NOT for the faint of heart - when your body finally releases those toxins and all the nasty stuff in your body it can be shocking/uncomfortable *at first*

Long answer short: No, you can't eat crap and expect your body to function at it's best

Good luck!

MinnieInMaine

I vote more diet as well. You can exercise all you want but if you're not eating right most of the time, you're not going to get the results you want.

ninakir88

Mostly diet.
Exercise is more for toning and motivation.

lwagnitz

I've heard 80% diet, 20% exercise.

And I agree... even if you're working out and burning 1,000 calories a day, it doesn't pay off if you're eating 4,000 in the kitchen. It's all about the calories you take in.

catpow2

Exercise alone will only take you so far if you still eat crap. Diet is more important.

Shawneb66

Diet is huge...I weigh everything I put in my mouth! I didn't when I first started and when I did...I was shocked! Measuring spoons and cups aren't as accurate as the scale!! It sure made a difference in my weight loss journey!

TavistockToad

It is mostly a game played between the ears.

this, but at some point you need to look at the quality of your calories!

Helloitsdan

80% diet, 20% rest, 10% working out.

WendyTerry420

You have to exercise portion control and burn more than you take in. So while diet is the most important part, it's much easier to lose weight if you exercise because you burn off calories, thereby increasing your caloric deficit.

lporter229

Definitely more diet, and although any calorie deficit will result in weight loss you'll get better results with a quality over quantity mentality. Clean, unprocessed foods are best including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Exercise has many benefits besides weight loss so it shouldn't be overlooked. It improves cardiovascular strength, immune function, and builds muscle which burns more calories than fat to maintain and gives you a lean figure.

Very well put. I couldn't agree more.

mfoulkebrown

Alright. I'll admit it. I eat badly. I eat processed junk food for most meals BUT I always eat within my calorie limit. I exercise everyday for at least and hour, usually more (high impact Zumba, jogging, walking, eliptical, yoga ect.) I've been in a long plateau, and recently I've upped my calorie intake, started eating back some of my exercise calories, even weight training (>_<) to no avail.
Am I just being impatient? Or do I honestly just need to eat better?

Definitely diet, but exercise is huge for me, too. Just today, I broke a 2 week long plateau. I was keeping under my calories every day, but couldn't lose an ounce. I wasn't exercising very much at all. I added in some strength training and reduced carbs and in 2 days I've dropped 2 pounds.

One thing to consider with the processed foods is the sodium. I've found that many processed foods can be very low calorie but EXTREMELY high in sodium. For example, one of my favorites for a quick meal was matzo ball soup mix. It's like 43 calories a serving (most would eat 2-3) and over 1100 mgs of sodium. Not great for weight loss (with water retention) or heart health!

Are you unwilling or unable to cook at home? If you can't/won't cook, have you considered take out from some of the healthier options?

elisa123gal

Losing weight is diet...and keeping it off means exercise. Bring in the exercise when you are at goal. That is my plan. Not going to exercise until I hit a plateau and near my goal.

Last year I stumbled upon the truth after years of working out five or six times a week and feeling good but never being at my ideal weight. Then last year I dieted during an odd time when I quit exercising. I lost faster without exercising. I couldn't believe it. I also saw a doctor on the Dr. Oz show.. a real diet critic. He says studies show exercising doesn't really work for weight loss..but does work for keeping the weight off after goal. I am with him on that.

ladypeoria1

I think eating healthy is important to not only weight lost but the way it makes your skin glow and a better attitude!

ricky_j_b

the best excersise program cannot make up for a poor diet!!!

neverstray

Losing weight is diet...and keeping it off means exercise. Bring in the exercise when you are at goal. That is my plan. Not going to exercise until I hit a plateau and near my goal.

Last year I stumbled upon the truth after years of working out five or six times a week and feeling good but never being at my ideal weight. Then last year I dieted during an odd time when I quit exercising. I lost faster without exercising. I couldn't believe it. I also saw a doctor on the Dr. Oz show.. a real diet critic. He says studies show exercising doesn't really work for weight loss..but does work for keeping the weight off after goal. I am with him on that.

Whatever works for you. But, if you really dig down and think about that for just a few minutes, I don't think it makes any sense. But, that's me. Again, if it works, great. Dr. Oz says idiotic things all the time. If someone starts out with "Dr. Oz said", I know to tune out quickly before my brain rots from bad information.

xshortiex

Neither. It's calorie deficit.
- It doesn't matter how much you eat as long as you exercise to burn off enough so that you are in caloric deficit.
- It doesn't matter how much you exercise or don't exercise as long as you eat within your calorie allowance so that you are in deficit at the end of the day.

Edit: Notice I said "how much you eat," not "what you eat." What you eat does matter. Eat healthily, and your body will be healthy. You really do become what you eat, so keep that in mind.

abbylg1983

My husband and I argue about this daily. He doesn't believe the saying "abs are built in the kitchen". His theory is, it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you exercise (sidenote- he means exercise to the point where you are burning off whatever you eat, so if you are ingesting 4,000 calories you better be burning them).

My husband eats a ton of crap. Yet he works outside all day in 100+ degree weather doing very physical labor. He has a hard time just maintaining his weight- he usually drops about 5-10 pounds in the summer. He is a very trim guy, yet he has a gut which does not decrease even as he loses weight. I have no doubt he IS burning whatever calories he's eating, as he's either losing weight or maintaining. I say the reason he doesn't have a flat stomach is that he eats tons of donuts and egg cheese mcmuffins and chips. He says the reason is he doesn't do enough ab work. I say it wouldn't matter how developed his ab muscles were because his stomach is where he stores fat and until he changes his eating habits, that's not going to change. He insists I am wrong because his friend eats worse than he does yet exercises his whole body daily and does have a six pack. I unfortunately cannot counter this claim because I really don't know what his friend eats. We are at an impasse.

But my understanding is, while it's best to do both, if you're only going to do one, watching what you eat is better, and will give you quicker results.

jcstanton

Losing weight is more diet. You get a better looking body (more toned) through exercise. And, yes, exercise does help to burn a few extra calories. But diet is key.

I'm not sure how long you have "upped your calorie intake", but you should give it at least a month.

This! I can maintain by eating what I want, as long as I am exercising every day. However, I won't lose weight unless I am eating as clean as possible and not more than 1500cals.

Amazon_Who

Weight loss is more about diet.
Exercise is about fitness.