which plays bigger role? Food or exercise?

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  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
    Diet 100%.
    You can lose weight without exercise, you CAN'T lose
    Weight without a calories deficit.
    I love cardio though,so I'm not hatin exercise.

    This! For years I tried to lose weight just by exercising. I'd lose maybe 10-20 pounds and then stall out and end up injuring myself because I thought exercising more or harder would make me burn more. Then with this app, I started counting calories and lost 30 pounds without regular exercise or eating clean. Just eating within my calorie limit helped me lose more weight than just exercising. Eating cleaner and exercising just helped me lose weight faster and even then, food is 80% of it because I can work out for five days, burn off four pounds, and then that weekend I can binge like crazy and gain it all back.
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
    I agree diet is far more important than exercise when trying to lose weight. I started on MPF on February 4 and have logged every day since then. For the first 60 days I did basically no exercise. Mostly because I do not like treadmill, etc and the weather was too cold to do anything outside.... During the first two months here I lost 25 pounds or so... So for me food was nearly 100 percent responsible for my loss.....

    I did make a promise to myself that when Spring arrived I would add cardio to my regime..... I do biking, hiking, yard work and also my activity level is higher at work as the weather gets nicer..... I agree with the other posters that exercise is important to having a toned fit body... My issue when I started was I was freaking huge.... I just needed weight off... Being toned is something I will work on. It was just not important when you have a huge amount to lose... After reading a lot of articles in the forums I may even add some weight training in the future....

    Now for the controversial part.... I do not eat clean... Never have, never will.... I am quite ok with the concept of clean eating.... It is just not for me... I eat nearly the same foods today as I did before I started MFP... Just less quantity and less often.... I even have fast food on occasion.... Peanut buster parfait at DQ last night ..... 700 calories of bliss...... Prior to joining here, I might have fast food three times per day.... So for me it has been a lifestyle change... I hope it continues long after I reach my goals.... My diary is open by the way....

    You will hit a stretch where the scale stops moving even though you are eating at a deficit... Just keep eating what MFP tells you and the weight will come off.... I will add this caveat....As long as you use the tools here correctly....

    I hope this helps... Take Care and keep the faith... This place has worked well for me.. I wish you all the success as you move to a healthier you.....
  • iamabutterflychaser
    iamabutterflychaser Posts: 35 Member
    Food is more important for weight loss than exercise. I myself experienced this when I did WW a few years back. I changed my eating habits, but hardly exercised at all. I still lost close to 50 lbs. You can still lose weight if you eat healthy and don't exercise. But like several people mentioned already, if you work out every day but don't change your eating habits, you will not lose weight.

    The combination of eating well and exercising is obviously more ideal for weight loss and that's what I've been doing this time around. I've noticed that weeks I work out more, I lose more weight. And getting more sleep plays a big factor, too (although that is hard to do! Seems like I am always sleep-deprived!).

    It sounds like if you are working out for an hour a day, then you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work and you will see results :smile:
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
    I agree with a lot already said, but will go further to say: I've seen some people eat whatever they want food-wise but watch their calorie intake. You don't have to give up certain foods to get in shape. Mind you, you might see faster results if the cals you do eat come from clean and unprocessed foods as opposed to eating sugary cereals and drinking soda - but it won't break you by any means.

    If what you are doing is working, I say keep at it!
  • finallydetermined
    finallydetermined Posts: 70 Member
    I am reformed! I previously thought it was about 50-50 but since January I've been paying more attention to diet and now believe it is about 80% food and 20% excersize - can't out run a fork!
  • krissy_krossy
    krissy_krossy Posts: 307 Member
    Food plays a bigger role. I DO exercise, but not as much as I probably should. I've been active on here since January and have had pretty good success with my weight loss (started at 191 and obese, now 141 and considered a "healthy weight.") I have exercised some, but most of it was due to changing how much I eat. I don't eat "clean" (whatever that means to you) though. In fact, I just ate leftover pepperoni pizza for breakfast. *shrug* I eat what I want (in moderation) as long as it fits into my daily goals.
  • felicebond
    felicebond Posts: 5 Member
    As you already know both are important. However, I think caloric intake plays the biggest part. I haven't worked out but twice in 5 weeks and I've lost 12 pounds just by following the calorie recommendation.
  • GODfidence
    GODfidence Posts: 249 Member
    The only exception I see to this is say a person is eating at maintenance but is overweight. Suddenly they start doing 1 hour work outs 6.7 days a week burning 500 calories per workout but continue to eat at maintenance They are going to start losing weight right? They will have to adjust their maintenance calories once they start losing weight but it is inevitable that they will start losing since they are creating a deficit.
    Or they can decrease calories by 500 per day and not exercise yet still lose
    Like you said,"eat at maintenance".
    It's all diet.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    For me I believe it's a pretty close 50\50 I have never had luck with just one or the other.
  • Mrsallypants
    Mrsallypants Posts: 887 Member
    Food for weight loss.

    Exercise for heart, lung, and cardiovascular health (cardio, interval training) or building and preserving muscle mass (resistance training).

    It's far easier to restrict a few hundred calories in your diet than exercise it off.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Before anyone jumps on me i know that they both play a huge part in losing weight and getting fit and toned.

    However, im interested in which plays the bigger part, exercise or food.

    Im not a 100% clean eater, i try to eat clean as much as possible but its not possible being a single mum, a business student and working part time haha.

    I fit in around 1hrs of exercise a day, although i am looking to fit in some more. More strength training as apposed to cardio

    So yeah back to the original question, what percentage would you say food and exercise play in getting a great body?

    Diet for weight loss/fat loss...exercise for fitness and being "toned"
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Using food/exercise ratio, I believe it is 50/50 or perhaps even 40/60 since you asked about losing weight and getting fit and toned. Diet alone will not get you fit and toned.

    Although individual needs vary, regular exercise that includes some moderate to vigorous activity is likely to have the bigger impact on overall health and fitness for most people.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    It isn't one over the other becuase there comes a point you can't exercise enough to burn off all the calories, but you also can't eat yourself to fitness. I would put a greater focus on cardio and strength training personally, and just manage protion control in eating without too much focus on what you eat. But I think each person needs to find thte blend that works for them.

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