Weight loss: 80% diet and 20% exercise?

bump, Thanks for all the helpful information.

I think it's more important to look at the combination. The formula is more simple than 80% diet and 20% exercise. It's just calories in and calories out. If you work out and 500 calories a day, but are eating more than that - then you're not going to lose weight. You have to do both, I think. It's not more one than the other - it's both equally. There are going to be days that you don't exercise - and there are going to be days that you overeat. But trying to maintain the balance of both exercise and diet is the key, I think, to healthy weight loss.

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If you are only dieting and not exercising I think you may lose a little weight, but I don't think you'll be able to get it all off, keep it off or possibly even stay on the diet. I think a lot of dieters find that the daily exercise helps keep them motivated to eat right.
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My wife has lost 40 lbs, and the only excersise she does is three times a week when we walk to down to the gas station in town.
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Since both these quotes have to do with me, I just put them together!:happy:

My hubby is right. For the most part I only get in 3 walks a week.
OFF TOPIC WARNING! I have my activity level set to "sedentary" currently, and my life is ANYTHING but that! But I opted not to change it just yet because it is working for me. When it stops working, then I'll adjust again. BACK ON TOPIC!

I do not eat a super restricted diet. I DO watch my sodium, but that is because lower sodium makes me FEEL better. I don't eat "clean" by any stretch of the imagination! I like my ice cream, chocolate, pizza, burgers, etc. and I EAT THEM! I just don't eat them like I used to. I go for the ice cream with ingredients I can pronounce (for the most part, I LOVE Skinny Cow though!). I limit my pizza intake to either homemade, or only 2 slices (a single serving), and I make sure that I balance it out with lots of veggies and fruit (the potassium in those help your body process the sodium better). Burgers are all homemade with 98% lean beef. (I did actually have a McD's burger the other day and thought I might puke!) All my sweets are in moderation. I measure out one serving, enter it in my diary, and then eat ONLY that. Does it take self control? Oh yeah! Is it difficult sometimes? Oh my yes! But is it worth it to weigh LESS than I did as a freshman in high school? YES!!!

As far as the exercise goes, I probably COULD find time to sneak in a little more, but it would probably be to the detriment of something else. I could get up earlier in the mornings, but I already run short on sleep most days. I could sneak in some Wii Fit while the kids watch their cartoons (Free Step on there clicks a beat on the wiimote, so you can turn the TV back to the regular shows and just step to whatever is on!) Only problem is that I try to keep the kids off the TV very much while the weather is nice. I could take a walk at lunch time instead of eating, but I get to be a HUGE B...bear when I don't eat at regular intervals. So for me, right now, exercise isn't something I've set aside time to do. I speedwalk down the halls in my school when I walk the equivalent of 2 blocks from my band room, to the other music room and back. I march and play with my students during class rather than sit on the sidelines with a bullhorn. I stand 50 out of every 55 minutes of class. None of this burns a LOT of calories, but it is ALL more active than I was BEFORE I started.

Do I think exercise has a place in everyone's lives? ABSOLUTELY! It's place in my life is just not at a gym, or in a weight room. It's place is with my students and my children.

Diet will affect your weight MUCH more than exercise will. I don't know if the percentages are 80/20, but I know for me, it has essentially been 99/1.

The key is finding the balance that works for you. I'll stick with mine until it stops working, and then I'll adjust. That's how I've lost 42 pounds. By doing what works until it doesn't and then trying new ideas until one works.

Good luck with finding what will work for those last 10 pounds. (I have 3 more to go until I hit the top of my "range," so I know just how hard they can be!):flowerforyou:

Sorry for the long post!:blushing:

absoutely agree...I am a long distance runner that trains up to 6 days a week and log 45-55 miles per week when i am in full training and when i am not training i still log about 30-40 miles a week....I CANNOT EAT WHATEVER I WANT. I can stop running and watch my diet THEN and only then do i really see weight loss.

I wholeheartedly believe, its what we eat 80% and 20% exercise!!

I am a total exercise fan. I typically work out six days a week. But I'd go so far as to say weight loss is 100 percent diet. You need to fuel your body for what you do, whether you exercise or not. Too much fuel = too much weight. One perk of working out is that I get to eat more food! :bigsmile:

What ever the numbers are I would say diet is always the greater percentage. Most people didn't consider that rest is a huge factor in health too. Think of it, you work out for around 7 hours/week out of 168hours... the rest of that time you're resting and working on your diet.
I would say it's

50% diet (includes clean food and water)
30% resting
20% exercise.

I think your diet will determine your weight loss...but exercise will give your body the shape you want after you lose the extra weight.