Weight loss: 80% diet and 20% exercise?

I believe that it is. Also, drinking a lot of water and getting enough rest is a HUGE part of that equation. It may be that 80/20 thing you mentioned, but I'd go a little further and say it's 50% mental, 30% diet, and 20% exercise. What do you think? Maybe it's more mental than that, actually because we are the ones who choose to do this and stick with it!!

Oops did not mean to post twice!

It's definately 80% Diet, 10% motivation, 10% exercise!!!

I really think it depends on the person. I think a heavy person who eats fast food and fried foods could lose weight most easily by changing their diet. For me, however, I eat very healthy in the first place. Exercise is key for me - there's not really a whole lot for me to change in my diet. Always little tweaks, yes, but for the most part, getting active is what will take weight off for me.

Not only is this 100% true, but I think the split could be more like 90% diet and 10% exercise. I exercised for months and didn't lose weight until I changed my diet. I have also had periods of time where I lost weight with no exercise at all, but a very strict diet. It comes down to calories. You can eat processed salty foods and still lose weight with low calories. Unless you work out like a professional athlete - exercise does not have that big of an impact. Although, I do believe once you get to a low body fat, exercise helps give you that toned look (and is obviously good for health).

Bump - I like this thred!

Yes! Eat the right thing and weight loss will take care of itself without hours spent in the gym.

"Calories in - Calories out" is crap math. "A calorie is a calorie" may obey the laws of thermodynamics, but is complete garbage in a system like the human body.

Studies have been done (and I can get references if you want them) that have shown people losing ample amounts of weight on 2,000 calories of animal meat and fat. Yes, that's 50% calories from meat, 50% from fat. Yet give those same people 1200 calories (usually based on the typical low-fat, high carb diet) and they're lucky if they lose 5 lbs.

I'm in total agreement with that statement! Just by changing your diet you can still lose weight. Exercise is helpful in making the process faster!

Hey There:
I know that what I eat/don't eat is the key for My wt. loss. I have lost over 75 lbs. in the last 12 months and I just (a month ago) incorporated any type of "exercise routine" in My Life. Eating lower calories is the key to weight loss, later I began to monitor My sodium intake (This brought a whole new dimension to My Health...no water retention, weight stabilized, no more puffiness in My hands, feet and ankles, blood pressure stabilized, hair in top of My head began to grow longer...and this is just the stuff I can see/measure!). I have reduced My sugar intake but that is difficult when you add fruit to the eating plan, I think it is more important where the "sugar" comes from. When sugar come from fruit (fructose) or dairy (lactose) blood sugar stays more normalized, as such it does not release insulin fast into your system causing blood sugar spikes and holding on to carbs (causing wt gain.) So for Me the key is knowing where My "sugar" comes from, allowing for the "good" sugar and limiting the "bad" sugar. For Me, changing My Habits, thus changing My Lifestyle has come in "sections," I have not tried to make changes all at once for fear that would overwhelm Me and cause frustration (and I would quit)...it's a process. I'm glad I found MFP because the tools here have been fantastic in allowing Me to see what I am doing and to notice trends (good and bad) to continue them or stop them before they get out of hand. So best to you in whatever you do.


I'd like to add that exercise definitely has its place in My Life now but NOT for wt. loss. It is so important for Me Spiritually and Emotionally; also, I have arthritis and it has improved My range of motion, balance and endurance, and reduced pain. NOW, I would not give up exercise and stretching...but its not a wt. loss device, any benefits from it relative to wt. loss is a Blessing.

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: