True or False Im confused to a point.

ohpurdysure
ohpurdysure Posts: 45
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
So is it true that 95 % of weight loss is less food.. even without exercise ?
Do tell..... I read this on here and Im soooooo curious.
Common sense tells me, Eat less..move more.. but eat healthy.. and you will have more muscle, less fat even if the scale doesnt move in some cases.. your turning in fat for fit.. so.. come on tell me.....

Replies

  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    pretty close. Maybe 85% diet. It's huge! You can workout every day...but if you eat crap you will stay overweight.
  • laurenpence
    laurenpence Posts: 147
    My brother is a personal trainer and he taught me that diet is 70% of losing weight and exercise is the other 30%. I remember trying to lose weight by just exercise alone and it was such a slow process, diet and exercise was the only way for me. Dieting alone I think works but the more lean muscle mass you have the more efficient your body becomes at burning calories at a rest.
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    You can't really put it in %.

    Diet>exercise in all ways.

    All the exercise in the world will not cause you to lose weight if you eat like crap. OTOH, You can eat right and not do any exercise and lose weight.

    DIET>exercise
  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 778 Member
    pretty close. Maybe 85% diet. It's huge! You can workout every day...but if you eat crap you will stay overweight.

    Despite all the running & biking, I never lost weight until I learned what portion control was. :smile:
  • remembertheharddrive
    remembertheharddrive Posts: 133 Member
    I'm pretty sure people make up arbitrary percentages to get their point across. I do it all the time. It makes suggestions and opinions sound far more convincing, when the truth is variable.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Yes. Last time I lost weight I did it primarily without exercise (I didn't have time). This time I'm working out. Muscles have started to show much earlier and I'm just happier and have more energy.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    You can't really put it in %.

    Diet>exercise in all ways.

    All the exercise in the world will not cause you to lose weight if you eat like crap. OTOH, You can eat right and not do any exercise and lose weight.

    DIET>exercise

    QFT
  • Hernandezedw
    Hernandezedw Posts: 284
    I think it all depends on how much time you have. I don't eat healthy, though I do watch how much I eat. I still eat a lot at times, but I work my *kitten* off in the gym to get rid of it. When I was younger and going to the gym twice a day, I also would eat half a pizza or more for dinner. Then eat a pint of ice cream at work. Once I stopped working out, and still ate quite a bit, I started gaining weight.

    edit: I guess I didn't explain the time thing, what I mean is, if you have time to go to the gym for 3 hours, you can probably eat whatever you want and still lose weight.
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    There have been studies that have shown caloric reduction is more important that exercise (ie, they have people who get a deficit of 1000 calories/day only by eating less, and people who get to a deficit of 1000 calories/day only by burning more, and the eating less people have an a greater average weight loss). However, I think most people here believe one of the added benefits of weighing less is being more physically fit - looking better, having your bloodwork better, having better lung and heart health, being able to do "hard" things like run far/lift a lot/generally kick butt. That fitness will mostly come from exercise. Plus, you'll look better at a higher weight and you'll be able to eat more along the way!

    So bottom line, if you are injured, insanely busy, or extremely overweight and can't do any exercise, you can still lose weight sucessfully by just eating less. But as soon as you can, get back to exercising - it's definitely worth it!!!
  • Shemac04
    Shemac04 Posts: 16
    I am dropping with out exercies
  • risefromruin
    risefromruin Posts: 483 Member
    I'm sure everyone has their own opinion about this. I'd say it's been about 50/50 for me. I've made a lot of changes in both areas over the past year and a half and I think they are both equally important!
  • edouglas3
    edouglas3 Posts: 13
    it's definitely more about food than exercise, but the more you exercise the more you can eat AND the better your metabolism gets so you can burn calories much faster.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I'm sure everyone has their own opinion about this. I'd say it's been about 50/50 for me. I've made a lot of changes in both areas over the past year and a half and I think they are both equally important!

    I'd say the same for me... Right before I joined MFP, I had a month or two where I stopped tracking my food (I was doing Weight Watchers before they changed their points system late last year). I was still exercising 3-5 times per week but my eating was all over the place. Some days I'd be good but some days I know I went way overboard because the accountability wasn't there anymore. And guess what? I gained about 10 pounds back!

    I've also had experiences where I've eaten right but not exercised. I'll lose but it's very slow progress.

    At this point, I've learned that a nice combination of the two is what works best for me. Plus, weight loss aside, it's the absolutely most healthy way to be.
  • rachel_onamission
    rachel_onamission Posts: 54
    Theyre both very important, but Diet is a bigger part.

    Example: Eat a big mac and french fries every day, and work out for 30 minutes. Youre not gonna get anywhere because that's such a fatty food that your body is just burning off the crap from the junk you eat.

    Eat fruits and vegetables every day and work out for 30 minutes, youre going to see a big difference because your body isnt storing fat from that, youre going to be burning off fat that you already have stored.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
    People that know me know my stance on this.

    Diet: 90%
    Exercise 10% (maybe)

    You don't have to do a single minute on the treadmill or eliptical to lose weight.

    It's Diet, Diet, and MORE Diet.
  • OnMyWay2STay
    OnMyWay2STay Posts: 144 Member
    Six weeks ago I starting working out 6x/week. After 3 weeks, I had gained 2 lbs. Then I got on mfp and started counting calories. I've been gradually losing ever since. I'll weigh later today and you can all see how much.

    Anyway, here's my newbie theory...when I was busting my butt every day working out I felt hungry, so I came home and ate. I wouldn't say I ate junk, but I ate to feel full. And so I continued to eat at maintenance even though I was burning more calories.

    Now, I'm still using exercise to help create my calorie deficit, but I'm tracking what I eat so I don't overdo it.
  • EdensMummy
    EdensMummy Posts: 106 Member
    I know a girl who lost 2 stone (nearly 40lbs) on Weight Watchers and she doesn't do a shred of exercise...but because of this in order to maintain her weight she has to literally watch every morsel that she eats, she won't touch alcohol, she literally can't enjoy food.

    I know which I would prefer...
  • fawnkay0ne
    fawnkay0ne Posts: 15
    Of course a huge portion of weight loss is eating right, but I like to live by the saying "weight loss makes you look good in your clothes, exercise makes you look good naked." The body I want cannot be achieved by limiting my food intake alone. For me, exercise is the most important part of the equation.
  • ohpurdysure
    ohpurdysure Posts: 45
    Thank u all for confirming the same thoughts I was having..
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    To be even more technical....Its more like 80% consumption, 10% exercise and 10% genetics.

    Exercise is more important towards health and looking better.
  • 16mixingbowls
    16mixingbowls Posts: 205 Member
    I'm pretty sure people make up arbitrary percentages to get their point across. I do it all the time. It makes suggestions and opinions sound far more convincing, when the truth is variable.

    You are so right! Unfortunately, 99% of our country uses numbers and statistics to prove their point..... LOL.
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
    I lost 120 of my over 150lbs you see on my ticker with no exercise. I counted calories and that was it. so it stands to reason that even when you add in exercise your food is still going to be the single most important factore in what you weigh. Exercise does great things for your health and your figure but it won't undo too many calories or bad choices in foods.
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