You must have heard some version of this:
Fat loss is xx percent exercise and xx percent nutrition
Muscle gain is xx percent exercise and xx percent nutrition
Randomly assigning percentages is dumb and trying to sound precise about something you cannot be precise about. It is physics envy and it is unnecessary.
I think the statements are quite misleading. It makes you think a few decisions are more important than others. They are not. No one can predict what habits you will enjoy or which habits will stick. And good habits can give you confidence and snowball into more and better habits. Your fitness and wellness goals hinge on several decisions, of varying magnitude, that you take every single day.
Here are a few that involve training and nutrition:
1. Getting that first repetition of the first exercise going
2. Not order a certain dish
3. Not put a certain ingredient in your virtual or literal cart
4. Putting your spoon away from a dessert after a couple of bites
5. Taking time to go through the menu and order carefully
6. Not finishing those 4 bites of buttery pasta or cookie on your child’s plate
7. Walk to the local store instead of hop on your bike
8. Not have that second drink on a night out
9. Hiring a coach
10. Being more mindful and focussed on executing exercises well while you train
11. Making an effort to understand what exercises could add to your training and utilising them in the right magnitude
12. Locking away your devices after a certain time to prioritise sleep
13. Ensure you’ve stocked up enough multivitamins
I could go on and on with this list. My point being I don’t think anyone can assign a weightage to each decision you need to take every day or every week to take care of yourself.
There are many many decisions you need to take day in day out until they become habits that you do without much fatigue or thought.
So here’s my pseudo-precise percentage for you. If you’re a new at the game, you dedicate 100 percent of your time to building new habits that stick.
The more experienced you get the less time you spend making habits stick and more time you spend refining those habits and ensure they stick.
On a sunny note, the sum of your health and fitness outcomes will be greater than the individual decisions you took day in day out. This compounds with time.