Originally Posted by vesteroid

I have daily data since thanksgiving 2011. I can track my weight, and my activity since that time. I was not tracking my calories. I personally dont buy into the it all in what you eat theory. I can see a very clear correlation between my exercise and my weight. i can see steady week over week loses when I am riding or running 5 days a week, and steady gains if I am not.

its hard to see on a single week basis, but when i graph it over a quarter its clear as a bell.

I think too many people overestimate their intensity as well. I have a power meter to measure how hard I work, and as such I can see trends. I can see when I lazed, and when I hurt myself. I can also see quantitative improvement (or lack there of).

I was traveling last night and I had a 1:15 workout planed. I had to ride at 85% of my ftp for a half hour and then fill in zones 2-3 for the rest of the time. I had to do this on a hotel recumbent cycle. i picked an hour hill climb program and set it up so that at max I could only sustain about 60 rpm. I then set it up for 15 minutes on a spin setting.

All this rambling is to say any way you slice it there is a direct correlation between hard work and reward. Hard work can come in the form of strict diet, or exercise or both. But you have to be honest with yourself about effort....saying you rode 5 miles and calling that a hard workout is folly. Saying you eat well without tracking exactly what that is, is folly.

This is not as hard as it seems, it just requires work and commitment.