So I know you need to exercise to lose weight. Ideally, one would exercise every day for a set amount of time. But say that's not possible - is it equally beneficial to exercise a lot on the weekends, but not as much during the week? I'm finding job, family and home ownership leave less time than I'd like!

Also, I almost just had a VERY bad typo at the end of "ownership.:

Well weight loss is mostly what you eat but exercise helps. You don't have to exercise every day for a set amount of time but every little bit helps. Even if you break it up like 10 minutes of walking, 2-3 times per day. If you can't do that much, do what you can.

Diet makes you look better with your clothes on.

Exercise makes you look better with your clothes off.

I learnt that fact on this forum.

Another fact I learned on 3FC is that 80% of weightloss is due to diet, 20% exercise.

Which is true. I lost my first 50lbs with diet alone.

I learnt a lot of important things on 3FC.

Dumb ar$e me used to think I could eat what I want and lose weight with exercise. Nope.

Not a dumb question at all! Seconding everything IanG said!

I started out with WW and working out everyday and lost quite a bit down to 170ish. Now with my recent restart at 180lbs, I lost the first 15lbs through diet alone.

I am thinking about adding exercise back in but 3+ times a week with weight training and some cardio (elliptical trainer)- something I can actually do for the rest of my life instead of daily like I was doing before (I think that may be why I burned out.) Although, this time the exercise will be for fitness, not weight loss.

During my weight loss I was single and found I had extra time on the weekends so did the bulk of my exercise (hiking mostly) then. Not long after reaching my current weight, I met my beau and now it works out better to get in some exercise every day. Personally for me, developing the habit was more important than how I executed it. As long as I get 6 hours in for the week I can maintain my weight fairly easily.

I also lost a fair amount of weight without formal exercise. In fact, I was in pretty bad shape, spending most days unable to do much of anything, even needing help in the bathroom and getting dressed.

Being unable to exercise, I started small, doing more for myself, and wearing a step-counting pedometer. My goal every day was to exceed the preceding day's step count, if only by a few steps.

Everything counts, and every little bit helps. I would recommend the step-counting pedometer, because without it, I tended to find reasons to save my energy whereas with the pedometer, I had a reason to spend that energy to reach my daily goal.

No you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Over 95% of weight loss is due to consuming less calories. Exercise promotes losing weight faster--while toning your body--and is very good for muscle--heart and lungs. But if you're eating more because you're exercising more--it will insure weight gain. And of course if you're consuming the same calories but burning calories through exercise you will lose weight. And if you're eating less and exercising you should really be peeling off the pounds.

It's calories in--versus calories out.

Maintenance is key, if you don't work out then maintain the diet. I don't do cardio when it rains because my cadio is basically walking outside and I do not want to get my sneakers wet because it will take them a while to dry off especially during the fall and winter months when I can't just put them out to dry.

Ditto what others have said. It's more about diet anyway. Exercise is for health and toning, IMO.
I only workout a couple of times a week now, and I find it is enough to keep me in the shape I like.

I agree with all the above posters, and wanted to add something to answer your "how often vs how long" questions.

I believe you should aim to exercise 3-5 days a week. 5 is ideal, 3 is a minimum. If you exercise for longer only 2 days a week, you probably are not getting the most out of your workout simply because you can go for so long. Think about it this way....I could do a bicep curl with 5lbs for at least 30 reps, or I could do it with 20 lbs for 10 reps. The 20 lbs is more effective at building strength and muscle tone, not the 5, because my body is having to work harder to complete the exercise. Just because I CAN do the 5lbs for 30 doesn't mean it is giving me a workout. Within our workouts (at least, strength training), we are aiming to create tiny tears in our muscles so they can be rebuilt stronger. Repairing and maintaining those muscles are what burns the calories you hear of with strength training. Working out longer probably means you are not pushing your muscles to the point of creating those little tears.

You can reach a point called diminishing returns in your workouts, where the effort you are putting in becomes so low that it is actually hindering your progress (I forgot how, sorry).

Or, if you ARE pushing yourself to that point, you just only have the time to do it twice a week (and it takes a long time because we have a lot of muscles!), then you still need to work out more than on the weekends. You should be working out each muscle group 2 times a week, and your muscles need 2-3 days to recover in between.

If you are finding it difficult to work out during the week, I wouldn't see a problem with not working out every day. Could you commit to 2 days a week and 2 on the weekend? Maybe a Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday rotation?