How Many People Are Not Increasing Their Activity Level As Part Of Their Weight Loss Plan?

OldAssDude

Are you including exercise into your plan in addition to cutting calories, or just cutting calories?

I am doing both, and think it would be much harder to just cut calories. If I sit around all day, I think of eating more, and wind up using up most of my calories too soon in the day. When I increased my activity level with exercise, I think about eating less, and have plenty of calories left over later in the day. In addition, the calories I have burned adds even more calories, so by the end of the day, I may still have calories left over, and am not even really hungry.

I think this is a very important point, because it could mean the difference between succeeding or not.

DMarkSwan

I haven't had time to ramp up activity, but I'm having success just cutting calories and not eating out as much. That said, I do obsess about food and its only been a week, so maybe I should take that advice...

Liftng4Lis

I definitely upped my activity when I started cutting calories.

barbecuesauce

bcalvanese wrote: »

Are you including exercise into your plan in addition to cutting calories, or just cutting calories?

I am doing both, and think it would be much harder to just cut calories. If I sit around all day, I think of eating more, and wind up using up most of my calories too soon in the day. When I increased my activity level with exercise, I think about eating less, and have plenty of calories left over later in the day. In addition, the calories I have burned adds even more calories, so by the end of the day, I may still have calories left over, and am not even really hungry.

I think this is a very important point, because it could mean the difference between succeeding or not.

I think working out is incredibly important to body composition and mental health. I don't do it for weight loss, especially since it makes me hungrier. I've seen enough successful wheelchair users to know that it is not, in fact, "the difference between succeeding or not."

But let me tell you--if you can, you should. When the scale slows down, it helps take inches off. And running NSVs feel as good as scale victories to me.

PrizePopple

Save for walking I have done very little until just recently in terms of exercise and I've lost 50 pounds in total. I've started cycling in the last few weeks, and I could eat a whole farm animal after I'm done riding. :P

bpetrosky

You can succeed at weight loss without exercise, but the closer you get to a normal weight the tighter your metabolic range becomes. Exercise can help give you more calories to work with, but the biggest differentiator is how well a person manages their intake.

Since exercise calorie burns are very difficult to estimate accurately, even with fitness monitors, it is better to accurately manage intake to reduce the overall error you're working against.

1966spen

I've not increased activity but after losing 21 lb in 6 months hubbie has bought me a fitbit (he is losing too) and I am trying to increase my steps. Now weather is nicer will start cycling

Mr_Knight

Most definitely increasing activity. Started as a couch potato, now do triathlons.

It's the only way to fly...

blossomingbutterfly

For the first 4 months or so I didn't do a single thing exercise wise. Just cut calories and that was absolutely fine for me. Only in January this year did I start to want to exercise. I now exercise when I feel like it, not when I "should" to get extra calories or anything. I think it all depends on the person though. I've successfully lost 54lbs so far doing what I want to when I want to.

bpetrosky

bpetrosky wrote: »

You can succeed at weight loss without exercise, but the closer you get to a normal weight the tighter your metabolic range becomes. Exercise can help give you more calories to work with, but the biggest differentiator is how well a person manages their intake.

Since exercise calorie burns are very difficult to estimate accurately, even with fitness monitors, it is better to accurately manage intake to reduce the overall error you're working against.

I should have also said resistance exercise helps retain muscle mass, so even though it may not burn much in the way of calories, the benefits when you get to your goal weight are significant.

MercuryBlue

bcalvanese wrote: »

Are you including exercise into your plan in addition to cutting calories, or just cutting calories?

I am doing both, and think it would be much harder to just cut calories. If I sit around all day, I think of eating more, and wind up using up most of my calories too soon in the day. When I increased my activity level with exercise, I think about eating less, and have plenty of calories left over later in the day. In addition, the calories I have burned adds even more calories, so by the end of the day, I may still have calories left over, and am not even really hungry.

I think this is a very important point, because it could mean the difference between succeeding or not.

If done it both ways. I successfully lost a bunch of weight a few years back just from counting calories and not moving around a lot (didn't really have time then), but I felt hungry all the time and just got skinnyfat.

These days I track calories but haven't really cut down all that much. I'm more focused on macros and activity. After the first 25 pounds, I pretty much stopped seeing any change on the scale but, instead, have been losing inches and 'tightening up'.

Really, if all you're concerned about is seeing that number on the scale going down, cutting calories is sufficient. I guess my point is that you're going to have different approaches, depending on your goals.

PeachyCarol

I started walking before I joined MFP. I started this whole thing because of a medical diagnosis which is greatly managed with exercise. The lighter I become, the more active I get.

WaterBunnie

For me it would have been counter-productive not to have increased activity because I could never have stuck to this so long without the extra calories and also my goal is to never get big again - something that'll require a more active lifestyle for the rest of my life. I've also found you get a better over all shape from exercising. It's win-win and you soon grow to enjoy it.

Kalikel

I didn't at first. I always say this, but I didn't start losing weight to lose weigh. I changed my diet so that I could maybe be healthier because I had a new health problem.. I'd just had a thyroid surgery (they found a lot, all at once - good, new doctor!) and got pills that enabled me to lose.

So I was just focusing on my health and the pounds started dropping off. Clothes got bigger. I started fitting into the next size down again. And it went on like that for a good while. No calorie-counting (much less food scale), no weighing myself, no exercise.

I did it, so I know it can be done.

But my bones suck. My body just keeps eating away at them and exercise might help that, so it got added. I tried the gym, but hated it. It is boring as hell for me and I really didn't go because I didn't want to. So, I found things I don't hate doing and do those instead.

It helps with weight loss, for sure. People sometimes say, "Losing weight is done in the kitchen!" but it can be done in the pool, too. You cannot exclude calories burned exercising from the equation. It all works together.

While I'd advise everyone to find something they like and do that, I know that some people are just losing weight to look better and don't care about doing any exercise. It's a valid choice and can work, so I wish them well. But if someone cannot lose and isn't being active in some way, try it!!!

BWBTrish

First o all

I am the only factor if i succeed or not. And i will succeed because i decided that i will...( yeah i know dont tell me, i am a strange bird)
But a stubborn one.

I keep my exercise calories separated for the reason that i dont know how long i can exercise. This because of an old injury. Sometimes i go for weeks and than i cant do anything for days sometimes a week. Or just a day. All depends So i find it easier to keep my exercise next to my sedentary life style.

Have my own business and sit a lot. But when that (soon) changes i would do my sedentary to (lightly) active and still keep exercise next to it.
It worked all this time for me ( lost 95 pounds) so why fix what isn't broke

the days that i was more active i just ate a bit more.

Bshmerlie

I feel comfortable eating around 1500 calories a day and I want to lose 2 pounds a week so I have to keep my TDEE at 2500 in order to do that. Therefore I have to work out pretty much everyday if I want to keep up the same pace. When I was heavier I didn't have to work out as much but as I get lighter I have to increase it or accept a slower rate of loss.

trina1049

When I previously tried to lose weight I didn't exercise much, if at all, because I hated it (or so I thought). That was a mistake. I knew I had to do something about my weight so this time I started out walking and joined MFP. I read on the forums about the importance of maintaining muscle mass while losing so I joined a nearby gym and got my bum in gear. I took the weight lifting classes (Les Mills Body Pump) and cardio classes. I loved the lifting and cut way back on the cardio. That was the best method for me to get healthy. I also added a Fitbit to track my daily activity and make sure that I'm hitting 10,000 steps most days.

The Body Pump classes have reshaped my body and I'm into a 4/6 Petite (US) now, down from a 14/16. I've learned to love exercise and lots of daily activity.

Edited to add that I'm 65 years old, soon to be 66 and want to keep my bones healthy.

FlyingMolly

I haven't really changed my activity, but that's because I was already pretty active. I've tried to be better about exercising instead of just "planning" to, but I already averaged over 12K steps per day and worked out 3-6 times per week before I joined MFP.

But I've kept the extra weight on because I love food, and I love indulging in food, and I eat when I'm bored, and I hate feeling hungry, and I really, really love food. I love whole, organic, balanced meals, and I love potato chips, and I love bell peppers and I love chocolate. I want to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and that policy keeps me about 20-25 pounds over my body's ideal weight.

So calorie control is the piece I'm missing, and that's the piece I need. More activity might help, but the more active I am the hungrier I feel (over time--on a high-activity day I don't eat much, but a day or two later I'm starving). So I'm focusing on controlling the urge to eat everything in sight, and let my activity take care of itself.

seska422

I have physical issues so I can't count on exercise. I can slowly ramp up my activity level but then I hurt myself (I can hurt my back or knee just standing up from a chair ) and it takes me so long to heal from it that I'm back to square one or even worse off.

If I want sustainable weight loss, I can't include exercise as a requirement. Calorie restriction is it so I need to plan on eating fewer calories than I could if I could exercise.

kshama2001

My sister recommended MFP to me in April 2012 when I had a lot of knee pain and was having a difficult time exercising. I did lose weight without exercising much, but then I started swimming and was able to do that. As I lost weight and strengthened my knees, I was able to do more.

When gardening season started this year, it hurt me to squat, but now some combination of losing weight and strengthening my knees has allowed me to squat, just in time for strawberry harvesting

SezxyStef

I found MFP as I increased my activity level....it has only gone up.

I found that the more weight I lost the more activity I could do and the more activity I did the more I wanted to do...

lemurcat12

My main goal in losing weight was to get active and fit again, so getting active was an important part of it from the beginning, and I've always found that I have a much easier time eating well when I'm active. It gives me a motivation that actually matters to me. (I like that I look better and I theoretically think it's healthier not to be fat, but I never really had any health problems as a result of being fat, never had any bad test results or was told my weight was causing issues, and somehow wanting to be fit and athletic and strong motivates me more consistently than wanting to wear cuter clothes or look better.)

hutchin88

I personally have to be more active. Walking works for me.

booksandchocolate12

trina1049 wrote: »

When I previously tried to lose weight I didn't exercise much, if at all, because I hated it (or so I thought). That was a mistake. I knew I had to do something about my weight so this time I started out walking and joined MFP. I read on the forums about the importance of maintaining muscle mass while losing so I joined a nearby gym and got my bum in gear. I took the weight lifting classes (Les Mills Body Pump) and cardio classes. I loved the lifting and cut way back on the cardio. That was the best method for me to get healthy. I also added a Fitbit to track my daily activity and make sure that I'm hitting 10,000 steps most days.

The Body Pump classes have reshaped my body and I'm into a 4/6 Petite (US) now, down from a 14/16. I've learned to love exercise and lots of daily activity.

Edited to add that I'm 65 years old, soon to be 66 and want to keep my bones healthy.

You are an inspiration!

I think you should re-post this every time someone says they're having a hard time losing weight "because of my age". Usually they're like 35 or something, LOL.

callsitlikeiseeit

i like to eat, therefore i work out

professionalHobbyist

I eat to my activity strategy during the week. 3 days are closer to maint calories and more protein. I lift hard two and rest one of those days. Diet more for the next 4 days and do cardio 3 of those days.

It has worked for the last year. Lose weight and slowly add muscle but not fat.

weavingtheweb

booksandchocolate12 wrote: »

trina1049 wrote: »

When I previously tried to lose weight I didn't exercise much, if at all, because I hated it (or so I thought). That was a mistake. I knew I had to do something about my weight so this time I started out walking and joined MFP. I read on the forums about the importance of maintaining muscle mass while losing so I joined a nearby gym and got my bum in gear. I took the weight lifting classes (Les Mills Body Pump) and cardio classes. I loved the lifting and cut way back on the cardio. That was the best method for me to get healthy. I also added a Fitbit to track my daily activity and make sure that I'm hitting 10,000 steps most days.

The Body Pump classes have reshaped my body and I'm into a 4/6 Petite (US) now, down from a 14/16. I've learned to love exercise and lots of daily activity.

Edited to add that I'm 65 years old, soon to be 66 and want to keep my bones healthy.

You are an inspiration!

I think you should re-post this every time someone says they're having a hard time losing weight "because of my age". Usually they're like 35 or something, LOL.

Agree!

MamaBirdBoss

I HAVE to increase activity. Eating 1200 calories would give me less than a pound of weightloss a week without it. Which is just too depressing. I want to eat more than that some days!

Also, it's a serious concern even at 35 to start losing muscle mass and potentially bone density in the future.

azulvioleta6

I didn't change my diet at all until I had lost 55 pounds--I just started exercising again after being unable to do so during a serious illness. For me, weight loss is 80% exercise.

Experiment, track and do whatever works for you.

Unknown

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bpetrosky

I like to think of it as a virtuous circle.

Eating better helps me lose weight making it easier and more pleasurable to do active things.

Doing active things lets me eat more calories making it easer and more pleasurable to eat better.