So in theory you could do no exercise at all and still lose weight with a deficit

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  • mistiblake08
    mistiblake08 Posts: 80 Member
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    I lost 36 pounds that way prepregnancy. It works.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    I lost my first thirty pounds without adding any significant exercise.
    I got pink in my cheeks when I started exercising seriously. I like exercising more than dieting, and I find the results (not weight related) to be more immediate.

    I think regular exercise might be a keystone habit, an indicator of long term success.

    i love working out and a year ago, i couldnt have even IMAGINED saying that!
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    I lost 40 pounds without exercise. All done through dieting.

    If you only have enough willpower to conquer one discomfort, the discomfort of dieting or the discomfort of exercise, choose diet.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    ESotrops wrote: »
    i don't personally do this because I want to exercise to be healthy and because being toned looks and feels nice but in theory could you technically lose weight with no exercise at all? As long as you maintain a deficit?

    of course...weight management is just math. weight management is far and away easier though when you exercise regularly. when i started out, i just dieted alone and really didn't do any exercise...eventually i couldn't stand my paltry calorie allotments so thought exercising to be able to fit in a beer or two or some extra food would be the way to go...and it was.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I lost 40 pounds without exercise. All done through dieting.

    If you only have enough willpower to conquer one discomfort, the discomfort of dieting or the discomfort of exercise, choose diet.

    If I exercise, I can eat plenty so that it's no discomfort. (Plus, it's motivating to focus on getting healthier.)

    I also don't see why exercise is discomfort, though -- that seems like a bad attitude.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    Orphia wrote: »

    (Disclaimer: my heart goes out to anyone in a wheelchair who has no chance of exercising. I wish I knew more to help you except CI<CO works.)

    they can totally exercise. There was even a thread a couple of months ago about a gentleman that did just that. and he was rather buff in his "after" pictures
  • FreezingDan
    FreezingDan Posts: 8 Member
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    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Lost 48lbs that way. I've added walking to try and get my asthma under better control, but I don't use it for weight loss.
    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.

    tumblr_inline_mjjd003zGc1qz4rgp_zpsipcgtcpq.gif

    No. Losing weight is caused by burning more calories than you consume. At the base of EVERY diet plan, this is what causes weight loss. I didn't cut carbs at all. I love bread, espically garlicy buttery breadsticks, eat them most every work day for lunch, and I lost weight just fine. All I really did was cut down the AMOUNT of everything I ate, not just carbs. I still eat 'junk' food, just less of it.

    (edit: sorry, this just really needed a gif)
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.

    No...just no.
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
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    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.

    Uhh...wait what the what?? No.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    moyer566 wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »

    (Disclaimer: my heart goes out to anyone in a wheelchair who has no chance of exercising. I wish I knew more to help you except CI<CO works.)

    they can totally exercise. There was even a thread a couple of months ago about a gentleman that did just that. and he was rather buff in his "after" pictures

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10195005/wheelchair-user-maintaining-75-lbs-lost-for-4-years/p1

    Love this one!
  • FreezingDan
    FreezingDan Posts: 8 Member
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    Yes. Just yes. Losing weight is not a math equation. It's a physiological transformation from storing fat to burning fat. The only way to burn fat is to reduce insulin levels. And the only way to that is by reducing your glycemic load.
  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
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    Yes. Just yes. Losing weight is not a math equation. It's a physiological transformation from storing fat to burning fat. The only way to burn fat is to reduce insulin levels. And the only way to that is by reducing your glycemic load.

    No. CICO. C'mon dude.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.

    I'm not sure this is even up to the standards of broscience.

    But hey - even the 70s got a few things right.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    Yes. Just yes. Losing weight is not a math equation. It's a physiological transformation from storing fat to burning fat. The only way to burn fat is to reduce insulin levels. And the only way to that is by reducing your glycemic load.

    Do you have any peer reviewed research to substantiate this position?
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    I lost almost 100# before I began to even walk more. So, yes, you can, and will, lose weight by eating less calories than you burn.

    I have found that I am a lot hungrier now that I exercise regularly, than I was the first 7 months when I did not exercise. Being more active has made me feel better, physically. It is important to do whatever you can to move more. It really helps your over all health.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    Yes. Just yes. Losing weight is not a math equation. It's a physiological transformation from storing fat to burning fat. The only way to burn fat is to reduce insulin levels. And the only way to that is by reducing your glycemic load.

    Objective evidence disagrees.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    edited September 2015
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    @ESotrops Losing weight is all about the calorie deficit. Take in less energy from food (calories) than your body expends, exercise or not, and you'll lose weight.

    But achieving and maintaining weight loss for many people isn't a simple mathematical equation. How many have started down the weight loss road and given up? How many tried to lose weight, found results were difficult to achieve and/or slow to arrive, and stopped trying? Legions, maybe even a majority of "dieters" fail.

    How can exercise help? Exercise improves your physical (and mental) fitness and for many people they will see real results in their health and fitness long before weight loss registers a meaningful impact, and long before the goal weight on the horizon is achieved. Seeing success in the health area can, and should, help motivate most to carry on with their weight loss program. Success breeds success.

    While dropping weight alone can improve health outcomes dramatically, if one wants to fully maximize their health over the long run, there improving one's fitness is key. Merely being at goal weight isn't enough. That isn't controversial.

    Get fit via any approach that feels best for you and stay fit. Do that independently of weight. Striving to achieve one objective will support the other anyway.

    @999tigger as I'm a runner, male, 5'8ish @ 178 pounds, it's easy to burn 500 calories. Most of my runs tend towards 14km and up, meaning 750-1400 calories. I don't run to eat more, but I do appreciate being able to have a beer now and then which running definitely makes easier than squeezing those same calories into a deficit diet (1,350 base for me).

    I run for beer.

    Ok, I run for fun actually. And beer. Ok, it's mostly for the beer. Sometimes beer while running.

    The burn most definitely is not why I run though. I run for fitness and health and the vast array of fun opportunities opened to me as a result. Ultimately that translates to happiness.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Caloric deficit isn't what leads to weight loss - it's the reduction of carbohydrate-dense foods. You might think it's because you're eating less but any diet plan that leaves you hungry can only be effective for so long. And by the way exercise makes you hungry, too.

    Just cut down to 10% or less carbs and you've got a plan for life. Exercise is essential - but not for weight loss. I'm living proof.

    Cutting calories may lead to short-term weight loss but so does smoking. And neither one is good for your health. Calories in/calories out is the mindset of the 1970's.

    Holy herp derp batman....
    Yes. Just yes. Losing weight is not a math equation. It's a physiological transformation from storing fat to burning fat. The only way to burn fat is to reduce insulin levels. And the only way to that is by reducing your glycemic load.

    so how exactly do *kitten* loads of people lose weight without doing keto? myself included...

    the world over has subsisted on a high carbohydrate diet since the beginning...
  • FreezingDan
    FreezingDan Posts: 8 Member
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    If you've lost weight via CICO it's because you reduced your carbs in the process.