Can you seriously lose weight without cardio?
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Friend of mine lost over a hundred pounds........................................and she's wheelchair bound.
Yes, it's possible.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Thanks for the above advice. I will up my intake to 1500. I do struggle to eat 1500 if I'm primarily healthy foods though. It's a lot easier if I eat foods considered junk food. But I was told to eat clean on a bodybuilding forum. I'm not sure if I could have the patience of only losing 1lbs a week. I'm a very impatient person.
It's perfectly okay to incorporate so called 'junk food' into your way of eating. Eating those foods does not cause weight gain. Eating too many calories does.4 -
Okay so how many calories do I need to consume to lose 1 to 1.5lbs a week? MFP have me 1200 so I don't know where to go from here.0
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VintageFeline wrote: »RoseTheWarrior wrote: »Yes, you can, but I agree that 2 lbs per week may be a bit aggressive. I would aim for 1 lb per week until about 15-20 lbs from overall goal, then maybe 1/2 lb per week. It's a lot harder to get to a deficit with only food near your goal weight. As you lose weight, your body needs less calories as it is. To lose 1 lb per week, you need to cut 3,500 calories per week, or 500 calories per day from your TDEE (maintenance calories). To lose 2 lbs per week, you're looking a 1,000 calories per day deficit.
I'm currently eating 1200 calories a day. I feel like it would be hard to eat anymore unless I'm eating junk food.
23 year old male on 1200 calories? No no no no no no no. No. Eat more. I am ravenous on 1200 calories (which is why I don't and won't eat that little). You're either eyeballing and eating more than you think or have eliminated too many fats and calorie dense foods. Add them back in. And food is food, even "junk" food has essential macros and micros.
I understand but at present I make sedentary look active. I don't really do much other than lift weights 3 times a week. The other days I work on my core and abs. Does it matter if my caloric intake is low if for example I consume 120g of protein daily? Will I still loose muscle.
Are you not able to do something about being so sedentary?
Well I have agoraphobia so going outside and being active is difficult.
And apologies - this has only just shown up for me.
If you have stairs, make every excuse to get up and down them! Find an at home exercise routine designed to make you feel rather tired and out of breath. They tend to be aimed at women but every little helps!0 -
Thanks for the above advice. I will up my intake to 1500. I do struggle to eat 1500 if I'm primarily healthy foods though. It's a lot easier if I eat foods considered junk food. But I was told to eat clean on a bodybuilding forum. I'm not sure if I could have the patience of only losing 1lbs a week. I'm a very impatient person.
Ignore the broscience. Eat the calories to reach your goal to lose weight at a safe and consistant manner. You don't need to avoid "junk food" you should just eat enough low calorie "healthy" food to feel satisfied at your lower intake.
Losing weight doesn't have to be about eating chicken and brown rice and broccoli every day. I'm losing weight at a steady 1 pound a week. I've dieted before also lost weight at a steady rate. Look at my diary (its open) and you can see you don't have to eat perfectly clean to lose weight.
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Okay so how many calories do I need to consume to lose 1 to 1.5lbs a week? MFP have me 1200 so I don't know where to go from here.
If you put your numbers and goal into MFP, what did it give you? As a stone overweight lightly active 5'4 middle aged female seeking to lose 1lb per week, it gave me just shy of 1400kcal per day. Similar aged, similarly overweight and fairly sedentary 5'10 husband was given 1600 for the same rate of loss.0 -
Okay so how many calories do I need to consume to lose 1 to 1.5lbs a week? MFP have me 1200 so I don't know where to go from here.
If you put your numbers and goal into MFP, what did it give you? As a stone overweight lightly active 5'4 middle aged female seeking to lose 1lb per week, it gave me just shy of 1400kcal per day. Similar aged, similarly overweight and fairly sedentary 5'10 husband was given 1600 for the same rate of loss.
It gave me 1200. Is there a way to make MFP reconsider my goals?0 -
Is 1500 to 1600 sufficient enough for me? Given that I only lift weights and do body weight exercises.0
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You need to record any exercise you do in the same way as you log meals, then eat back at least half of the calories burnt, so even with weights and bodyweight exercises, you should get some extra, even if it's not a lot.
It's all more than 1200, though!0 -
Okay so how many calories do I need to consume to lose 1 to 1.5lbs a week? MFP have me 1200 so I don't know where to go from here.
If you put your numbers and goal into MFP, what did it give you? As a stone overweight lightly active 5'4 middle aged female seeking to lose 1lb per week, it gave me just shy of 1400kcal per day. Similar aged, similarly overweight and fairly sedentary 5'10 husband was given 1600 for the same rate of loss.
It gave me 1200. Is there a way to make MFP reconsider my goals?
This is a bug in the system. Can you enter in MFP set to maintain and see what this gives you?
You can deduct 500 calories from this number and custom set it up. This is to lose 1 pound a week.
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Okay so how many calories do I need to consume to lose 1 to 1.5lbs a week? MFP have me 1200 so I don't know where to go from here.
MFP is a calculator, it doesn't provide you with anything it just spits back a number based on what you entered into your profile. You entered into your profile that you wanted to lose 2 pounds per week and your current stats plus activity level and MFP subtracted 1000 from your NEAT because 3500 calories is a pound of fat so 7000 calories in a week is 2 pounds in a week or 1000 calorie deficit per day...which is a very large deficit. MFP refuses to go below 1200 calories as a goal so if it suggests 1200 calories it means you bottomed out and it isn't; actually even giving you an accurate value anymore.
Take ake your TDEE - 20% for maximum safe loss or subtract 500 calories from your TDEE for 1 pound per week weight loss.0 -
A simple answer - Yes, you can lose weight without cardio. Without any exercise in fact.
As repeated above, it's all about the calorie intake. The reason many of us choose to work-out (be it cardio/strength training/whatever) is because it actually gives us more calories to play with. Me personally? I like food. A LOT. I do daily cardio so I can eat more. Simple as that
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The most I have lost was 160 pounds without any exercise. Nothing. All I did was eat at a constant calorie deficit. However I wish I had exercised because I have a low LBM and looked skinny fat with a 21.2 BMI.0
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You can lose weight just by adjusting your calories in, yes. Cardio isn't "required" to lose weight, but I find "for myself" it helps me to create the deficit needed to lose weight. I like eating, and I find it easier to burn 500 calories, than I do to eat 500 less calories each day. Without lots of cardio, I personally wouldn't have managed to create the deficit needed to lose the 80 lbs I've lost.0
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Can you not walk? Walking is ideal for raising TDEE with minimal effort.0
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I lost 90 pounds before I began to even be able to walk more (bad knees).
Exercise is beneficial to overall health, and important, so at minimum, try walking more, it really helps.
Weight loss is from eating less calories than you burn.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »Can you not walk? Walking is ideal for raising TDEE with minimal effort.
He's already disclosed that's not always possible due to agoraphobia.0 -
VintageFeline wrote: »trigden1991 wrote: »Can you not walk? Walking is ideal for raising TDEE with minimal effort.
He's already disclosed that's not always possible due to agoraphobia.
Apologies, I missed that. Walking on the spot inside is an alternative.0 -
You can, but you might not be satisfied with how your body looks without the cardio.0
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savingfatsamira wrote: »You can, but you might not be satisfied with how your body looks without the cardio.
I was under the impression that lifting weights to preserve muscle mass is the best option if you want your body to look good. I also thought doing cardio is more risky for you in terms of losing muscle mass. Ideally I'd do both, but I can only lift weights.0 -
There are other forms of cardio if it's that critical to your mindset. 0
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savingfatsamira wrote: »You can, but you might not be satisfied with how your body looks without the cardio.
Yeah this isn't true, strength training is where the good aesthetics come from, cardio is generally just pure calorie burn (depending on type).There are other forms of cardio if it's that critical to your mindset.
True that. Whilst i do have my stepper doodad for bonus activity, most of my cardio comes from bodyweight HIIT/Tabata style work, it's more interesting and sustainable long term to me.savingfatsamira wrote: »You can, but you might not be satisfied with how your body looks without the cardio.
I was under the impression that lifting weights to preserve muscle mass is the best option if you want your body to look good. I also thought doing cardio is more risky for you in terms of losing muscle mass. Ideally I'd do both, but I can only lift weights.
This is true for the most part. Cardio for calories and heart health, lifting for aesthetics and muscle preservation. Of course there are exceptions but that's the general rule of thumb.1
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