Weight Loss without exercise?

brooklyn7214

Has anyone had success with weight loss without working out. I'm a full time student and work a full time job plus I do student teaching for school, so during the week I literally don't have any time.
I could probably fit in two days on the weekend, but I'm curious if anyone has had success losing weight without exercising?

MsRuffBuffNStuff

I lost 100 pounds before I started exercising. I firmly believe that weight loss is about calories in / calories out and it's very difficult to exercise on a calorie deficit.

Ready2Rock206

Yep. When I was working full time and going to school in the evening I lost 40 lbs - not exercising and eating fast food (mostly Subway and Wendys) almost every night.

rileysowner

Weight loss is about calorie deficit. The easiest way to establish a calorie deficit is through diet. Exercise, while I can be used to establish a deficit, is often not that effective for various reasons. Generally it is better to look at exercise as primarily for health, not weight loss. Instead, use diet to bring weight loss.

Dano74

Lots of success stories in losing weight without exercise. I definitely did it at one point. That said, if you can get those two days of workout in... do it. It'll help with stress, confidence and all kinds of ancillary stuff not connected with "getting skinny".

CirocBda

Keto does it

cwolfman13

You can, but no exercise makes things more difficult due to more paltry calorie targets.

I'd recommend getting in what you can...as Dano74 pointed out, there are numerous benefits to regular exercise beyond "gettin' skinny."

aneedforchange

I have been losing steadily without much exercise. I walk 5km a day or more though but that doesn't really count lol but if you could walk from point a to point b ..it helps!

wally2wiki

Last year, I lost 56lbs in four months with absolutely no cardio or weight training at all.

This summer, the scale barely budges on diet alone.

I think you don't need exercise (technically), but but some exercise along with cardio is good preventing plateaus.

GothamVeggie

I'm still recovering from spine surgery so am unable to exercise. I am able to get in a tiny bit of walking, but am positive it is far less than what you do. I've lost 18 lbs since July 26. It's not only tracking calories & macros, it's also making sure you eat better food like lots of veggies. (However, the more exercise you can fit in, the better off you'll be.)

RoxieDawn

Yes I have in the past. And from time to time an injury comes up when you have to take off from exercise, or even take an exercise break, the calorie deficit will take care of weight loss..

Plus think about all those out people out there with medical issues or disabilities, they all still and can lose weight.

Now if you are able-bodied , I highly recommend that you put forth an effort to exercise. This is a great enhancement to weight loss and maintaining your weight as well as all the other great things it helps such as health and longevity.

selina884

Yep I am losing with no exercise currently.

Mind you, I started exercising from last night.

143353326

Yes you can lose weight without it but it stays for sometime and then again you will start gaining weight. Same happened to me. Now I prefer to loose weights with exercises.

LiveOnceBeHappy

I figure if I'm not willing to commit to a consistent exercise schedule, then doing it to lose weight will mess me up when I get to maintaining. I don't see myself committing forever to a consistent exercise schedule (I'm 47 and it's never happened before.....), so I'm trying to do it without exercise and just changing what and how much I eat. If I go for a walk, I'm not going to log it.

LiveOnceBeHappy

Oh, I should say that I'm starting to miss wine (It's been 4 days!), so I might start making a deal with myself that if I walk outside or on the treadmill, I can have a glass that night. :-)

snowflake930

AprilCoe wrote: »

I lost 100 pounds before I started exercising. I firmly believe that weight loss is about calories in / calories out and it's very difficult to exercise on a calorie deficit.

Same for me. I began walking more after -100 pounds. Lost total of over 160# in 20 months and have kept it off for almost 3 years.
Not surprisingly, at my heaviest weight, my knees were bothering me a lot. After losing 100# my knees were much improved. Now I go to the gym everyday and walk at least a couple of miles.
I work 10-11 hour days M-F, have a 45 minute commute to work one way, and will be 65 tomorrow. Some how, if you want it bad enough you find a way to work things in to your schedule. It isn't easy, but exercise is a very important part of overall health, so whatever you can do will help.

cross2bear

I have lost 110 lbs since October 2015 without setting a foot in a gym or doing a jump up and down program on a video - the loss is entirely due to adjusting my eating, smaller portions and strict and accurate logging and weighing. It has not been difficult, as I had a lot to lose, so was eating to lose 2lbs per week.. But now that I am within 40 lbs of goal weight, I am easing off a bit to now aim for a 1lb per week loss, as I approach maintenance. You just have to find the right calorie level.

kshama2001

Dano74 wrote: »

Lots of success stories in losing weight without exercise. I definitely did it at one point. That said, if you can get those two days of workout in... do it. It'll help with stress, confidence and all kinds of ancillary stuff not connected with "getting skinny".

Preach.

I used to be an emotional eater, but now I manage my stress with exercise. I also feel better and sleep better when I exercise regularly.

solieco1

I trained for and completed 3 half Ironman 70.3 mile triathlons without ever losing a pound. While exercise brings many nice life benefits, it is sorely overrated for weight loss. Weight is lost in the kitchen.

GottaBurnEmAll

You can definitely lose weight without exercise, but exercise has general health and well being benefits beyond helping weight loss efforts. Additionally, exercising improves insulin sensitivity and has a positive influence on body composition.

Even if you can only get in a little walk during the week or some sets of body weight exercises and exercise more on the weekend, OP, find time to do it.

brooklyn7214

Can't figure out how to respond to everyone individually unfortunately, but thanks for all your insight and inspiring experience!

Wynterbourne

143353326 wrote: »

Yes you can lose weight without it but it stays for sometime and then again you will start gaining weight. Same happened to me. Now I prefer to loose weights with exercises.

Sorry, but no. You are not guaranteed to gain back weight that was lost without exercise. Weight is lost via calorie deficit and weight is gained via calorie surplus. Exercise helps improve your overall health and fitness, but if you lose all your weight without any exercise and then consume calories equal to your maintenance still with zero exercise you will maintain your weight not gain it back. I've lost over 100 lbs since last July with only a handful of walks. I'm not going to magically puff up like a balloon just because I haven't adopted a fitness routine. All it takes is knowledge of how many calories your body needs for maintenance.

MsRuffBuffNStuff

143353326 wrote: »

Yes you can lose weight without it but it stays for sometime and then again you will start gaining weight. Same happened to me. Now I prefer to loose weights with exercises.

Actually the opposite can happen. IF you lose weight primarily with exercise and then stop exercising but keep eating like you were, thats when you gain weight. Former athletes experience this all the time. You can out- eat most any exercise plan..

rrj242

Diet is far more important for weight loss than exercise. Most people can work out hard for a solid hour and burn off the equivalent of a muffin. Additionally, exercising makes you hungrier, and more likely to eat more afterwards.

This isn't to say exercise is bad. It is great for your body and mind in many ways. It's just not great for helping you hit a target weight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/upshot/to-lose-weight-eating-less-is-far-more-important-than-exercising-more.html

shrcpr

I agree with what everyone said but the closer you get to goal weight the harder it may be with diet alone. For me, exercise is basically the only way I can get any kind of deficit. At 0.5 per week loss I only get 1,260 calories. There is no way I can go for more than a couple days on that.

nvmomketo

I lost 40lbs without exercise, in about 5 months or so.

I regained close to 10lbs when I started exercising most days.

jolive7

Yes but it will be exactly that weight loss i.e. muscle and fat

TaninaFit

I have.

I've lost the first 8 out of 14 kilos (1.2 stones / 18 pounds out of 2.2 stones / 30 pounds) in about 3 months.

I've just got my BMI back under 25!

But now I have added 15 minutes of swimming 2 or 3 times per week. I want stronger arms and I want to feel fit from now on and in to later life.

I still have another 6 kilos to lose (0.9 stones / 13 pounds) before I can fit "my own" clothes again.

healthy491

You can and its possible but I advice that you try to find some time for some cardio , especially when you reach your goal and switch to maintenance. During maintenance , I am allowed 1600 calories without exercise , I do 45 mins of cardio and have 2000 calories So It does make a difference in my opinion

dykask

wally2wiki wrote: »

Last year, I lost 56lbs in four months with absolutely no cardio or weight training at all.

This summer, the scale barely budges on diet alone.

I think you don't need exercise (technically), but but some exercise along with cardio is good preventing plateaus.

Exercise doesn't prevent plateaus and in-fact you can gain weight from exercise pretty easily. I spent two years working out harder and harder. I got a bit slimmer but gained 2kg (5lbs) over those years. Many days I was doing 1000+ kc workouts.

When you workout you build lean body mass and have a host of other changes in your body. It is all generally good, but exercise can be counter-productive if weight loss is your goal.

* In the first 12 months or so of working out, mostly short HIIT type workouts I lost about 18 kg (30 lbs). Often my workout was only 10 to 15 minutes. My waist dropped down to about 109 cm. (Probably from 130 cm?)

* When my weight loss stalled I really pored on the exercise, partly because I was in good enough shape to do it. I gained about 1 kg per year but my waist slowly dropped about 3 cm / year. I really suffered from hunger too, it was actually pretty horrible.

* About six months ago I cut most added sugar in my diet and my weight plunged about 1.5 kg / month. My waist went from 103 cm to 86 cm. The drop is still on-going but I've been adding complex carbs and Omega-3 fats to my diet. I've also started using some smaller eating windows making sure I have 12 to 16 hours a day where I'm not eating. Because of injuries I've backed off of exercise at least temporary but I still maintaining. The best part is my hunger these days is very mild when I have it. If you are fighting hunger you might not be working with your body.

So for me, fat loss isn't just about calorie reduction and exercising more. In fact that simply stopped working for me. What is working is:
* Avoiding sugar and eating heathier foods. I don't even worry about overeating now, I just eat enough to be full.
* Giving my body a good rest between feeding.
* Constantly mixing things up a bit. (Changing diet, exercise patterns.)

My primary goal now is to lower my insulin levels and hopefully reduce insulin resistance I may have. Lower insulin works out to having lower body fat. There are more hormones involved, insulin is just the driver with fat storage. While you need insulin to build muscles you don't need much of it. Most of us in this modern world have way too much that that can lead to Type 2 Diabetes and a host of other metabolic issues. Metabolic diseases like T2D are now the leading cause of death worldwide.

Exercise has amazing positive impacts on lean body mass, cardiovascular function and hormone levels. It is a very good thing, but it isn't the main driver in weight loss. What you eat and when you eat it are probably much more important for weight loss. It doesn't matter that much if you eat 1 meal or 10 meals, it is just giving your body time to recover from eating. Probably everyone should have at least 12 hours of not eating a day. That used to be standard in the US when I was a kid and back in the 1960's people were a lot slimmer then in the US.

jolive7

^^^^ that is ridiculous