Importance of exercise for weight loss?

niharikashukla28

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to know whether for weight loss, is a calorie deficit enough? Yes, I do know exercising helps you a lot in losing weight but how important is it?

jennybearlv

Yes. Adding exercise just allows you to eat more and lose at the same rate. If there is something physical you enjoy do it. If you have no time or hate leaving your chair just eat less. You will still lose.

ccsernica

niharikashukla28 wrote: »

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to know whether for weight loss, is a calorie deficit enough?

Yes. Do cardio and you can eat more, but if you don't want to do that and can just eat less, that will suffice.

Machka9

If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight.

How you want to accomplish that is up to you.

ladyreva78

To lose weight, I eat less.

For my emotional balance and my physical well-being, I exercise.

I'm a stress eater, so I had to replace the eating with something else. It's a win-win for me.

TK6299

I never ate back my exercise... Thus always coming in under and lost pretty fast.

STC02

I only workout 3 times a week. Two day weights and one day boxing with pads and bag. I never eat back my calories burned as I find they can be overestimated. I doubt I burn 500 cals doing one hour of boxing with the bag.
If I ever do eat the calories back I eat half of what MFP says I burned unless I'm on the treadmill and it tells me how many I've burned.

niharikashukla28

Thank you all for your replies

deviousme7

I lose more weight when I excerise less but excerise is for health, lowering calories is for weight loss

niharikashukla28

The problem is I've been on a calorie deficit since almost a month now and I've just lost 1 kg. Have been exercising too for around 30 minutes a day but not consistently. Although my clothes feel a little loose the scale is not moving. What am i doing wrong?
P.S. This is my second time losing weight. Had lost 15kgs 2 years back but gained it all back. Previously i was in a deficit and used to exercise atleast for an hour and it worked pretty well for me.
Im following the same diet, eating the same kind, but with 200 lesser calories than last time and with little exercise this time.

Machka9

niharikashukla28 wrote: »

What am i doing wrong?

Are you using a food scale?

sijomial

Exercising is very important for me a I was far more successful having the same deficit from a higher exercise boosted calorie allowance as compared to eating less/moving less. Other people's mileage will vary...
Exercise also makes me feel good and is essential for long term health.

If you aren't losing weight then my priority would be:
Check food logging accuracy. (Far more significant than exercise accuracy.)
Reassess base calorie setting.
Check / verify exercise logging accuracy.

Amending your daily routines to include as much activity as possible also has an impact.


But really a month isn't a long time and you are losing.
If you "just" lose 1kg next month too then you will have a pretty reasonable idea what your true calorie balance is.

TimothyFish

If you are asking whether it is possible to lose weight without exercise then the answer is most certainly yes. That being said, I find that exercise helps me control my eating. For one thing, during the time I am exercising I'm not eating very much. What I do eat while I am exercising is burned off by the activity as well as other calories. During the time I was losing weight I looked forward to exercise because it always took me from having just a few calories left at supper time to having enough left that I could fit a snack in after supper. It gave me less time to feel sorry for myself. Also, exercise gets the blood flowing and I can only think that improved circulation helps to get everything where it ought to be to maximize weight loss when you are at a calorie deficit. My experience tells me that exercise is far more important for weight loss than some people would lead you to believe.

crzycatlady1

Exercise is not needed-eating at the correct calorie deficit will cause weight loss. I lost around 50lbs without any exercise. Did it by adjusting my calorie intake.

kassierodriguez1

Personally I exercise because I want a particular look for my body. Lately I've been focusing on rounding out my booty. So I added the stair master to my routine. It's definitely working. And I want to be toned everywhere else. That's something you can only get with exercise. I have lost weight in the past without focusing on exercise and just focusing on eating. I much prefer my body this time with exercising.

kassierodriguez1

niharikashukla28 wrote: »

The problem is I've been on a calorie deficit since almost a month now and I've just lost 1 kg. Have been exercising too for around 30 minutes a day but not consistently. Although my clothes feel a little loose the scale is not moving. What am i doing wrong?
P.S. This is my second time losing weight. Had lost 15kgs 2 years back but gained it all back. Previously i was in a deficit and used to exercise atleast for an hour and it worked pretty well for me.
Im following the same diet, eating the same kind, but with 200 lesser calories than last time and with little exercise this time.

It could be the type of food you are eating. I find that if I am not balanced then I don't lose weight.

Azdak

You can theoretically "lose weight" without exercise, but over 90% of all people who do so gain everything back within two years, so practically, that doesn't seem like a good strategy.

crzycatlady1

Azdak wrote: »

You can theoretically "lose weight" without exercise, but over 90% of all people who do so gain everything back within two years, so practically, that doesn't seem like a good strategy.

Source please.

From what I've been able to find, there's something like a 90% failure rate for long term maintenance success, regardless of what plan/exercise someone is doing.

eta: why did you put "lose weight" like that? Lots of people here have lost weight without exercise. I lost around 50lbs, improved all my health markers and I'm also approaching my 4 year maintenance anniversary. Nothing theoretical about it

TimothyFish

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

You can theoretically "lose weight" without exercise, but over 90% of all people who do so gain everything back within two years, so practically, that doesn't seem like a good strategy.

Source please.

From what I've been able to find, there's something like a 90% failure rate for long term maintenance success, regardless of what plan/exercise someone is doing.

According to the following, about 20% are able to keep the weight off for at least a year:
ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.long

More interestingly, the National Weigh Control Registry reveals that 90% of people who lose weight and keep it off exercise for about 1 hour a day. (nwcr.ws/research/default.htm)

But what about the other 80%? According to the CDC, about 80% of Americans don't get the recommended 30 minutes per day of exercise. (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-80-percent-of-american-adults-dont-get-recommended-exercise/)

The picture I see here is that the people who lose weight and keep it off put in a lot of exercise. The rest of the population puts in hardly any. There are some people who don't fit the trend with a few people who keep the weight off without exercise and a few people who exercise a lot and are still overweight, but for the most part exercise is one of the key differences between those who are successful with weight maintenance and those who aren't.

crzycatlady1

TimothyFish wrote: »

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

Azdak wrote: »

You can theoretically "lose weight" without exercise, but over 90% of all people who do so gain everything back within two years, so practically, that doesn't seem like a good strategy.

Source please.

From what I've been able to find, there's something like a 90% failure rate for long term maintenance success, regardless of what plan/exercise someone is doing.

According to the following, about 20% are able to keep the weight off for at least a year:
ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/1/222S.long

More interestingly, the National Weigh Control Registry reveals that 90% of people who lose weight and keep it off exercise for about 1 hour a day. (nwcr.ws/research/default.htm)

But what about the other 80%? According to the CDC, about 80% of Americans don't get the recommended 30 minutes per day of exercise. (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-80-percent-of-american-adults-dont-get-recommended-exercise/)

The picture I see here is that the people who lose weight and keep it off put in a lot of exercise. The rest of the population puts in hardly any. There are some people who don't fit the trend with a few people who keep the weight off without exercise and a few people who exercise a lot and are still overweight, but for the most part exercise is one of the key differences between those who are successful with weight maintenance and those who aren't.

Thanks for the links, I'll take a look at them. I am a NWCR participant so my stats are mixed into that one

Chadxx

Exercise is not at all necessary for weight loss and really has nothing to do with keeping weight off long term. Weight loss is entirely about maintaining a calorie deficit. If you maintain a calorie deficit you will lose weight, period. If you aren't losing weight, you aren't actually in a calorie deficit. The people who keep the weight off long term understand this and eat accordingly.

That said, I highly recommend exercise for body composition, fitness, and cardiovascular health. It also increases your total calorie burn which means you can eat more while maintaining a calorie deficit.