I wonder if you can lose weight without training

pimpmyyasuo

Hi everyone
I wonder if I can lose weight without workout. I dont want to do this. Do I need any special diet for this? But still, I really want to lose weight...
My current weight is 242 lbs.

TavistockToad

Yes, you just need a calorie deficit to lose weight.

Though everyone who is able to exercise should, for good health.

IsETHome

Yes. Enter your figures as sedentary, and track. But you have to manage cals.

missfitmomma

You absolutely can! Track your calories, be sure to eat whole food and try to steer away from processed and refined foods.
I personally believe if you are able to exercise you definitely should. It is good for your overall health. Heart, lungs, muscles, bones etc!

apullum

The only thing required for weight loss is making sure that you consistently eat fewer calories than your body burns. An easy way to do this is to weigh and log all your food.

Panini911

absolutely. i'm on the last "5lbs" and my exercise ability keeps going down due to injury but i still manage a modest loss (modest as I have little to go so it should be slow).

weight loss is mostly in the kitchen - eat fewer calories than you burn. that's it that's all.

AnnPT77

Weight loss is all about calorie management, and the easiest way for many people to manage them is to eat fewer of them. (I can eat 200 calories lots faster/easier than I can exercise 200 calories, and not eating something literally takes zero time, even though it may be difficult in other ways).

Nutrition is important for health, and you may also find that you need to reconsider what you eat in order to feel full, energetic and satisfied.

Exercise is optional for weight loss, and irrelevant for nutrition, but it has some pluses: Exercising while losing weight helps you keep as much of your existing muscle as possible while losing weight, so that more of your loss comes from fat vs. muscle and other lean tissue. Strength is important, especially as we age (I'm 63; I know this! ), and muscle is hard/slow to re-build, so keeping it is a good thing. Also, muscles burn slightly fewer calories even when you're just sitting around (as compared to fat), so having more muscles keeps you able to eat a little more at any given body weight in the long run. Besides that, as I'm sure you know, exercise is good for your health in a variety of ways (heart health, blood sugar, and more).

Sometimes, people who don't exercise think of exercise as something that has to be difficult and kind of a miserable ordeal. That's not true. Even a nice walk around the park, or at a shopping mall, is helpful. Any fun thing that involves moving your body more can count as exercise: Dancing, playing with children, gardening, etc. Of course, vigorous exercise helps more, but that can be fun things, too, and is definitely something to work up to, not start doing full-force immediately.

Bottom line:

Calories for weight management + well-rounded, balanced eating for nutrition & satiety + exercise for fitness = best odds of long-term good health and attractive appearance

aokoye

To add onto what everyone, but especially AnnPT said, strength of all types (including cardio-vascular fitness) is really helpful when you're recovering from an injury or surgery. Sure age plays a part as well, but if say, you hurt a limb or have surgery on a limb, it will be significantly easier to regain strength if your baseline was at least somewhat high. The same is true for other surgeries as well from what I can tell.

SueSueDio

You don't HAVE to exercise, no. I lost over 70lbs doing virtually nothing except eating less, so it's very possible.

However, like others have said, I would advise you to do some kind of strength training at least. I didn't, and I regret it. I'm smaller but flabby!

You might not feel like doing much at the start, but as you lose weight it will get easier. And like our lovely AnnPT said, it doesn't have to be something that's "difficult" - dancing, walking, playing with the dog/children all count. (One reason I never exercised was because I thought it would be time consuming and too much hard work. It needn't have been, if I'd had a better idea of what counts as 'exercise". )

SVZee

pimpmyyasuo wrote: »

Hi everyone
I wonder if I can lose weight without workout. I dont want to do this. Do I need any special diet for this? But still, I really want to lose weight...
My current weight is 242 lbs.

Yes, I didn't exercise during my weight loss phase and just focused on reducing my calorie intake.

garystrickland357

@AnnPT77 You give the most thoughtful answers... I just want to say thanks.

cheryldumais

I think @AnnPT77 meant to say muscle burns slightly more calories than fat. Other than that listen to her she is an expert and one of the posters on here I trust and admire. I lost 100 pounds without training other than a daily walk but wish I had done some strength building at the same time as I am now working to rebuild the muscle I lost. My maintenance calories are much less than hers even though we are roughly the same age and size.

kshama2001

SueSueDio wrote: »

You don't HAVE to exercise, no. I lost over 70lbs doing virtually nothing except eating less, so it's very possible.

However, like others have said, I would advise you to do some kind of strength training at least. I didn't, and I regret it. I'm smaller but flabby!

You might not feel like doing much at the start, but as you lose weight it will get easier. And like our lovely AnnPT said, it doesn't have to be something that's "difficult" - dancing, walking, playing with the dog/children all count. (One reason I never exercised was because I thought it would be time consuming and too much hard work. It needn't have been, if I'd had a better idea of what counts as 'exercise". )

OP - I've seen lots of posts like this regretting not exercising while losing weight but not a single one wishing they had not exercised.

emmamcgarity

Exercise is not required. Reducing calories is the key. Focus on food first making small changes one at a time. After the scale starts to drop you may find you are more interested in increasing movement. Note that you don’t have to workout hard or go to the gym to burn calories. Even a 10 minute walk at the park can be enjoyable while burning a few calories. Consider activity you already enjoy when you decide to add exercise.

pimpmyyasuo

Thanks for the answers. I started to do a certain method described in an ebook and i like it. This ebook looks really valuable and we'll see how it will continue. I will wirte there about my progress.
Wish me luck

AnnPT77

cheryldumais wrote: »

I think @AnnPT77 meant to say muscle burns slightly more calories than fat. Other than that listen to her she is an expert and one of the posters on here I trust and admire. I lost 100 pounds without training other than a daily walk but wish I had done some strength building at the same time as I am now working to rebuild the muscle I lost. My maintenance calories are much less than hers even though we are roughly the same age and size.

YesYesYes, oh - oops! Yes, muscle burns a couple more calories per pound per day than fat, even just sitting around doing nothing. It's not much, but having it is better than not having it for that reason, plus lots of others! (I'm not a muscle-puppy, but maybe more than average for my age.)

@cheryldumais, I think my TDEE has more to do with me being kind of a speedy, strange flappy li'l ol' lady with funny habits compared to average, probably. Also, I like to use my li'l muscles to do lots of things that many women my age either can avoid (husbands; I'm widowed) or want to avoid (efficient conveniences) - burns a couple of calories, too.

Thank you for the important correction! :flowerforyou:

@garystrickland357: That's so kind! I think it's just that I'm eccentric, wordy, and can touch-type . . . pretty fast. Underappreciated (but dangerous) skill, fast touch typing.

SueSueDio

kshama2001 wrote: »

SueSueDio wrote: »

However, like others have said, I would advise you to do some kind of strength training at least. I didn't, and I regret it. I'm smaller but flabby!

OP - I've seen lots of posts like this regretting not exercising while losing weight but not a single one wishing they had not exercised.

Exactly!

Good luck with your program, OP - and don't be scared to do something different if you don't like it or get bored with it.

patrickaa5

I've lost about 50lbs doing no "intentional" exercise. But, I've found that losing the weight has allowed me to do more "unintentional" exercise like gardening, raking leaves, etc. I just feel a little more energetic. I plan on starting an exercise program this Spring after I get a little closer to goal.

But, to answer your question, it's very possible to lose weight without exercise. I track my food and eat at a deficit. That's it.

pimpmyyasuo

Lost 10 lbs in 4 days and keep going!

lorrpb

Exercise will help your health and help minimize muscle loss. Walking and a very basic strength training program are great places to start.

pimpmyyasuo

I noticed that I dropped 15 lbs in a week, so it means that the method I use is effective and I can recommend it to you. I only workout 20 minutes a day, so it's not much for me.

[Link removed by MFP Staff]

Francl27

Honestly, it's absolutely impossible for me to lose if I don't exercise... I'm just too hungry and miserable on 1300 calories a day and I need the extra calories that I gain from being active.

I mean, when I started out with 80 lbs to lose, sure. Now that I want to lose the 20 I regained, I just can't do it (I've been sick for weeks with chest congestion and it's been extremely frustrating!).

nutmegoreo

pimpmyyasuo wrote: »

I noticed that I dropped 15 lbs in a week, so it means that the method I use is effective and I can recommend it to you. I only workout 20 minutes a day, so it's not much for me.

[Link removed by MFP Staff]

15lbs lost in one week is going to be primarily water weight, some fat, and some muscle. The number dropping that much on the scale may be exciting, but the final outcome is not likely going to be something you're happy with.

MineralDaGreat

I'm sure a ton of people said this already but just lower your calorie intake and make sure to eat healthier foods that can also help your body function better and get rid of some of the fats you might have.

dimitriusgladi

Intermittent fasting is a new trend that can help you lose weight. Simply put, it involves 16 hours of limiting consumption in a day, and then you can eat whatever you want for the other 8 hours. Studies have shown that this strategy is beneficial even without counting calories.

TavistockToad

dimitriusgladi wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is a new trend that can help you lose weight. Simply put, it involves 16 hours of limiting consumption in a day, and then you can eat whatever you want for the other 8 hours. Studies have shown that this strategy is beneficial even without counting calories.

No....

Slowfaster

I lost 62 pounds last year with combined calorie counting, no sugar and 16/8 intermittent fasting. Would I have lost as much with just the calorie counting? Maybe, but I've done that in the past and not lost quite as much.

To get back to your question, no you don't have to work-out if the very idea of it makes you want to give up on the whole project. I can't do much because of a bad leg, but I do include what I call my "waiting for it to boil," plan. During those moments in the kitchen I do 20 push-ups against the sink, or 20 squats while holding onto the sink, etc. I sneak in a good bit of exercise that way.

kami3006

dimitriusgladi wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is a new trend that can help you lose weight. Simply put, it involves 16 hours of limiting consumption in a day, and then you can eat whatever you want for the other 8 hours. Studies have shown that this strategy is beneficial even without counting calories.

No, you cannot eat whatever you want in those eight hours. You still have to make sure you're in a deficit in some way.

Nothing against IF, as I naturally eat in a nine hour window, but I can easily pass my maintenance calories in that time.

kimny72

dimitriusgladi wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is a new trend that can help you lose weight. Simply put, it involves 16 hours of limiting consumption in a day, and then you can eat whatever you want for the other 8 hours. Studies have shown that this strategy is beneficial even without counting calories.

IF can help some folks lose without counting calories, because they simply can't or don't want to eat too much food during the limited eating window and end up naturally in a deficit. But you do still have to be in a calorie deficit, whether you count the calories or not, and you can't just eat without care for eight hours.

Lesscookies12

I was able to do it before all one needs is a deficit to lose weight. Eat less calories then you burn. Working out just gives you a more sleek look and helps one look better naked. Good luck!

kshama2001

dimitriusgladi wrote: »

Intermittent fasting is a new trend that can help you lose weight. Simply put, it involves 16 hours of limiting consumption in a day, and then you can eat whatever you want for the other 8 hours. Studies have shown that this strategy is beneficial even without counting calories.

"Eating whatever I wanted for 8 hours" would put me in a calorie surplus for sure.