Losing weight by diet change only.
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I have (finally) and successfully lost 50lbs and now within a healthy weight range (If at the upper end).
For various health reasons and I'm in a wheelchair I haven't been able to exercise. Although I do what I can to increase calorie burn and maintain my current level of fitness. As I don't want to deteriorate any further.
My weight loss was through diet alone. As I found MFP and learnt a lot along the way. I lost weight and have successfully maintained my new weight. As I now have my personal data, have learnt how many calories I need, as a daily average, to maintain.
It is possible, as I haven't returned to former eating habits.
I'm choose to continue tracking to stay as healthy as I can. Knowing my limits, doesn't mean I'm "dieting", but it does continue to work.6 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
So if someone couldn't exercise, you would tell them to give up, that weight loss is impossible for them?
Nope, but then there are very few people in the world who cannot exercise at some level. Even the morbidly obese can exercise (see "my 600lb life" TV show).
My point was this: if you truly want to lose weight and keep it off you have to adopt a healthy lifestyle which includes eating nutritious foods and getting regular exercise.
There are some people, who are the vast minority who can successfully lose weight and keep it off through an overhaul in diet but typically the average person simply can't maintain a loss that way.8 -
hypocacculus wrote: »Of course it is possible - but that doesn't mean it's good.
If you try and lose weight only by reducing food intake, (aka starvation) your body will fight you every step of the way. You will find yourself moving less, maybe having an afternoon nap, you'll feel colder, you'll lose muscle mass and you'll definitely get very, very hungry. .
Who says "less calories" equates to starvation? On my dietitian's advice, I eat 1600 calories a day and I'm neither starving nor hungry. I eat quite well - and I've taken off 59 lbs since July 1. I go to physical therapy twice a week. That is currently my only exercise, because of injuries.
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janejellyroll wrote: »
So if someone couldn't exercise, you would tell them to give up, that weight loss is impossible for them?
Nope, but then there are very few people in the world who cannot exercise at some level. Even the morbidly obese can exercise (see "my 600lb life" TV show).
My point was this: if you truly want to lose weight and keep it off you have to adopt a healthy lifestyle which includes eating nutritious foods and getting regular exercise.
There are some people, who are the vast minority who can successfully lose weight and keep it off through an overhaul in diet but typically the average person simply can't maintain a loss that way.
The reality is the majority will fail at long term weight loss adherence, regardless of what they do. The success rate is absolutely dismal, even among those who incorporate exercise or do a 'lifestyle change.'
There's no one way of maintaining that's been proven to be any more successful than another. For the Vast Majority- all methods end in failure within a two year period.
The NWCR, which I'm a part of, is tracking trends from a pool of long term maintainers and there's some commonalities with some of the participants, but there's no clear list of 'do these steps to be successful for 40+ years'. There's no consensus on why a few people can successfully maintain long term, when most everyone else fails (many times over and over again).
I'm one of the statistical freaks of nature who is successfully maintaining. My weight management plan is highly individualized, I've figured out what works for me and that's the first step in this whole process. Everyone of us is different and everyone needs to approach maintenance differently. Having someone say that everyone must do certain things in order to be successful shows a lack of understanding, and most likely isn't very far into the process.
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Awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know. It seems like everyone is telling me I have to go to the gym daily for weight loss and I thought it was more about having a caloric deficit. Thanks again!
While one does not have to go to a gym for weight loss, anyone who can do cardiovascular exercise and strength training, should, for the health benefits they provide.
I hate gym cardio and get it outdoors. I'm going to go snowshoeing today for the first time this winter - woo hoo!
My friend's sedentary mothers are all deceased. My mom is still going strong and went hiking in the White Mountains for her 80th and 81st birthday. Many people end up in a nursing home because they are no longer able to go to the bathroom unassisted. During gardening season, Mom is in and out of squats all day long. Squats are also part of the exercises RBG's trainer recommends to keep her from losing independence.
https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/why-ruth-bader-ginsburg-workout-inspiration-we-all-need-ncna9085911 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
So if someone couldn't exercise, you would tell them to give up, that weight loss is impossible for them?
Nope, but then there are very few people in the world who cannot exercise at some level. Even the morbidly obese can exercise (see "my 600lb life" TV show).
My point was this: if you truly want to lose weight and keep it off you have to adopt a healthy lifestyle which includes eating nutritious foods and getting regular exercise.
There are some people, who are the vast minority who can successfully lose weight and keep it off through an overhaul in diet but typically the average person simply can't maintain a loss that way.
The reality is the majority will fail at long term weight loss adherence, regardless of what they do. The success rate is absolutely dismal, even among those who incorporate exercise or do a 'lifestyle change.'
There's no one way of maintaining that's been proven to be any more successful than another. For the Vast Majority- all methods end in failure within a two year period.
The NWCR, which I'm a part of, is tracking trends from a pool of long term maintainers and there's some commonalities with some of the participants, but there's no clear list of 'do these steps to be successful for 40+ years'. There's no consensus on why a few people can successfully maintain long term, when most everyone else fails (many times over and over again).
I'm one of the statistical freaks of nature who is successfully maintaining. My weight management plan is highly individualized, I've figured out what works for me and that's the first step in this whole process. Everyone of us is different and everyone needs to approach maintenance differently. Having someone say that everyone must do certain things in order to be successful shows a lack of understanding, and most likely isn't very far into the process.
An almost universal commonality in the NWCR participants is exercise.
http://nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm
...94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.
There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.- 78% eat breakfast every day.
- 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
- 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
- 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.
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I started with IIFYM and I am down 15 pounds in a month and that's eating a steady 3030 calories a day on top of just taking daily walks.0
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I get a moderate amount of exercise just because I live in a very rural place and don't have a choice. I still managed to put on 25 lbs over a few years just by eating too much. I have now lost those 25 lbs during the past 4 months without changing my daily physical output.2
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You can't exercise off a bad diet. Exercise will make you look more toned and it has great mental benefits, but its not a weight loss strategy.0
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You can't exercise off a bad diet. Exercise will make you look more toned and it has great mental benefits, but its not a weight loss strategy.
I wonder why people say this. Weight loss is CICO and exercising gives you a way for calories out.
Eating less without exercise is one way.
Eating a little less plus exercising is another way.
Eating at maintenance and not eating exercise calories back is yet another way.
Cutting off a limb is another way....an EXTREME way that I wouldn't advocate but still!
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You can't exercise off a bad diet. Exercise will make you look more toned and it has great mental benefits, but its not a weight loss strategy.
I wonder why people say this. Weight loss is CICO and exercising gives you a way for calories out.
Eating less without exercise is one way.
Eating a little less plus exercising is another way.
Eating at maintenance and not eating exercise calories back is yet another way.
Cutting off a limb is another way....an EXTREME way that I wouldn't advocate but still!
Darn these non-regenerative limbs! One day we'll be like the Axolotls and grow our fingers back.4 -
RelCanonical wrote: »You can't exercise off a bad diet. Exercise will make you look more toned and it has great mental benefits, but its not a weight loss strategy.
I wonder why people say this. Weight loss is CICO and exercising gives you a way for calories out.
Eating less without exercise is one way.
Eating a little less plus exercising is another way.
Eating at maintenance and not eating exercise calories back is yet another way.
Cutting off a limb is another way....an EXTREME way that I wouldn't advocate but still!
Darn these non-regenerative limbs! One day we'll be like the Axolotls and grow our fingers back.
I had to look that up. I thought it would be a Doctor Who type thing. Cuz 10 totally regrew his hand back. When she was a he. 2 -
Has anyone here had any success with losing weight only changing your diet and not exercising?
Hi. Its totally doable. All about calorie-deficit.
I did both though over a 15m period - and lost 25kgs! Started off just counting calories, walking (10k steps) & being in deficit. Gradually added gym. First cardio then weights.1 -
You can't exercise off a bad diet. Exercise will make you look more toned and it has great mental benefits, but its not a weight loss strategy.
Why is a big diet a bad diet?
Surely a bigger diet has more nutrients?
For some people adding exercise is indeed a successful weight loss and maintenance strategy. Exercise doesn't have to be a temporary addition to people's lives.
Do wish people wouldn't just parrot stock phrases and assume there is just one successful method for all.3 -
I think that the reason that people are so sensitive when talking about weight loss through exercise is that it is pretty easy to fulfill the diagnostic conditions of the DSM-5 for a diagnosis of bulimia. Eating definitely more than ordinary (binging), exercise in order to lose the weight, at least once a week, continues for more than three months. No requirement for laxatives or vomiting as some people assume.1
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You can definitely lose weight by diet and not exercising. Much more so than by exercising and not dieting! Although by "diet" I mean good food choices not some fad diet scheme.
Track your cals here, track your body shape at myshape.fitness (google it) to set some shape goals and see progress.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »What happens when you start eating more calories? Are you staying at a caloric reduction for the rest of your days?
I find it laughable that people who say they have lost weight only through dieting are doing great. Studies prove that simply reducing your intake will eventually result in gaining it all back within 2 years once the dieting has ended, usually when a "goal weight" is achieved. People just stop "dieting" at some point. This is one of the biggest reasons why these diet businesses (WW, Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig etc.) make so much money (yo-yo dieters).. WW had $1.25 Billion in assets in 2017.
Sustained weight loss requires both healthy diet and exercise and should be a form of lifestyle change. It is proven to be the most effective way of maintaining a weight loss.
So if someone couldn't exercise, you would tell them to give up, that weight loss is impossible for them?
i am currently not exercising but losing . exercise makes you strong. My doctor says its primari!y what you eat.🐑1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
So if someone couldn't exercise, you would tell them to give up, that weight loss is impossible for them?
Nope, but then there are very few people in the world who cannot exercise at some level. Even the morbidly obese can exercise (see "my 600lb life" TV show).
My point was this: if you truly want to lose weight and keep it off you have to adopt a healthy lifestyle which includes eating nutritious foods and getting regular exercise.
There are some people, who are the vast minority who can successfully lose weight and keep it off through an overhaul in diet but typically the average person simply can't maintain a loss that way.
im sorry but thats not true FOR ME. But it may be true for you and others. If so...thats wonderful...😀2
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