The First Size Drops - Food, Exercise, Both?

MizSookeh
MizSookeh Posts: 106 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was reading a thread in a different section of the forum about what people did with their too-big clothes, and saw quite a few people commenting on their drops of 2-3 sizes within 20-30 pounds of weight loss. It got me quite excited to think that new slimmer clothes could be in the not-too-distant future! :love:

So I'm curious - to those who may be still losing, but have gone down a couple of sizes - has this all been from food changes? Do you owe it all to exercise? Or best of both worlds?

Replies

  • colortheworld
    colortheworld Posts: 374 Member
    food changes, tho now that i'm down about half the weight i want to lose, i'm going to start toning.
  • TattedInStilettos
    TattedInStilettos Posts: 331 Member
    I still eat what ever it is I want, is just I cut my portions in half and watch how much I ate... exercise played it's part cause it helped move the results faster...
  • JasmineOravec
    JasmineOravec Posts: 88 Member
    I started with cardio a month before I found myfitnesspal and didn't log food or change my eating habits. Lost a few. Then, I started and doing both really kicked the weight loss in gear. I dropped a few dress sizes pretty quickly. You'll be there in no time if you do both.
  • BunBun85
    BunBun85 Posts: 246 Member
    All my weight loss until July of this year, 105lbs, was from food changes and that helped me down from a 24/26 to a 14/16.
  • blueuniverse
    blueuniverse Posts: 13 Member
    I think both contribute, but in my own experience it seems that I really have to stay within my calorie goals to lose weight. Last winter I stopped logging food and very slowly managed to gain back close to 10lbs. And I was running 3 or 4 days a week. But I am also fairly close to my goal. Im constantly trying to figure out exactly what combination of exercise and calories is going to give me the results I want to see, yet also be sustainable in the long run.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    Contrary to what most people say on here, I believe that exercise has had a bigger impact on my weight loss than diet changes. I began with only adding exercise and not changing my diet, but I then went on to focus on both, so it's hard to attribute relative contribution of each component.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I have 30 lbs total that is basically down to not working out like I used to (and am now). It might be a few desserts a week, too, but nothing too far a week from what I should be eating. For me, it's my metabolism when working out (I lift weights and do yoga most days of the week) that is the biggest difference, although that's hard to see at first.

    I have lost inches each week since getting back to the workouts recently! And my muscles are improving fast, and that's always so motivating. I haven't lost many pounds total, and right now I've actually gained a pretty darned consistent 0.5-1 lb since starting to slowly lose the 30. But did I mention the inches, lol? Seriously, I only care about the inches I think.

    I had no comments on the first 12-13 pounds (they were slow), but since adding back in my weights since Sept 1, I've had someone notice. That was with a loss of 2 lbs, lol.
  • SammyJCP
    SammyJCP Posts: 9
    When I last lost a little bit of weight, it was through logging and weighing everything, and just walking...

    This time ( Now ) I am trying to fit more exercise into it
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    I lost two pants sizes with diet alone in 20lbs. Oddly, my measurements haven't changed much. I'm not entirely sure what happened. But because I'm not building muscle anywhere, I still have the same overall shape.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    For me, the foods I eat and staying within my calorie "goals" is what helps me drop pounds & sizes. Exercise just makes me look better in my clothes ;-)

    When I was at my highest weight of 307 I wore a size 24 and 3X but I looked pretty horrible. I managed to lose about 30-35 lb within about two years of walking tons every night. I didn't change much in my diet and really for a person who is 300 lb, 30 is not much within 2 years. I still wore a size 22/24 and 2X or 3X but I looked so much better!

    Once I started MFP I have gotten down to a 1X and 18. Now those are just starting to get too big, and I'm buying XL and 16. I have two size 14 dresses in my closet that look great but they are still snug across my hips/belly, much like the 16's were during Summer.
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  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    I went down clothing sizes with just diet changes but it took longer. When I added exercise I went down clothing sizes quicker even though the weight was dropping slower.

    So both ways work but for me personally I see more changes with exercise even when the scale is not moving. I figure no one knows my actual weight unless I tell them but they can see the drop in size so that works for me.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    You cannot out-exercise a bad diet. It is about 80% diet and 20% exercise.

    Why not, and where does this cliche come from? Weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, and that's it. Why couldn't a person eat the same diet, add exercise, and lose weight? I get that it's best for overall health to change both, and I have changed both personally, but what's up with all the EXERCISE HAS LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH WEIGHT LOSS sentiment on here? It sounds like broscience to me. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. It can be created by eating less, exercising more, or a combination of those two. Why do so many people believe that a calorie deficit can only be created by eating less?
  • AprilMae1975
    AprilMae1975 Posts: 726
    Food changes for sure!!! The exercise has helped but I know that when I decided to get serious and track on MFP, that's when the weight really started coming off. I used to think that if I overate, all I had to do was exercise. Calorie deficit is the only way for me to lose weight.
  • SDavidson71
    SDavidson71 Posts: 6 Member
    You cannot out-exercise a bad diet. It is about 80% diet and 20% exercise.

    Why not, and where does this cliche come from? Weight loss is calories in vs. calories out, and that's it. Why couldn't a person eat the same diet, add exercise, and lose weight? I get that it's best for overall health to change both, and I have changed both personally, but what's up with all the EXERCISE HAS LITTLE TO NOTHING TO DO WITH WEIGHT LOSS sentiment on here? It sounds like broscience to me. A calorie deficit is a calorie deficit. It can be created by eating less, exercising more, or a combination of those two. Why do so many people believe that a calorie deficit can only be created by eating less?

    I'll give you an example of where I think it comes from. If I eat 3,000 calories a day and need to net 1,500 per day to lose weight, I have to burn 1,500 calories a day through exercise. I don't know about you, but according to my Fitbit I walked/ran for 7.5 miles on Saturday and it gave me 522 extra calories. So according to that I'd have to walk about 21 miles to get to 1,500. I am a very slow jogger and walker but yeah, that's not happening. I'm 42, 5'2 and 189. Much more realistic to adjust my diet and add exercise.
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
    I find that for the most part a size drop has to do with food, but exercise can help speed up getting in to a new size a little bit by toning and "condensing" everything between my knees and chest. There are a few pairs of pants I can wear right now that fit well at just over 200lbs with exercise and I know that the last time I was able to wear them I was in the 190's and not exercising.

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