Weight loss without exercise

br1twaslyke

Hey all, I am really hoping to get some feedback from people on the forum who have successfully lost weight without exercising.. I am very large at about 240 pounds, 20 year old female. All the posts that I have read have at least some sort of 30-60 minute exercises incorporated, or miles of running on a daily basis. I am very sedentary, stay at home mom who doesn't go out much... I am currently eating between 1200-1400 calories a day, which I am finding surprisingly satisfying. I do 100 jumping jacks and 100 crunches daily, but I don't really count that because I've read that 1 minute of each only burns about 15 calories, and I'm estimating it only takes me about 2 minutes to complete them. I am fully aware that exercising is healthy and definitely helps weight loss, but for the time being I am sticking to eating less calories and assuming the weight will come off with just that for now... So anyone who has had a somewhat significant weight loss with caloric deficit alone please share your story! I'm investing in a scale tomorrow so I can see just how much I've lost so far, today is my one week milestone of "dieting", which I prefer to call more of a new lifestyle.. This is not long obviously, but I've never dieted for more than 6 hours so it's a new start for me

jardimgirl

Its totally possible! Weightloss is calorie deficit. Exercising is for fitness. I lost 20 pounds in 4 months just eating at a deficit.

stephaaniemarie

You will lose weight as long as your are in a caloric deficit. I also exercise to lose weight and build muscle, so I don't have a 'no exercise' story to share with you. Eventually you may want to incorporate cardiovascular and strength training exercises to improve your health and tone your body.

F00LofaT00K

Hey all, I am really hoping to get some feedback from people on the forum who have successfully lost weight without exercising.. I am very large at about 240 pounds, 20 year old female. All the posts that I have read have at least some sort of 30-60 minute exercises incorporated, or miles of running on a daily basis. I am very sedentary, stay at home mom who doesn't go out much... I am currently eating between 1200-1400 calories a day, which I am finding surprisingly satisfying. I do 100 jumping jacks and 100 crunches daily, but I don't really count that because I've read that 1 minute of each only burns about 15 calories, and I'm estimating it only takes me about 2 minutes to complete them. I am fully aware that exercising is healthy and definitely helps weight loss, but for the time being I am sticking to eating less calories and assuming the weight will come off with just that for now... So anyone who has had a somewhat significant weight loss with caloric deficit alone please share your story! I'm investing in a scale tomorrow so I can see just how much I've lost so far, today is my one week milestone of "dieting", which I prefer to call more of a new lifestyle.. This is not long obviously, but I've never dieted for more than 6 hours so it's a new start for me

I'm losing weight and still eating chocolate and cookies and I barely exercise, unless work counts. I started this while I had a broken foot and was stuck on my butt all day and I was losing 2-2.5Lbs weekly at 1200. . .but I got real hungry and started eating more and losing at a slower rate. It really is as easy as calories in/calories out. If you eat less than your body is using, you WILL lose weight. See what your BMR is (click on "APPS" then "BMR") and use that as a guide for what you should be eating. Eat too much beneath that and you up your risk of over-eating after a while. A lot of people will tell you that eating too far below it will cause you to lose muscle along with your fat. Other people will say that if you have the fat to lose, your body won't lose the muscle. At 240Lbs you can definitely eat more than 1200-1400 and lose weight. If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, find something sustainable for your lifestyle. I chose to keep eating the foods that I love, I just try my best to get close to my macros, even if that means sugar in chocolate counts toward my carbs sometimes (or most days, but whatever, I'm starting to feel sexy and chocolate is delicious!!!). I start school shortly and will be booked from 7am-12am daily. I will not have time for exercise so I would rather do this without depending on it for now. It can absolutely be done. I am doing it. I've lost almost 25Lbs so far without exercise. The biggest help on my journey so far has been using a gram scale/kitchen scale/food scale/whatever-you-wanna-call-it to make sure I'm really eating what I think I am. It has shown me that I need to eat more of some things and less of others (peanut butter. . .). You can do this.

Sreneesa

Yes, in the past I have lost weight without exercising several times.

br1twaslyke

sounds awesome JardimGirl, I was hoping it was possible! lol and congrats on your weight loss! And @ Stephanie, I definitely plan on including exercise into my daily routine after a couple of months, I would just like to lose some weight first as my primary goal, and then I will work on shaping my body the way I'd like it with exercise lol

unFATuated

I've lost 20kg since May last year, by pretty much just eating in a deficit and running around after my toddler. I have done some exercise, but have had trouble getting myself into a consistent routine. Yes, I'm not as toned as I want to me, I'm still a bit squishy but technically speaking, eating in a deficit has done its job and I have lost the weight.

br1twaslyke

sounds awesome Foolofatook! I have done some research and recently realized I could be eating more, but as I said I am currently satisfied with this amount. once I lose some weight I will probably up my intake to closer to 1500 calories a day, just to slow down a little bit and make sure I can maintain my new weight! thank you for your advice! And I am definitely hoping my skin goes back and I will see a "flat" tummy for the first time since I was about 8, Sreneesa lol. I of course will need to exercise, but praying I don't have a bunch of loose skin, hoping my age will help me with that also! :P

RamonaFr

You can lose weight without exercising, but the exercise is good for your heart, muscles, bones and all your organs. I'm 64, and I'm benefiting now from all the walking I did when I was younger. I'm kind of hard up for exercise right now because my knees hurt, but I find marching in place to loud music is fun and gets me tired and out of breath. Lift your knees way up when you march. Also holding a can of soup or tomatoes in each hand and swinging my arms while I march adds some strengthening.

So, I 'd recommend you get a little more exercise -- try to do at least 12 minutes a day until that is too easy, then increase it. Here is a really good article to help you understand how to start exercising and how not to get injured while doing it:
http://community.plu.edu/~chasega/main.htm

nxd10

I easily lost weight without exercising. I do make an effort to walk, but that's the extent of it.

You can do it! And as you become more fit, it will be a lot easier to incorporate exercise in your daily life. You won't believe how much more energy you'll have.

Good luck!

acogg

Yes, you can do it! If you are not comfortable yet to do exercise, then wait. As you get smaller, that will probably change. The most important thing is to keep going forward.

miladymarathoner

I am actually in the same process. I love exercising, but right now I am not fitting it in. It has to do with time and stress management and the fact that I have not always had a healthy relationship with exercise. I never thought I could lose weight unless I exercised 3 hours per day or did some other extreme thing. However, I am losing weight and not exercising.

A couple observations: I find myself not as acutely or desperately hungry when I am not exercising and I don't think about my food as much or have as many cravings.

On the occasions when I have done something like a lot of walking, I tend to drop a pound right away and it stays off. If I exercise too much, it stops taking weight off. For me it's better to just focus on getting the food right and randomly do some light activity to shock the pounds off.

That's just me. Wish u the best!

ElizaB84

We are similar. Around the same weight, im also a stay at home mom that doesnt get out much!

I've lost weight before by just eating better, but I got faster and better results with exercise. It makes me feel better physically afterwards.

I have been doing the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels. You should check it out if you want to try something different later on.
I went from not being able to get through one 20 minute workout, to doing 2 20 minute workouts after something like 2 weeks. I've seen a lot of improvement in my endurance and strength. It only requires some light weights and thats optional. I couldnt even use the weights for the first few days.
I have to modify some of the exercise more than they show on the video. For instance I cant do plank thrusts (I think thats what they're called) on the floor so I use a bench or chair against a wall to place my hands on.
My 2 year old son and 8 year old daughter like to do the exercises with me, its pretty funny seeing them try.

I believe the videos are even on youtube

noluckducky15

I started out weighing 238 lbs. I lost 70 lbs all with absolutely NO exercise. Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit, exercise just would allow you to eat more. I found that when I was heavier, I lost weight better when I didnt exercise. I hit a plateau starting in June/July last year and now I do work out, but its not budging the scale much and more just busting out inches.

stephaaniemarie

sounds awesome JardimGirl, I was hoping it was possible! lol and congrats on your weight loss! And @ Stephanie, I definitely plan on including exercise into my daily routine after a couple of months, I would just like to lose some weight first as my primary goal, and then I will work on shaping my body the way I'd like it with exercise lol

That's great! Having smaller goals will help keep you on track. It's taken me 7 months to lose 17 lbs and over 14 inches (which is pretty slow), but I find my new lifestyle is very manageable with little goals each month.

Skarlet13

I've lost 10 lbs in 9 weeks without exercise. I do have a job where I'm on my feet though so that helps some. I do plan on exercising eventually. Just not sure when. So to answer your question, yes, it can be done!

parkscs

Exercise isn't really the answer for weight loss. Diet is. If you're using MFP as intended, you would be eating your exercise calories back anyways, so there's arguably no weight loss advantage to exercising while dieting. There are plenty of health reasons to exercise, but there are health reasons to do a lot of things. Focus on eating a caloric deficit and consider it bonus points if you go beyond that; don't try to do too much all at once.

silenceinspace

Hey! I started off my weight loss journey at nearly 21 and 315 pounds (!) and I went down to about 260 through deficit alone--55 pounds lost that way. I've started to exercise now, but honestly I've had such good results without it. My priority right now is weight loss, not overall fitness, so keep that in mind. I was eating at a smaller deficit than you (eating about 1600 calories a day) but have dropped it down to 1200-1400 recently. The only advice I have is to buy a food scale and weigh your food. If you're doing this on deficit alone, you don't have a lot of wiggle room.

Summary: It's definitely possible!

Strongandhealthy1234

Dear poster, you gotta walk! It will do wonders for you as little as 20 min a day.

catwestb

If you are looking for just some super easy workouts at home that do not take alot of time or effort. Check out Adrian Bryant @ Nowloss.com... I got a free cd sent to me and an example of one of the workouts are jumping jacks, but you do as many as you can for 10 secs rest for 10 secs and keep doing this for 10 minutes...simple...but I have recently joined a gym right next to my job and I go after work for 15-20 minutes...so it is up to you what you want to commit to.

daw0518

I definitely plan on including exercise into my daily routine after a couple of months, I would just like to lose some weight first as my primary goal, and then I will work on shaping my body the way I'd like it with exercise.

This is my exact plan also! I haven't lost any weight yet, but I started my journey about 2.5 weeks ago and am also trying to lose by calorie deficit and no exercise. My hope is that after a few months and seeing some changes, I will be motivated to step it up. In the past, I've tried to do a diet plus exercise schedule right off the bat & it never worked out, it was really overwhelming for me. So I'm trying to learn from my mistakes & take it one tiny step at a time now. You can add me if you want!