Success without excercize ????

Lara883

Hi folks !
Just wandering if anyone has been having success without working out , i ask because i worked out very well for this past month and saw no progress at all i even gained weight! Once i stopped i dropped 4 lbs , wondering why is that ?
I tend to get bulky as soon as i start , so i did notice my muscles bigger / harder and a wider body , is excercize not for me ?
Ps: this happened to me 2 times in the past too

mommabenefield

You dropped 4 lbs because your muscles are no longer holding on to extra water from the added exercise
Are you logging 100% accurately
Are you eating the correct number of calories

You exercise for healthy, you lose weight through eating properly...

Better advice will come along I'm sure

ETA: Research TDEE -20% Scoobys workshop has a great calculator, also Lift, Lift heavy

Lara883

Thx

NCPhotoMom

Hi Lara, the last time I used MFP I did not exercise often. In the end, I lost 30 lbs. This time, I plan on trying to lose the "bad weight" and exercise to gain "good weight". I have ran into the same scenario ad you and know how frustrating it can be. Someone told me that whatever calories you burn doing exercise, eat back 90% of them (with healthy foods of course). I haven't put this theory to the test yet so I'm not sure if that's key?

Lara883

Maybe i'll try that , cause i was eating ALL calories back

SCSTWG

Due to illness, I changed my eating habits in mid-January and have been unable to exercise but have dropped 41 lbs. My health has recently improved to the point where I am feeling good again and plan to start exercising slowly to increase my results. Certainly though, the more active you are the more weight you will likely lose.

ruffnstuff

I think what it really comes down to is how you define "success". Can you lose weight without exercise...sure. But know that it WILL be both fat and lean muscle mass. Exercise, especially resistance training of some kind, helps you keep what muscles you have that might be hiding under the fat. Body composition will not be what you think if all you do is eat a tiny amount and not exercise. No rockin' bod comes from sitting around.

ETA: try eating back about 50% of exercise cals as MFP is notorious for overestimating burns.

kwantlen2051

Exercise will not necessarily make you lose weight. It's always the deficiency in intake that will cause you to lose weight. If you exercise but eat all your calories back, you will just maintain. but if you eat less even if you exercise in moderation, you will certainly lose. I exercise in moderation ( mainly walking and pilates) and eat in moderation ( calories between my BMR and TDEE) and am still losing weight. " If you have the eating habits of a thin, healthy person, you will become a thin, healthy person."

http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/

OwlsInTheAttic

You can lose weight without exercise, but there's a reason most people choose to exercise anyway. It makes weight loss easier by increasing your caloric deficit. It also makes you stronger, and helps tone your body. I lost most of my weight by just walking almost every day. Now that I have less to lose, it's becoming a bit more difficult, so I've added some jogging and pilates. I don't think you gained weight from working out, and if I were you, I'd keep doing some kind of exercise at least a few days a week.

SoreTodayStrongTomorrow222

When I first started getting back in the gym - I didnt lose anything for about a month and a half.... Actually, I still really havent lost much but my body composition has drastically changed. I am thinner and have more muscles. I am sure I have replaced some fat with some muscle... This isn't going to be overnight. You have to work at it.

NextPage

There could be a number of factors leading to weight gain while exercising but the one I know I have to be careful about is remembering to log all my food intake and to not eat back all the calories burned when working out. Most people (and computer programs/machines) over estimate calories burned during exercise and underestimate food intake. However, you don't necessarily want to not eat back any of our calories back. For example, if I do a spinning class MFP log indicates that I used 500 calories but I will have a small snack (usually protein focused such as greek yogurt) that is only 200 calories.

Remember that the way your body looks after working out (especially weight training) regularly and losing 20lbs is so much "hotter" than weight loss alone.

mizzzc

Muscle weighs more than fat--- hence why you gained weight.

JJeMitchell

I'm the same way. I have lost weight without any exercise. I have worked out 5 times a week and lost no weight.

You lose weight with a good diet. It's 80% diet, 20% gym.

However, you may lose inches faster, you'll be healthy, you'll have energy and you'll feel better with exercise.

Choose an exercise that you like! I LOVE Jazzercise, Zumba, walking, group fitness classes, short runs with good music- if you like it, you'll be likely to stick to it!!!!

00NL

Lara it depends on how much you want to lose ? Exercise is added to create the deficit which can be created with reduction in food only as well.

but if you eat as much as you burn then ur weight will stay same .

just burn more than you eat. be patient and good luck

sarahjasminebicknell

I've lost 20 pounds without exercise, i found i was only eating the extra calories i had worked off and usually more! exercise is good for toning so i better soon to get rid of my saggy btm, good luck everyone :laugh:

kimothy38

I have previously lost 40kg (88 pounds) through clean eating and no exercise - I was 'skinny fat', thin but no muscle tone or definition. Until that point I wondered why thin people bothered with exercise but now I know - exercise improves your body and your mind.

I read a book by Dr Libby, a holistic nutrition specialist, and she talks about the nervous system etc and how strenuous exercise can actually play havoc with your nervous system and can make your body retain weight. This is why she recommends exercise to elevate your heart rate but to also do things like yoga etc.

Lara883

Bump

sino19

bump

lili61

Muscle weighs more than fat--- hence why you gained weight.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, which alters one's appearance if more muscle is put on. OP, I doubt you have put on much, if any muscle in working out for just a short time. It is very difficult for women to put on muscle, especially when eating at a deficit.

You could be overestimating your calorie burn from exercise, or underestimating calorie content in the food you're eating--or a combination of both.

So no--you don't need to exercise to lose weight, you just need to eat at a deficit. But if you choose not to exercise, as you lose weight, you will just become a smaller version of yourself (which is fine if that's what you want). I would recommend starting a lifting program if you truly want to change the fat-muscle composition of your body.

mommabenefield

Muscle weighs more than fat--- hence why you gained weight.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat, which alters one's appearance if more muscle is put on. OP, I doubt you have put on much, if any muscle in working out for just a short time. It is very difficult for women to put on muscle, especially when eating at a deficit.

You could be overestimating your calorie burn from exercise, or underestimating calorie content in the food you're eating--or a combination of both.

So no--you don't need to exercise to lose weight, you just need to eat at a deficit. But if you choose not to exercise, as you lose weight, you will just become a smaller version of yourself (which is fine if that's what you want). I would recommend starting a lifting program if you truly want to change the fat-muscle composition of your body.

+1

glenelliott5872

I lost 16 lb before I started exercising. so yes you can. I started to exercise to make it easier to maintain a deficit.

ianthy

Interesting... last time I lost weight I did little or no exercise. I got to target but was really flabby and then had to spend a long time getting thru maintenance and then trying to get fit. This time I have worked out while I have lost weight and built strength I feel so much better AND my body is actually smaller than when I was at goal last time. This is purely down to the work outs and kettle bell sessions I have been doing. It's got to be a personal choice but during I would recommend doing some exercise particularly toning.

Lara883

Thanks everyone ur responses r very helpfull im mainly thinkin about not eating cals back now , we'll c if that'll work

ublanchard

Maybe i'll try that , cause i was eating ALL calories back

Oooh, yeah, eating back all your exercise calories can mess you up, because the MFP can OVERestimates calories burned in the exercises database.

lillilanda

Just checking in. I am a guilty non-exerciser. I do some here and there and try to get a good step count on my pedometer but most of my exercise is yard work. Yes, you can lose it without exercising, and you'll lose fat, not jut muscle. I'm down 70 pounds and didn't have much muscle to start with! However, exercise is really important for maintaining a loss and also for not dying young of preventable heart disease! If you are mostly losing weight for cosmetic reasons, then exercise will also improve appearance in ways that weight loss alone cannot.

strengthnsense

First, you need to define what progress is. changing your nutritional lifestyle will only take you so far. You need to do more research on resistance training as well as cardiovascular. if you want to train for a healthy lifestyle you need to have a combination of both. Train for health, and everything will come. Mind you, I am assuming you do not have any metabolic or hormone disorders.

Sunshine2plus2

I lost about 60pds and didnt exercise at all. Weight loss is more about the food and calories you take in!

Amiliang14

I use to take a diet pill called jadera which helped me lose 30 lbs in a month in a half which is not exactly healthy plus it has bitter orange exstract which can cause high blood pressure. Anyways I let my self go once I got pregnant and gained 60 pounds. I've lost forty punds just by breastfeeding and now I'm trying to lose more the healthy way by working out and eating right. It is possible to lose weight by watching what you eat or even by just working out it just depends on your body type. Just remember muscles do weight more than fat sometimes so if your working out and fat isn't just melting off don't be worried your helping to get yourself healthy (especially your heart) by working out.

AmyPearshape

Muscle weighs more than fat, per cubic inch, not per pound!

Lara883

Bump

Lara883

Bump!?