How often do I NEED to exercise?

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fatbegone85
fatbegone85 Posts: 70
in Fitness and Exercise
So I'm 29, 4'11 at last weight in I was 209.6 (that was last Thursday), down five pounds since June 1st. I've been working out five days a week. Nothing too heavy. Normally 20-30 mins of cardio for four days (zumba, kick boxing, etc). On the fifth or six day I would do a longer 45 minute strength training workout. I've been eating at (or around) 1500 net calories daily, I eat back some of my calories, most times just whatever calories that are in my protein drink. I understand that I will still lose weight just by eating at a caloric deficit, but help me understand what happens if I don't exercise or exercise enough? I don't particularly like exercising, but I find myself looking forward to it because it means extra calories I have to either : a) burn or b) some yummy goody.

I've tried losing weight so many times before. This time around I want to do it right. Before I tried I was eating at 1200 calories (was sooooo hungry!). MFP has helped me a lot. I now eat more calories, and I feel full/satisfied. I'm finding that even at 1500, i can eat pretty much whatever I want, just have to be mindful of the portion sizes----and also aware of just how many calories are in my 'treats'. This site is so helpful. Gives me a much more realistic view of what I should be eating and just how quickly the weight will come off.

I don't want this to become another fad, I really want to keep at it. I'd hate to look back six months from now and realize I could have been 30 pounds lighter.
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Replies

  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
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    Well I am sure others will chime in but here is what I have learned

    Exercise = Fitness
    Calories in versus Calories out = Weightloss

    Now obviously working out will speedup weightloss and get you feeling much better will also help you lose inches.
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    Well I am sure others will chime in but here is what I have learned

    Exercise = Fitness
    Calories in versus Calories out = Weightloss

    Now obviously working out will speedup weightloss and get you feeling much better will also help you lose inches.

    I'm not in shape at all. I feel like my 20 minute exercises are useless. Like I should wait until I lose a bit of weight and it doesn't hurt my knees to jump. Or I don't have to hear a popping noise every time I try to do a jumping jack or arm movement :-/. But I guess if I just continue exercising eventually it won't feel so hard.
  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
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    I know what your saying. When I first started I was the same way. My body would make hideous noises. But just stuck with it and now I am crushing it. No more weird noises.

    Maybe change the intensity for awhile and slow down work your way up. Don't burn out
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
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    >but help me understand what happens if I don't exercise or exercise enough?


    You'll be "skinny fat" ... i.e. low weight but out of shape and slack. Skinny fat people can look good with clothes on but then look pretty "meh" in their skivvies.
  • Johnplusfour
    Johnplusfour Posts: 105
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    I'm not in shape at all. I feel like my 20 minute exercises are useless. Like I should wait until I lose a bit of weight and it doesn't hurt my knees to jump. Or I don't have to hear a popping noise every time I try to do a jumping jack or arm movement :-/. But I guess if I just continue exercising eventually it won't feel so hard.

    I have to agree with you on the point of hurting your knees. There are tons of vids/programs that are low impact on your knees. My wife does the routines and skips the jumping part. She's finding that as her weight decreases that she can run and jump easier without the pain. I've seen too many people needing knee shots and surgery due to excessive impact so don't do things that make those joints hurt.

    I probably push too hard but I feel that you should exercise in some form every single day. If all you can do is take a brisk walk then so be it. If you want to see results that make you feel great about yourself and all you've accomplished then you gotta push yourself to do something every day.
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    I've been trying to look for low impact videos. I've really taken a liking to fitnessblender lately. I'll try switching up my routine a bit. Any recommendations for low impact vids that give a good sweat? I want to sweat, I want my heart rate up.

    Thank you all for your responses, I appreciate it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    The only thing that exercise really helps out with for diet and weight loss, is increasing what you burn daily.

    So then when you subtract the 500 say for 1 lb weekly loss - you get to eat more than you would without the exercise.

    Because as many pointed out above, since exercise is for heart health and body improvement - that rarely has weight loss as side effect, actually water weight gain as side effect.

    That may make it much easier to adhere to getting to eat more.

    So if you determine that you just gotta have 2000 calories to adhere well to the plan, then on average you better plan on your daily non-exercise maintenance MFP shows plus exercise calories to equal 2500 daily to obtain 1 lb weekly loss and adhere to diet.
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    I did kickboxing Tuesday and my arms still feel sore. I don't know what the heck I'm doing when it comes to exercising. I know I have to do something, I just feel like I'm doing it wrong.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Well I am sure others will chime in but here is what I have learned

    Exercise = Fitness
    Calories in versus Calories out = Weightloss

    Now obviously working out will speedup weightloss and get you feeling much better will also help you lose inches.

    I'm not in shape at all. I feel like my 20 minute exercises are useless. Like I should wait until I lose a bit of weight and it doesn't hurt my knees to jump. Or I don't have to hear a popping noise every time I try to do a jumping jack or arm movement :-/. But I guess if I just continue exercising eventually it won't feel so hard.

    Jumping = popping .......stop!

    Google low impact aerobics......beginners should start at the (well) beginning. I'm over 50 and can't do high impact very often.

    This is a 1 mile "walk"....really low impact aerobics (look for Try It! button).....
    http://www.walkathome.com/

    About 2 miles......
    http://www.jessicasmithtv.com/video_posts/28-minute-barefoot-fusion-walk/

    Yes - it will get better. Add impact when (if) you can. Exercise should be something you enjoy. Yes, challenge is good....popping...not good.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    that was me.. despising exercise because I thought I had to do all that cardio... then I came here and started perusing the forums and saw all these women who lifted weights (NO cardio) and had bodies that I would kill for...

    I dropped all the nonsense (since I REALLY REALLY hated to do it) and picked up weights... discovered I like the feeling of continually getting stronger and someday rockin a bikini body :)
  • hobbeskastiel
    hobbeskastiel Posts: 221 Member
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    If you're part of a gym and you don't want your knees to hurt then using the bikes are great. If your gym has a pool then swimming would also be a great idea.
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    Jumping = popping .......stop!

    Google low impact aerobics......beginners should start at the (well) beginning. I'm over 50 and can't do high impact very often.

    This is a 1 mile "walk"....really low impact aerobics (look for Try It! button).....
    http://www.walkathome.com/

    About 2 miles......
    http://www.jessicasmithtv.com/video_posts/28-minute-barefoot-fusion-walk/

    Yes - it will get better. Add impact when (if) you can. Exercise should be something you enjoy. Yes, challenge is good....popping...not good.

    Last Saturday, I walked around in a loop for 50 minutes while watching a tv show. Burned 284 calories.
    If you're part of a gym and you don't want your knees to hurt then using the bikes are great. If your gym has a pool then swimming would also be a great idea.

    I do youtube videos at home. I had a membership before, but I felt so self conscious. All my fat just having a happy jiggle every time I moved. I know no one cares or is even thinking about my dancing belly but it's just a mental thing....maybe when I'm smaller I will feel more at ease working out around others. My boobs are so massive, I wish I could take them off for the duration for the work out then pop them back on when I'm done.
    that was me.. despising exercise because I thought I had to do all that cardio... then I came here and started perusing the forums and saw all these women who lifted weights (NO cardio) and had bodies that I would kill for...

    I dropped all the nonsense (since I REALLY REALLY hated to do it) and picked up weights... discovered I like the feeling of continually getting stronger and someday rockin a bikini body :)

    I REALLY like doing the strength training! Which is why my Friday/Saturday workouts are 45 mins. It doesn't tire me out but I feel good afterwards. I'm only up to 5 pounds dumbells (up from 2 but yea I'm still a baby lifter!), but it feels good. I brought resistance bands but haven't used it yet.
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    I was doing a ton of cardio every single day and it really didn't help me lose any faster.... but it made me really miserable that I was working so hard and not getting anywhere. Then in November I started NROLFW and started lifting 3x/week and only doing cardio occasionally when I felt like it... I started losing more weight and saw big changes in my body composition. I've since completed NROL... I still lift 3x/week and I go for a 1mi walk everyday (to make sure I hit that 500cal deficit everyday... because I wasn't quite getting there without the walks). I run once a week to allow myself to eat more or just because I feel like it - I love to run.

    So... use your food deficit for weightloss, lift to maintain your muscles and for much better body recomp results.... do cardio if you need a little help with the deficit, for overall fitness... or just because you feel like it. Good luck!
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    You can take the jumping/bouncing out of workouts you like to make them low impact. Instead of jumping jacks, step one foot out to the side, then the other, or just march in place if you have to. The important thing is to keep moving. You will find yourself getting stronger and being able to move more quickly, exercise longer without needing a break, more flexibility - and the weight will start coming off.

    I've lost 34 lbs exercising 30 min a day 6 days a week. In the beginning, I could barely make it through a video and had to modify everything. Now I'm doing 50-60 real push-ups during a workout (not all at once), keeping up with the videos, doing HIIT workouts, and I'm working on doing a pull-up. And even with all that, there are still things I need to modify at times.

    Everyone starts somewhere. And if you have access to heavy things you can pick up and put back down, definitely use them. I've seen great results just with dumbbells ranging from 3-25 lbs; you don't need to have lots of equipment to succeed.
  • sheltrk
    sheltrk Posts: 111 Member
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    OP: It sounds like sticking to low impact exercise, walking, etc. to start out with would make sense for you. Any activity will help burn some calories. 20 minutes at a time is totally fine if that's what you can do! As you lose weight, try to gradually ramp up the intensity of your workouts. You'll get there!
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    Out of the many times I've tried losing weight before, I never thought of building muscles. Then I came hear and realized muscles weren't just a guy thing.

    I will look into the NROLFW. Never heard of it before today. Sorry to lazy to quote everyone. But thank you for the low impact ideas and encouraging words. You all don't know how helpful it is to hear a kind/motivating word and helpful tips. Why couldn't I have found this site, years ago.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,952 Member
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    I read a study (sorry not going to provide links, too lazy to refind them)

    Eating well alone cannot adequately help you reduce visceral fat (the fat around your internal organs). Exercise must be incorporated to do this. Considering it's very important for organ health to reduce this fat to healthy levels, I don't recommend not exercising. But you also don't have to push TOO hard (i.e. popping sounds are a bad sign).

    If you can get a cardio workout from lifting weights, then it might be okay to cut out cardio if you hate it. But only if you lift (increasingly heavy) and lift enough to get your heart rate and breathing rate up! To build lung and heart strength.
  • mereditheve
    mereditheve Posts: 142 Member
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    You are my same height - 4'11" although you've got about 100 lbs on me right now. But the good part about that is you are probably already stronger than you think just from carrying that much weight with you on a daily basis. I am a big proponent of lifting, especially if you are already able to move a significant amount of weight. Lifting is low impact, unlike running, and it burns a lot more calories than walking. I think you will see results much faster starting out this way, and perhaps you'll find that lifting becomes a passion of yours too!

    To answer your main question, exercise as often as you can. If you are sore, do whatever exercises you are able to do. Work out different muscle groups on different days so you aren't too sore to work out the next day. My goal is to exercise at least 45 minutes daily with one rest day per week. However, at this point, even my rest days involve hiking, rowing or climbing.

    You will have some bad days, but just keep persisting and focus on making the next day better. I still have workouts that are disappointing to me (e.g., I get too tired to keep running or aren't able to lift as much as I was the previous day), and I just get back into it and try again.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
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    Can you - do you - swim?
  • fatbegone85
    fatbegone85 Posts: 70
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    Should I be working through the soreness or rest until I no longer feel sore?

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