Experiences of people losing weight without exercising

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

1. Lose weight.
2. Build muscle and tone.

I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

TeaBea

Oh thanks for your tips...
I started walking the 1st 2 weeks also, but I live in Texas, and the heat is killing me. I am definitely waiting on the temperatures to cool down a bit so I can go back to my evening walks, which I enjoyed.

I never tried probiotics so I will give it a try, as for coffee... I don't like it haha

You might look into indoor "walking" by Leslie Sansone. I live in the Midwest and winters do me in. These "Just Walk" or "Walk at Home" DVDs allow me to walk when it's rainy, or dark, or snow piled up on the sidewalks. They're sold at Target, Amazon, etc.

I've lost weight several times with zero exercise. Every time I did that, I lost muscle + fat, and every time I gained the weight back. Now (for me) exercise has to be a lifestyle change. Added exercise gives me a small cushion (of extra calories) to keep the weight off.

TeaBea

I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

1. Lose weight.
2. Build muscle and tone.

I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.

beamer0821

my philosophy is do what works for you.
im not a gym person, at least now I'm not. so i find ways to exercise that are ok for me. long walks outside are my go to. i also do little things like like leave my grocery cart in one spot and walk to and from it with groceries throughout the store. i park in the back of the lot even in the rain every.single.time anywhere i go. i dance and jump around with my kids 10-15 minutes most days. to get my heart rate up.

as others have said most of your weightloss will come from watching what you eat. you don't need to exercise to lose weight but you do need to exercise for overall health and I think it makes your body look nicer as your lose weight not so flabby.

i attribute almost all of my weight loss thus far to following MFP and eating at a deficit.

whatever you do make sure its something you can do for life. that's how i incorporate changes i always ask myself can i maintain this routine/exercise/regiment/etc forever? and sometimes you have to just try before you can answer that question always be willing to change the plan. a plan in the beginning may not be the same plan 6 months in tweak and change things to find what works.

violasmith85

From what I've seen and heard weight loss is 80% diet 20% fitness. I don't exercise, well at least not at this point. When I was exercising I'd get super hungry and eat back the calories and then some. I've lost 24lbs without exercising at all. I do want to eventually add in some strength training, but I'm nowhere near my goal yet and I don't want to screw with my progress at this point.

seltzermint555

I think you will find a lot of people here lose weight independent of their exercise habits: they eat at a calorie deficit determined by their daily activity level. That is why you hear phrases like "eat your exercise calories back" and "the weight battle is won in the kitchen" so often.

If you like to exercise, you should exercise. It is good for you. You will feel better. Gyms are fun places to hang out. And so on.

But you shouldn't count on exercise as a weight loss or maintenance method. It is too easy to overwhelm the calories you burn exercising with a single five minute indulgence (a single Panera oatmeal raisin cookie clocks in at approximately 400 calories, which is forty-five minutes to an hour of cardio for most people). Worse yet, if you have to miss a day or a week of cardio, you are suddenly eating at maintenance or worse.

The hard truth of weight loss and maintenance is this: you can't eat whatever you want whenever you want and you do have to actively and intelligently control portions and make conscious choices about what and when you eat.

All of this.

I see this topic come up a lot, OP. I never know how to answer others' questions about it, either.

To me, "no exercise" means literally none, just sitting all day at the office and spending the every evening and weekend sitting around watching TV and/or lounging.

But to some people, "no exercise" means not going to the gym, not heavy lifting, not doing Zumba or Body Pump classes, not running, and not using an elliptical or treadmill at home. So in that case you could say I've lost 134 lb without any exercise.

My exercise is walks 2-4 nights per week (pretty steady pace) for 30-45 minutes, and then 5-6 (at least) hours of being active on the weekend...hiking, sight-seeing, shopping/mall-walking, riding bikes on trails... and/or some combination of those. Aside from the occasional muscle soreness from biking or a challenging hike that gets me all sweaty and out of breath on a craggy hillside I don't feel like I ever exercise to be totally honest.

Tanie98

I am sure you can still lose weight without exercise but I feel better when I exercise. I love running outside when the weather is nice. Find something that you love and stick to it so it doesn't feel like chore

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

1. Lose weight.
2. Build muscle and tone.

I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear... My END goal weight is 154 if I keep the same level of muscle (more if I bulid muscle, but actually the 154 is at the high side of where I should be for fat %). When I'm at 175 (or when I have time if I hit 175 before late November), I plan to start strength training. So the PRELIMINARY weight loss goal (175) is simply based on losing weight (step 1). That will leave me at more than 20% body fat yet, so I will need to continue to lose fat while I try to gain muscle. I'm not sure whether I will have a net weight gain or loss, but I'll be more focused on body composition at that point (I will still be eating at a deficit, so I should be losing weight still).

Kaelakcr

In the beginning, it makes total sense to only concentrate on diet. Once you have that under control, you might consider exercise, if you want to change the composition and appearance of your body even more. But if you ask me it can actually be pretty harmful for people trying to stay at a caloric deficit.

Something you can do that will help is to do laps while taking care of things. You can easily hit 5000 steps. which will help boost your energy burn without causing you to get more hungry.

TeaBea

I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

1. Lose weight.
2. Build muscle and tone.

I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.

I'm sorry I wasn't clear... My END goal weight is 154 if I keep the same level of muscle (more if I bulid muscle, but actually the 154 is at the high side of where I should be for fat %). When I'm at 175 (or when I have time if I hit 175 before late November), I plan to start strength training. So the PRELIMINARY weight loss goal (175) is simply based on losing weight (step 1). That will leave me at more than 20% body fat yet, so I will need to continue to lose fat while I try to gain muscle. I'm not sure whether I will have a net weight gain or loss, but I'll be more focused on body composition at that point (I will still be eating at a deficit, so I should be losing weight still).

Good - glad to hear that :flowerforyou:

keefmac

I cycle to work and back BUT I also did while overweight. The only thing I changed was my diet and coming up to a 2 stone loss, all I did was eat less than before.

MrsSullivan08

I only log my food as well and don't exercise aside from what I do on a daily basis. I eat 1200 cals or close to that a day and lose roughly two pounds a week. I have two kids so I am constantly chasing and cleaning up after them. The first time I started and completed this and got to my goal weight was in 2012 before I got pregnant with my second child and I would take my first child and the family dog on walks around a river that is close to our house. Other than that I don't exercise or go to a gym. I would like to though.

BEVERLYSTEEN

I eat 1200 calories a day but with my job I sit for 12 hours a day and never reach my 10,000 steps a day that we all should be getting in so I ride my stationary recumbent bike for at least 30 minutes 4 times a week minimum. I find if I don't do that then I will have a gain. It's all about what works for you so you loose 1-2 pounds a week and don't get discouraged and go back to your old ways. Good luck.