MFP without exercise?

WVBayouGal

I am not young, and have limited mobility due to physical problems, and have 100 pounds to lose. I am eating the set calories each day and not exercising at the moment, because of my limited mobility. I have lost a couple of pounds in a few days by calorie counting, and know that will continue as long as I eat within my calorie limit. I would say, if you are a busy mom, need the sleep, and are losing weight...then you can relax for now, without the exercise. But, when the time comes that you do have the free time to exercise, then put it back into your routine. My plan is to start a routine exercise program when I feel 'lighter' and more mobile. Exercise is good for your heart and soul....and will keep you young. Listen to your body, it will tell you what to do....whether it is continue to exercise and eat back the calories or to stop exercising for now and be a busy mom who is not sleep deprived.

Huffdogg

Centuries ago ladies kept their figure without structured exercise. We only need it now, because lots of things are easy for us to do.

This is honestly a fairly naive point of view. Centuries ago, people died in their early thirties, and were usually thin because they were subsistence-level farmers who had to ration out their food to avoid starvation, not because they worked off their massive surplus of calories. Overall, they had far less opportunity to be healthy than the ones we so willingly squander on average. You don't hear about many cases of scurvy these days, or rickets, or shingles. Instead of sickness caused by food deficit, we have ailments provided by food surplus: obesity, high cholesterol, blood pressure issues, liver and kidney disease...

All in all, if you are here because you want to simply lose weight, you are missing the big picture. If you want to be HEALTHY, you need to EXERCISE. Period. Having a "fairly active" lifestyle is not going to cut it. You need to be elevating your heart rate for sustained periods of time several times of week. No one is going to bust your chops for slacking off while you have a newborn to chase around, but in the long term it is a poor fitness attitude to have. Look into something you can do in tiny tiny increments rather than doing nothing.

I recommend any of the 10 Minute Solution DVD's or looking into Tabata Protocol (4 minutes of high-intensity cardio every other day).

Improvised

yes, there's some point in exercising. It's better health for you, which means better health for the baby, since you are better able to tend to his/her needs. Also, it's an energy booster, as long as you don't push too hard.

Do you HAVE to exercise to lose weight? No. You don't. Just make sure you are eating the right amount of calories. Also, keep in mind that if you are nursing, you will burn calories that you will need to eat back, to make sure you are giving your baby enough nutrients.

SaraTonin

Just ask yourself one question:

What is the point of losing weight if you're not going to be healthy?

BrownSkinBeauty1990

All in all, if you are here because you want to simply lose weight, you are missing the big picture. If you want to be HEALTHY, you need to EXERCISE. Period. Having a "fairly active" lifestyle is not going to cut it. You need to be elevating your heart rate for sustained periods of time several times of week. No one is going to bust your chops for slacking off while you have a newborn to chase around, but in the long term it is a poor fitness attitude to have. Look into something you can do in tiny tiny increments rather than doing nothing.

I recommend any of the 10 Minute Solution DVD's or looking into Tabata Protocol (4 minutes of high-intensity cardio every other day).

Just ask yourself one question:

What is the point of losing weight if you're not going to be healthy?

I've always been healthy. I've never been over weight until I had my son a few months ago & that's to be expected and even now I'm only like 0.5 over my healthy BMI. I eat well & I'm active on most days. The only reason why I started doing a fitness DVD was because I thought that it would help me lose weight fast, but when I think about it, it won't.

I do exercise, like I said before I walk for at least 45 mins on most days & I'm constantly on my feet looking after my baby. That is exercising isn't it?! Walking is supposed to be the best exercise for you.

Charger440

I'm not sure I agree with trying to force her to exercise. A lot of you are talking about "whats the point if your not going to be healthy" and I'm just wondering one thing. What gives you the right to accuse someone of not being "healthy" if they don't follow an exercise plan like you do? For one thing there are lots of people out here that are "healthy" and don't follow any exercise plan or eat biodegradable foods. Why? because they are active people and therefore don't need to exercise regularly. For instance my wife has an uncle that works at a brick plant and stacks bricks all day. He looks pretty well fit to me and does he exercise? Nope, not at all cause hes active enough that he stays trim and fit with out any extra work. Ever try really house cleaning? that takes several hours a day of constant moving, as long as your not over eating that should be enough to keep anyone fairly well balanced. I'm not saying don't exercise, I'm saying quit trying to force her to exercise just because YOU think YOU have to exercise everyday to feel good. SHE is NOT YOU and vise versa. The simple answer is, if you want to loose weight simply staying under your calorie count should be good enough and NO you don't HAVE to exercise to loose weight!

stefanwolf

I think not working out is a mistake. It's really important to maintain some muscle mass to help support your joints as well as keep your metabolism up. If you are tired after the Jillian one, maybe that one just happens to not be the right workout for you. After I dislocated my knee, the doctor explained to me that that was typical in women because of the angle from our hips to knee, and that women usually don't have enough leg strength. It is just my opinion of course, but if you are not big on that toned look, why not try a good Yoga workout? Bob Harper has a great one.

tigertchr23

Exercising doesn't have to be a chore. It can be fun! Do you have a game system . . . Wii, XBOX, or Playstation? If so, get an active game. I absolutely love doing "Just Dance 2". I burn a great amount of calories while having fun at the same time.

Do you like any sports? Shooting baskets, swimming, kicking around a soccer ball with friends, etc. gets in some cardio without feeling like dreaded exercise.

Also, cleaning the house and going up/down stairs, etc. counts. So park farther away when you go to the grocery store, put some music on and dance around the house for fun, take the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator when it is an option, carry your baby in their car seat and take a few laps around the room, push your baby around the neighborhood in their stroller, etc.

My point is . . . try to think of some creative ways to keep active without the structured "exercise" DVDs.

When your child gets older, you can incorporate games that they can play with you to get exercise as well (Duck-duck-goose, red rover, kick ball, racing, chasing, red light-green light, freeze tag, etc.). Good luck and have fun!:happy:

BrownSkinBeauty1990

I'm not sure I agree with trying to force her to exercise. A lot of you are talking about "whats the point if your not going to be healthy" and I'm just wondering one thing. What gives you the right to accuse someone of not being "healthy" if they don't follow an exercise plan like you do? For one thing there are lots of people out here that are "healthy" and don't follow any exercise plan or eat biodegradable foods. Why? because they are active people and therefore don't need to exercise regularly. For instance my wife has an uncle that works at a brick plant and stacks bricks all day. He looks pretty well fit to me and does he exercise? Nope, not at all cause hes active enough that he stays trim and fit with out any extra work. Ever try really house cleaning? that takes several hours a day of constant moving, as long as your not over eating that should be enough to keep anyone fairly well balanced. I'm not saying don't exercise, I'm saying quit trying to force her to exercise just because YOU think YOU have to exercise everyday to feel good. SHE is NOT YOU and vise versa. The simple answer is, if you want to loose weight simply staying under your calorie count should be good enough and NO you don't HAVE to exercise to loose weight!

Thank you, this was the point I was trying to make as I'm active anyway & walk for at least 45 mins on most days. & yeah not to mention the cleaning and walking around with a baby all the time. I also think you can be healthy without exercise as I've always been healthy apart from now because I'm a bit over my BMI from having my baby a few months ago x

louiseei

You've not long had a baby, it's really hard and tiring. Just getting out pushing your pram and being active is enough if you're up in the night with your baby. I didn't get back into proper exercise classes in the long run until my LO was about 1 year old. Yes in the long run it's better to exercise and be fitter, of course, but you need time to rest and enjoy your baby. That weight took 9 months to go on, it won't fall off all at once. I think there's a ridiculous pressure on new mums to snap back into shape in a matter of weeks and it takes time.

Pebble321

I think you are on the right track - if you are walking 45 mins a day, that is plenty of exercise to help with circulation, healthy bones etc, exercise DVD's are fine if you like them and have time, but they certainly aren't necessary!

I've wondered "why exercise if I'm going to eat the calories back" too and my conclusion is that exercising is helping to strenthen my muscles and bones, increase my metabolism (to burn more calories!) and don't forget that exercising is a natural anti-depressant, it released the feel good hormones endorphins into your system.
So, there are good reasons to exercise that aren't just about weight loss, but you need to do what is right for your lifestyle.

It sounds like you are pretty busy with a new baby, I'm guessing you aren't getting enough sleep and probably don't have much time to yourself anyway, so I don't see that you have to force yourself to fit in an activity that you aren't enjoying.
Make sure you keep moving (which you're doing!) eat healthy food for you and baby and maybe re-evaluate as the baby grows up and it is easier to get out and about.

Driagnor

At the end of the day, if you're in a calorie deficit, you're going to be losing weight. The danger of not doing exercise is that your body may start to eat your muscle mass instead, which reduces your Resting Metabolic Rate and will make it easier to gain fat back.

I don't know that it's necessary to do intense workouts regularly, as long as you are still working all your major muscle groups regularly so that you don't start to cannabalize that muscle that you've built up.