Has anyone lost a decent amount of weight (50lbs +) WITHOUT

winchester1967
winchester1967 Posts: 6
I'm not looking for anyone to slam me for this question, so if you have anything bad to say, please go away now. Kthnx.

For those of you with a nice, honest answer... I'd love to hear from you!

Has anybody lost a good amount of weight, preferably 50lbs or more, without exercising or "working out" per se? If so, what was your diet/meals like?
-And if you DID do any kind of exercises/work outs, what did you do and for how long?
-How long did it take for you to lose the weight without exercising?

Thanks to all in advance!

Replies

  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 846 Member
    I lost my first 6 stone without exercising, got my type 2 under control & basically ate soup & crisps with the odd haagen daaz thrown in. It took 4 years to lose but it came to a crashing halt in Jan this year when I started gaining again, 35lbs in 6 months. Started eating right & exercising at the gym. The weight is coming off slowly but I am toning all the loose skin & flabby muscles from years of neglect & have lost alot of inches & gone down 2 clothes sizes.

    TBH it worked in the sense I am no longer 21 stone but wish I had just done it right from the beginning cause I would have lost it alot quicker & probably wouldn't have so much sagging.
  • craft338
    craft338 Posts: 870 Member
    i lost a lot with just diet for the first 50ish pounds...

    but i ate totally healthy, a mostly "clean" diet. i didn't eat any processed foods, and i ate a ton of raw fruits and veggies. i was losing about 2lbs/week, but i was almost 300 lbs, so that could be one of the reasons it was coming off so fast. i do have an active job where i'm on my feet for the majority of the day, so even though i wasn't breaking a sweat, i was still active.

    the only exercise i would do was walking. lucky for me, i LOVE my walks now, and sometimes i'll go on my 2+ mile walks twice a day. when that got too easy, i added ankle weights and wrist weights, but that wasn't until about a month ago.

    i still HATE the gym and "working out" but i'll always go for my walks =)
  • magdamccraven
    magdamccraven Posts: 75 Member
    I lost a lot fast and still am but I was 449 pounds to begin with. Even with my super slow metabolism, when a person is that big, the body sheds pounds fast.
    I am only recently able to begin exercise due to my weight loss.
    I ate about 800 to 1000 calories a day and was monitored by medical staff as this is extremely low.

    I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone unless their medical health provider is on board. Many would see this low cal behavior as starvation. In my situation it is preferable for a time because the alternative could be more harmful than the "starvation mode".

    Good luck in whatever you decide.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    I have exercised and not exercised periodically. You don't have to exercise to lose. I pulled a stomach muscle at the beginning of the summer and it was a good long time before I could exercise like I wanted and I still lost weight. Exercise does a few things, though. It helps you lose faster, and it helps shape your body. It also helps your skin return to its normal shape.

    You don't have to do anything intense to workout. You can walk (I've done a lot of that) or you can use the fitness games. I lost a ton of weight playing Wii boxing and it was a lot of fun too. There are options out there. You should at least try to do a little exercise while you are losing weight. But again, it's not a requirement for weight loss.
  • krystonite
    krystonite Posts: 553 Member
    The very first time, and only time, I'd gotten to my goal weight of 120lbs, I did so without exercise. But I did it the very unhealthy way. I'd just been laid off (in a horrible way) and was utterly depressed. So I wouldn't eat for a bit. Then I dropped some pounds and thought, "Oh, well this is nice." I maintained that for about 7 months and went from a 10 to a 2.

    Again, totally freakin' unhealthy. I probably lost so much damn muscle mass.

    Then I moved away and money was tight so I ate a lot of junk and unhealthy food. Weight piled back on and in no time I was back at a 10, 144lbs.

    Now, I am finally doing it the healthy way. Been at it for four months - eating healthy foods, exercising, strength training, lots of water. It's a slow process but it is a truly rewarding one.

    I'm sure you can lose the weight without exercise, but exercise does something that acts independently from weight loss. I believe it is a complete mood enhancer and makes your stamina, endurance and strength much greater than if you were to cut it out completely. Diet is probably most important, but exercising will give you a pleasure and joy you've not experienced before. Find what you love though. Don't just step on a treadmill because you think it'll shed the pounds faster, not if you're bored out of your mind and loathe every second of it. That's not what exercise should be about. You should want to do it because it makes you feel good. I only started to love exercising when I got sober. I found that the highs I used to get from painkillers I actually got from breaking a sweat. Much more productive too, I suppose.

    Hope this helps.
  • billtownsend
    billtownsend Posts: 75 Member
    Hello :)

    I lost 100+ pounds in about a year. I was so heavy my scales wouldn't resister. But I think you have to do exercise and eat properly. I started at the Gym lifting weights for 30 min a day, riding a bike for 20 - 30. I started eating lean meats, chicken, turkey or fish, brown rice and green veggies. I had eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. I broke my meals up into 5 times a day, every 2.5 - 3 hours. Again I think you have to do both. Good Luck to you.
  • RieBerg
    RieBerg Posts: 261 Member
    I lost about 40 pounds, but it took about a year. I would go on and off with the excercise, mostly off. I would just go on the treadmill. At first I could only run for 1 minute, but eventually got up to 20 minutes. I would say I would work out for about a month and then stop for 3 months and then got back into it. It was mainly counting calories. I was anal about everything I ate, keeping it to 1200 caloories. Every 3 days I would binge, but not too bad, and then got back into it, eventually about to maintain 1300.
  • Hi!

    Try reading "Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It" by Gary Taubes. It's a very interesting read and sheds some light on the whole calories/exercise thing. The lifestyle is basically cutting out carbs and replacing with fat and protein to help your body feel satiated. I did it this summer and lost 8lbs. I think if you stuck to it, and were serious about it, 50 lbs would come off easily.

    I hope this helps.
  • JulieSD
    JulieSD Posts: 567
    Its entirely possible to lose that amount of weight without exercise. I've known people to do it personally. But the difference that I find is that their bodies dont become toned like a person of the same beginning weight and same loss that used exercised.
  • melkithall
    melkithall Posts: 75 Member
    I haven't lost 50lbs yet, but I'm on my way, I'm at 38. I think most of my weight loss has come mainly from my diet, only a little from exercise. I don't have a lot of time to exercise with three young boys (maybe that's enough exercise in itself). I try to just balance my diet out, follow the food pyramid. I eat between 1200-1400 calories a day. I don't believe in cutting out an entire food group like breads or meat or anything to accomplish my goals. I want to make a new lifestyle for myself, not just a temporary fix. Since I was eating so bad before ( alot of fast food and junk food), when I starting eating more veggies, fruits, and stopping when I should that's when I started losing weight. I do walk my son to school five days a week, which ivolves pushing a stroller as well. We try to walk briskly, especially now that it's colder. I have a set of 5 lb weights that I'll do some exercises for my arms with. I've been in shape before and taken weight classes in school, so I know the moves that will work and I just try to work from memory. Like I said, I don't have a lot of time before the baby needs to eat or my 2 year old needs attention, so I just try to fit in a little movement somewhere each day. You may not want to exercise, leaving it all up to diet alone. But, let me tell you, it is so much easier to remember to eat better when you have exercised. It's like your body craves the healthier when you're moving it more.
    I started at 248 the first week of Sept. and now I'm down to 210. So, roughly two months to do what I did. At first, a bunch comes off, water weight and all, but then it slows down. I'm to about 2 lbs a week now.
    Hope this helps.
  • irunwithscissors
    irunwithscissors Posts: 89 Member
    I have a friend that lost 40+ with weight watchers. The old way, not points plus. She didn't even go to meetings, all on her own. Plus exercise, plus she sits all day at work.
This discussion has been closed.