Do you have to exercise???

laurenduck05

I have been wondering if anyone has found MFP successful without doing a great deal of exercise. Some people seem to burn 1000-2000 calories a day and I really don't have the time or motivation. How have people found the exercise/calorie deficit??? :-)

PBJunky

Depends on your goal, if you are planning to look like a model then yes exercise is vital and if you plan to look like one of the olsen twins then avoid it.

stevwil41

If you set up MFP properly with your level of daily activity there is a built in deficit and you should lose without exercising. That being said, if you exercise you can eat more while maintaining the deficit. You will also feel and look better as you're losing weight.

Givemewings

You don't have to exercise, but i think it is vital if your plan is to be healthier and fitter. I lost weight once before with diet and very little exercise. I did lose the weight , but as a friend told me later, I looked too thin and ill. So this time I am trying the exercise and diet approach. Doing the C25K has quite literally changed my life and I feel amazing.

rml_16

I have a friend who in her 40s lost 80 pounds and has maintained (and looks amazing) without any exercise at all.

So, yes, you can lose weight and keep it off without exercise.

HOWEVER, the benefits of exercise go far beyond weight loss or toning. Exercise is important to overall health and quality of life when you age. It staves off Alzheimer's, keeps your bones strong, releases stress-reducing endorphins -- just to name a few benefits!

You don't have to burn 1,000 to 2,000 calories a day and you don't have to become a bodybuilder or anything to get the benefits, but you probably should try to do something.

All that said, you don't have to do something that FEELS like exercise. Just find something active that you enjoy doing and do it.

rajivdubey

I have been wondering if anyone has found MFP successful without doing a great deal of exercise. Some people seem to burn 1000-2000 calories a day and I really don't have the time or motivation. How have people found the exercise/calorie deficit??? :-)

Like...I burned around 3900 calories this weekend! Today I am resting!!

I also never had motivation but the awesome results and fun of exercising kept me going. I started with running (but I soon developed disinterest because of the pain in lower back and other places). Gym work out was great but I got bored after a while. I picked up cycling sometime back (2 months back) and have lost significant amount of body fat ever since.

You will get motivation when you see amazing results yourself! Till then just keep going!! All the best!!

sarahliftsUP

You definitely don't have to exercise to lose weight.. but if your goal is to be healthier then you want to add in exercise to your daily activities. You don't have to burn 800-1000 calories a day! I don't have the time for that either. Really, 30 minutes a day for 3-6 days a week, depending on what your schedule like is a good goal. I am currently doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. 30 minutes for 5 days a week which burns around 165-200 calories per session. Nothing crazy and this week and last week I lost 0.8 pounds. I'm only 7 pounds away from my goal, so those loses are huge for me!

Gail3260

I only exercise a couple of times a week and am doing really well. I could force myself to do more now but know I wouldn't keep it up once I reach my target weight. This way I know that I'll still be happy to do the exercise on an ongoing basis.

nsblue

exercise is a part of being healthy irregarless if losing weight or maintaining. It is said a healthy lifestyle averages 10000 steps a day...

morganadk2_deleted

I only exercise a couple of times a week and am doing really well. I could force myself to do more now but know I wouldn't keep it up once I reach my target weight. This way I know that I'll still be happy to do the exercise on an ongoing basis.

me too

rosebarnalice

In answer to your question, yes, I do.

It may be as minimal as a 15-minute walk around the block or as much as a 1.5 miles swim; but I have to exercise.

Falling_star

i do some exercise not burning as much as 1200 a day and have lost 2 stone i do zumba once a week then try to get a bit more exercise in during the week if i can by doing a workout dvd.

Helloitsdan

I have been wondering if anyone has found MFP successful without doing a great deal of exercise. Some people seem to burn 1000-2000 calories a day and I really don't have the time or motivation. How have people found the exercise/calorie deficit??? :-)

I dont think a lot of these cals burned are correct so stick with what you know. Most cardio at 5 pace is appx 100 cals per 10 mins.
Weight lifting is appx 100 cals every 30 mins. That also depends on your size too!
I stopped logging exercise because of the drastic difference between sources.
Get a pedometer for your smartphone and calibrate it correctly and you should go by that in my opinion.

TavistockToad

I have a friend who in her 40s lost 80 pounds and has maintained (and looks amazing) without any exercise at all.

So, yes, you can lose weight and keep it off without exercise.

HOWEVER, the benefits of exercise go far beyond weight loss or toning. Exercise is important to overall health and quality of life when you age. It staves off Alzheimer's, keeps your bones strong, releases stress-reducing endorphins -- just to name a few benefits!

You don't have to burn 1,000 to 2,000 calories a day and you don't have to become a bodybuilder or anything to get the benefits, but you probably should try to do something.

All that said, you don't have to do something that FEELS like exercise. Just find something active that you enjoy doing and do it.

I agree with this.

I dont do 'loads' of exercise by a lot of peoples standards. I do roughly 20-50 minutes 3-6 times per week, depending on what else i have going on, and burn between 2-300 cals per session.

BenderFitness

You don't have to exercise, but it will make weight loss easier, and your chances of keeping off the weight much higher. THat said, you don't need to burn 1000 calories a day to lose weight. You can do a 15-20 minute workout and still get results. Especially if you aren't working out at all now.

jimmacdonald

When I started learning how to eat and what to eat was plenty of change.

After losing 45 lbs I started biking a little at a time. Yes extra calories from exercise is a great way to play the game.

My wife has lost 70 Lbs just with MFP ajusted to her daily activity.

One day at a time, it is a life change not a diet.

Cheers
Jim

cgualdoni

Finding the time isn't easy and I hate to repeat the old, "You have to make it a priority," statement. Fact is, when exercise is fun, it is no longer exercise, but another element in your lifestyle and you will make time for it. So finding what you love to do is key. I found out that I love pole fitness which is a combo of pole dancing moves and fitness classics (ie:squats). The workout is fun, works my body harder and smarter in 45 minutes, more than anything I've ever done. I also enjoy biking and hiking and setting specific goals for those are helpful, like biking a century (100miles-2012 goal) or hiking in a rugged, yet gorgeous, area that requires preperation. Perhaps looking outside the box is what you need to do. Horseback riding, rowing, or joining a league for things like tennis, lacross or soccer could be what is right for you. The social aspect of those activities can heighten the fun ratio alone.

mandylooo

as everyone has said, exercise isn't necessary but it helps. Try to find something you enjoy and which fits into your lifestyle - it's not all about spending 2 hours a day down the gym!

Coltsman4ever

Here's some info on the subject, taken from the Livestrong website.


Most people know that controlling their calorie intake and eating a healthy diet is important to losing weight. But exercise is as important in weight loss as dieting. You can lose more weight with exercise and diet than dieting alone, and you're more likely to keep the weight off in the long term. Exercise provides other health benefits that you can't get from diet alone.

Weight Loss
Although calorie restriction in your diet may stimulate weight loss slightly more effectively than exercise, the combination of diet and exercise is the key to weight control, the Mayo Clinic explains. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in, and about 1 pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. If you want to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week --- a widely recommended healthy weight-loss rate --- you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day. Although you can try to cut this many calories from your diet, it's likely an unrealistic endeavor. This is why exercise is so important for weight loss --- you can preserve a healthy, nutritious diet while burning calories through physical activity, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. By controlling your dietary calorie intake and burning extra calories through exercise, you'll maximize your weight-loss results.



Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/381302-the-importance-of-exercise-in-losing-weight/

shakybabe

I used to struggle finding energy to exercise but now I've been doing it 6 months I can really see a difference in my strength, especially as I injured back, its extremely painful but I'm still managing to move about (transfer to loo, get on and off mobility scooter to walk dog).. I'm avoiding any exercise sessions just yet as can only get comfy laid on bed on hot water bottles or sat using shiatsu massager on back... but previously I would have been unable to move and would have struggled to even make it out of bed if the pain was this bad.

I'm hoping if rest it all week I'll be able to get back to my workouts next week and look forwards to them as I'm really seeing results in my curves, core muscle strength and tummy shrinking!