Can't lose weight by swimming?

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  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
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    I've lost over 300 pounds in the last 20 years without surgery. I've done it by focusing on three things, in this order of priority:
    1. Motivation (Why?) Victor Frankyl, the Austrian Psychiatrist who survived the concentration camp, Auschwitz, said, "One can deal with any "how" as long as s/he possesses a strong enough "why". If you "why for losing weight is strong enough, your "how" will take care of itself. For ten years I wrote my "why" down every day.
    2. Exercise: I usually had/have best results in 45-60 min of exercise 5-7 days a week. These days I'm swimming mostly. I've run, lifted weights, done spinning and other classes. At 40 my joints are shot and need low impact. I found that when I exercise, its easier to monitor my food intake.
    3. Diet: The reality is, in the beginning, you don't need to do ALOT to lose weight and get results. Doing a few things consistently will work. When I first started losing weight all I did was stop eating fried food, cut out sugar sodas and walked around the block. The body adjusts, grows, shrinks, etc in response to the stress and then you have to change it up again. I've followed up by monitoring carbs, calories, eating times, etc.

    Swimming: I've read research saying that swimming is effective, but... you must be watchful of how much you eat after swimming. In reality I've found that I'm hungrier after an hour of swimming than after an hour and a half of running. I burned far more calories running but was "hungrier" after swimming. The research I read suggests that unless you're swimming in really warm water, the water in most lap pools literally SUCKS the heat from your body's core. The hunger after swimming is often related to the body's need to warm itself, and food is one way to do that. Without a doubt, swimming is the best exercise (for my mind and body) I've ever done. It is gentle on my joints and engages a huge large cross section of muscle mass in my body. I've lost 60 pounds in the last year from swimming (as my only exercise). I read TOTAL IMMERSION and have practiced daily and LOVE IT!
    Amazing! Great motivation!
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    I hear alot of people say this but i don't understand how an exercise that can burn 400-600 calories in an hour and is known for working every muscle in the body be ineffective for losing weight.

    They're probably eating way more than they should because they think the swimming will take care of it.
  • RockWarrior84
    RockWarrior84 Posts: 840 Member
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    If a stoner like Michael Phelps can have the munchies and stay in shape then anyone can lose weight :drinker: :drinker:
  • Roaringgael
    Roaringgael Posts: 339 Member
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    Exercise is exercise.
    Swimming is terrific exercise. I swim (currently) 2.3 kms / 46 laps x 6 times a week. Each session takes around 60 - 70 minutes of continuous swimming.
    I am losing weight every week.
    If you want to use exercise to lose you have to do a fair bit of it.
    I eat 30% below my TDEE because I have a large amount to lose.
    I sometimes eat back part of my exercise calories because - as you can imagine I get hungry!
    I listen to my body now, I eat when I'm physically hungry.
    I'm 55 years old so don't need as many calories as a younger person - I use my TDEE to calculate everything.

    Swimming is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me.
  • wardamnirish
    wardamnirish Posts: 395
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    I hear alot of people say this but i don't understand how an exercise that can burn 400-600 calories in an hour and is known for working every muscle in the body be ineffective for losing weight.

    They're probably eating way more than they should because they think the swimming will take care of it.

    I agree. Even if your putting in lots of yardage, it's really easy to overeat. A hard swim workout can definitely give me the munchies.

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