Can I Lose Weight With No Exercise?

bellee247
bellee247 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I've just started my lifestyle change as I have been unhappy with my weight for a long time, I started off at 161lbs and at the moments I am at 154lbs. I am 5'5. I have been eating around 1200 calories a day although some days I eat a bit more, maximum 1600 calories. I am completely new to losingn weight but really want to do this so I can be healthier and feel and look better. I find exercise really challenging and am going to be pretty busy all day for the rest of the year so I won't have much time to do exercise anyway. I will be able to do a bit of walking and a few sports but nothing major. I really need advice as to if I stick to around 1200 calories a day without much if any exercise will I still lose weight?? I am going to try to definitely start exercising and working out a lot more at the beginning of next year. Please give me any advice and tips you may have because I really need help with this. Thanks :)

Replies

  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
    yes but then you may be skinny fat. What's the hatred with exercise?
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
    i shouldn't have said hatred- but why do you feel you don't have 30 min a day for at least 3-5 days a week? It's worth it!
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Yes you can. The only think required to lose weight is a consistent calorie deficit which can be done through diet alone.

    However, you will end up looking and feeling far better and being more healthy generally adopting a diet plus exercise approach.
  • tenaheff
    tenaheff Posts: 88
    Yes, you can lose weight without exercise. It is usually harder though. If you are not exercising you want to be sure you don't lose too quickly or you will be losing muscle which isn't likely to be replenished without exercise.

    Including exercise is a weightloss program is the best way to do it, but it is not the only way. Regardless of what many on this site are likely to tell you.

    Tena
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Inactivity is worse than smoking.
    And you'll need to maintain lean mass while dieting down.
    Lean mass is the stuff that does help burn fat but you don't want to get weak so pick things up 3x a week for about an hour each time and you'll do great.
  • pberta
    pberta Posts: 48 Member
    Yes, but the lose will be much slower since it is coming from eating less calories. Any exercise will help you. It could be a small walk, parking your car a few more spaces from the store or office, using the stairs instead of the elevator. You do not have to go to the gym and start lifting weights. As your weight starts coming down you may find that you have more energy and want to exercise more. Good Luck.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    You can lose weight without exercising.

    You can't be healthy without regular exercise though.
  • Vicstar1977
    Vicstar1977 Posts: 82
    I have been told, and in my own experience, yes you can lose weight on those calories with no excersise, BUT, you wont gain any muscle and without muscle you will go all soft and squishy! Remember this: Diet determines your size, excersise determines your shape. Wise words, cant remember where I read it though!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Yes, definitely. I don't have (make) time to go to the gym, but I do incorporate exercise into my day and find it very, very helpful in feeling better and staying toned.

    I walk all stairs. I live close enough to walk to work and home for lunch. I take a walk after dinner. I do a little tai chi in my office. Many people where I work do a brisk walk during their lunch or during breaks.

    I lie on the floor and do stomach crunches at home.

    It's not fancy aerobics, but it really helps tremendously.

    P.S. What Vicstar says is true. I have had to move into very brisk walking (4+ mph) because once I lost weight I had all this squishy flesh that needed toning to look good. The more you have to lose the more important it is.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Yes, definitely. I don't have (make) time to go to the gym, but I do incorporate exercise into my day and find it very, very helpful in feeling better and staying toned.

    I walk all stairs. I live close enough to walk to work and home for lunch. I take a walk after dinner. I do a little tai chi in my office. Many people where I work do a brisk walk during their lunch or during breaks.

    I lie on the floor and do stomach crunches at home.

    It's not fancy aerobics, but it really helps tremendously.

    Spot on.

    Exercise is simply physical activity which you plan to do. Take as much opportunity as you can to be physically active throughout the day (walk rather than take the car, use the stairs rather than a lift) and you can go far....
  • bellee247
    bellee247 Posts: 2
    Thanks for all your replies everyone, I am definitely going to exercise more later on down the line as I want to tone up once i've lost a bit more weight, and hopefully i'll keep losing once I do, my goal weight is 120lbs so I have about 34lbs to lose, but i'm pretty sure I won't have lost that much by the end of the year so whatever weight I am then I will keep dieting but incorporate exercise too but hopefully i'll have only a few more pounds to lose!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Yes - you absolutely can lose weight without exercise... I have done it over & over. To finally KEEP the weight off - I broke down & finally exercise. Guess what? I found exercise that I actually like!

    Keep trying to add exercise .... nothing earth shattering.... you don't have to kill yourself .... just do something regularly.

    I really like Walk at Home by Leslie Sansone.... you start at your own pace & do as much as you have time for. Rain or shine - I have no excuses ...just a DVD player & tennies & I'm good to go.

    There are lots of video clips at collagevideo.com ... this will give you an idea. These are available at Target, Walmart, etc.
  • merzback
    merzback Posts: 453 Member
    Please get out of the diet mentality- run from it- using the word DIETING and saying you will TONE after you lose weight are all ideas out of the 70's.
  • EWilliamson
    EWilliamson Posts: 50 Member
    YOU WILL FEEL SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER IF YOU WORKOUT! TRUST ME! ITS SO WORTH IT! :) YOU CAN DO IT AND THE WEIGHT WILL FALL OFF THAT MUCH FASTER! GOOD LUCK :0
  • Sweetness023
    Sweetness023 Posts: 70
    After 3 years of inactivity and a terrible diet, my weight climbed to 256lb. When I finally decided to change things I lost 60lb in 6 months just by watching what I ate (I hopped from Atkins to Weight Watchers then eventually did my own thing) with no extra activity other than my daily routine. Now that I'm trying to lose the last few lbs I'm incorporating exercise because I want to firm/tone up as well as lose.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Yes, you will lose weight: most of weight loss is calorie reduction. But you will look better (firmer), and probably feel more confident and stronger if you add in some exercise.
  • TennesseeSodaholic
    TennesseeSodaholic Posts: 129 Member
    Do you drink a lot of soda? I quit sodas cold turkey and didn't change anything else and I lost 8 pounds the first 2 weeks. Yesterday made 3 weeks without sodas for me. I weigh every 2 weeks, so I will update again on Sunday.

    I
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    There is ALWAYS time in a day to exercise. It's really more about how important it is to you. If it's not, you won't "find" time to do it.
    It's so important to me, that I schedule other things around my workout, rather than the other way around.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    Hi,
    From your stats 18 year old female 5'5" 154lbs light activity

    Your BMR is 1546 - don't eat below this!!!! your target calories should be 20% less than your TDEE

    Your TDEE

    Activity Level Daily Calories

    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2126
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2396
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2667
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2937

    You are very close to a healthy weight already and 120 will take you to the very bottom of that range.. If you are unhappy with the way you look why not try focusing on strength training. it will change your shape and be much healthier for you in the long run. Overly restrictive diets at your age will cause long term problems like hormone imbalances and bone loss.

    Building muscle will slim/improve how you look much more than loosing pound and loosing muscle. Using resistance bands or doing kettlebell workouts don't cost much and are easy to find and use.
  • Joannie30
    Joannie30 Posts: 415 Member
    You can lose weight without exercising but trust me, you won't look anywhere near how you want to without it.

    When i started out on this journey the very idea of 10 mins on a stationary bike made me feel exhausted! I thought it would kill me for sure!! So i started off just doing 2-3 mins for a few days, then upped it to 5 mins, then 7, then 10!!!!! and it DIDN'T kill me!!!!!!!! The following week i could do 15 and the week after that, 20 and so on and so forth until now when an hour on my stationary bike is not bad! (a few months ago an HOUR i was certain would have given me a heart attack!!!!!!!!!!

    Your fitness level WILL go up, and it will go up quicker than you think. Start small, set tiny, realistic goals and you will get there.

    I did lose weight before i started exercising and after a long while i went down 1 jeans size, but after i started exercising just a few times a week i noticed MAJOR changes in my body shape and i went down 5 top sizes and 3 jeans sizes!!!

    You got this!
    Jx
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    OP I can relate and I think you can relate to me as well. I started off being 5'4" 165 lbs and LOATHED exercise in any form. If I didn't have to get off of the couch, I didn't! Sad but true. I got winded just going up the stairs in my house. I lost my first 10 lbs just sticking to the calories and not incorporating any exercise at all. Then I started using the teadmill most days (just walking at first, then slowly trying to add in a bit of jogging). Then I got interested in all the routines I saw people talking about here on MFP and decided to pick up Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I joined a group of women on here that were all starting at the same time and we cheered each other on. I stuck with it for the 30 days - well the first day I pushed myself so hard that I was hurting for 3 days after. But after those 3 days of pain were gone, I got right back on it and stuck with it until the end. It was HARD. I had never done an exercise routine like that before (i.e. anything other than the treadmill). It was not easy but it was gratifying to stick to it and see the results. I got a heartrate monitor so it could give me an estimate of how many calories I was burning ( extra motivation, since I decided to go with the advice to eat my exercise calories) and it REALLY helped for me to see a number *right then and there* giving me an idea of how much work I was doing and what I was accomplishing. I ate my exercise calories and continued to lose weight at the same rate as when I was just sticking to the calorie goal and not exericsing. Not only did I get to eat more while still losing weight, but I also FELT SO MUCH BETTER. I got stronger and gained endurance, I could run up and down my stairs for fun/exercise instead of feeling defeated just going up one time! Now I'm down to 120 lbs (coincidentally, your goal OP) and while I don't have the perfect body and do not always find time to exercise every single day (sometimes it's as little as once a week depending on how hectic life is or how I've been feeling) - I still know that I am far better off now than I would have been if I'd foregone exercise completely for my entire weightloss. I really encourage you to try and find something to challenge yourself - challenge is not easy, it is HARD, but it will feel amazing when you stick to it and find yourself getting better at it the more you try. Honey I started off using 1 and 3 lb weights on 30 day shred. So believe me when I tell you how amazing it is to get better at something b/c now I can do a routine (still at home, still haven't joined a gym) with 15-25 lb weights. It's STILL hard, but it's still gratifying.
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
    You probably can lose weight without exerciseing... But you will look like a relative of mine... Shes about same age as myself and went from being obese with lumps and bumps jiggling all over the place to being skinny with lumps and bumps jiggling
    all over the place... Not the result I think she was hoping for.

    I may still be obese but I WILL lose the fat and gain definition and lean muscle... I think you will regret it if you dont incorperate some exercise into your lifestyle change
  • Nana_Booboo
    Nana_Booboo Posts: 501 Member
    look at it this way
    1 lb muscle is smaller on your body than 1 lbs fat (a pound is a pound)

    I have 2 friends, one is a runner and one isn't
    both weigh 150 lbs
    The runner wears a size 2 and the non runner wears a size 10


    Its not hard to see, exercise makes all the difference.

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