Is it possible to lose weight without much exercise?

saraann4

I lost a good 30lbs just by working out on the weekends. Now, I probably workout 4-6 days a week. So, yes it's possible. Do as much as you can.

dsmpunk

Diet alone should be responsible for most of your deficit. So yes, reducing body fat without exercise is possible. Exercise really matters when you are concerned about maintaining body weight and improving body composition, however. People who exercise during maintenance have a much higher chance of preventing a relapse in obesity.

^^ This

californiagirl2012

I know a general rule is that you need to exercise to lose weight and tone. I've noticed from a lot of blogs and success post pictures that a lot of the stories I see the user goes from average clothing to wearing exercise gear in the follow up photos. I guess what I am trying to figure out is if I can be successful without having to incorporate a whole lot of exercise into the equation?

Right now I work out at home with EA Sports Active. The work out I do monitors heart rate and movement. The game states I burn around 200 calories in a 30 minute period, which concludes my workout. I only have time/energy to actually do the work outs on my days off, which is usually only 2 days a week. I'm also a bit on the heavy side right now, as I am just starting my journey. 213lbs/5'2. I don't like to exercise at all and have psoriasis which tends to get worse the more often I sweat.

Is this going to be enough to see results? I have my calorie goal set at 1200 cal a day to hopefully burn 2 lbs a week. I've "tried" to diet so much on and off that I'm worried just the calorie cut plus what little I do exercise is not going to yield as high of results that I hope for. Any advice would be helpful. Has anyone else had successful results with just the calorie cut or do you HAVE to force yourself to exercise more than just the amount I'm putting in now? Also, if I do have to start more exercise about how far along should I start adding it to my routine. Should I try to lose a set amount of weight comfortably before putting my body though the push and exhaustion of working out? Thanks guys!

Yep losing fat is all about calories pretty much. Exercise is to make your lean body mass pretty for when a lot of the fat is gone. You want to do what you can now, an all body women's weight lifting weight lifting in which you mostly use dumbbells would be good. I exercised when I was obese, and I know a lot of women who are, and who are having success with the calorie deficit and building strength with the weights.

You can't out exercise too many calories, I learned this the hard way running marathon after marathon and working my butt off at the gym while I got more and more fat.

You will lose fat faster than you can build muscle. If you start now you can have a pretty good shape when the fat is gone. Cardio is good for you but it won't do much for your shape.

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, and you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

If you don't believe me than ask just about any doctor.

aliann30

I'm not a fan of traditional exercise either. I have a LOT of weight to lose, however, and fear losing weight but not toning up and then dealing with the flab later (I have this "after" version of me in my mind and I'd like to at least somewhat resemble that, not be frustrated that I've lost 100 lbs but also LOOK like I've lost 100 lbs if that makes sense).

I also know that I won't stick to exercise because I get bored so easily. So I do what I feel like doing that day - I like going for walks, I'd like to run eventually, but I jog when I feel like it, and walk when I don't. I like to play tennis and racquetball, so I've been doing that once or twice a week with hubby (SO MUCH FUN BTW). I also like to dance (in the privacy of my own room), so I just started Zumba on Xbox (intense workout, and VERY FUN - 30 min flew by!).

Start off with things you like (even if it's ONE thing), and as you lose weight and get more fit and physically able, you may find you enjoy other things as well. When you are just starting out, and trying to reprogram your mind, I would say don't force yourself to do anything you absolutely HATE. From my experience, it just pushes me that much further in the other direction when I fall off the wagon and makes it that much harder to convince myself to get back on.

Good luck, and friend me! :flowerforyou:

songbirdtree

I believe the quote that weight loss is 80% diet, 20% exercise. Exercise does nothing if you aren't controlling what goes into your body, and I don't know about you, but exercising just makes me think I can eat more than I otherwise would.

I try to walk my dog or go to yoga but right now - in the first month or two of using MFP - I'm only focusing on getting my calorie intake under consistent control. I've been losing weight from that, but once it stops I'll probably increase my exercising.

I think the key is to find a type of workout you really like - otherwise you're not going to give it your all anyway.

aliann30

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years.

That's awesome! I've been thinking I need to add strength training to my routine but keep putting it off (had a trainer tell me about 15 years ago that it didn't matter how much you built up muscle, you had to get rid of the fat with cardio to see it...so I always think "cardio cardio cardio!"), but I'm definitely going to add that to my routine now - that's crazy!

Lincolnlady217

I started out just focusing on calories, sodium, fats, cholesterol, carbs etc and since mid August I have lost over 40 pounds. I did it this way for a reason, I too have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis so before I got serious about exercise my doctor and I wanted to lose some weight first then start slow and build from there.

This week I started on the treadmill, (I am lucky enough to have access to a gym in my condo complex with lots of equipment) but first I went down late at night to scope out the machines to check out how to work them, so I wouldn't look foolish when I got down there to start my workout lol!!

I understand that you are reluctant to bare too much skin (psoriasis plaques don't look nice and they always brings lots of comments, some concerned, some rude (. ) but I found that a 3/4 sleeve shirt and a pair of yoga pants worked for me and covered my most affected areas so I could just get on with working out and not worry about what the other people in the gym might say. I feel good when I work out and it helps me sleep etc so I am going to continue no matter what.

I have sent you a friend request, I have just started some new meds for the psoriasis I am hopeful it will help now that summer is over!

msjones2831

Agreed, weight loss with just diet change is possible. In my opinion exercise is more for fitness and overall health. Diet is about weight loss and maintenance.

glitterjam

lol I think I've lost more weight without much exercising than with exercising and maybe at a faster rate?

But better body composition is achieved with exercise. So I plan to incorporate more lifting in December to help out with that.

I agree with this! Diet is 80%, exercise 20%.

Turnerexpo

I've lost 23 pounds and have not exercised. I know how many calories I burn on average and I eat 50% less than that. So, say, I burn 1500 calories working on the computer sitting all day, I will adjust my intake down. I've been losing 1.5 lbs per week and I know I can maintain this for the rest of my life. It works. Fitbit Ultra in conjunction with MyFitnessPal gives you total control. Good luck

pkw58

Absolutly. I had to get below a certain weight to be able to run with a lower risk of injuries. I walked in 10 minute bursts .. Now I walk as much as I can.. Barre 3 and wii fit yoga are all I do. try not to break a sweat.

Smokey19

I am physically disabled so I can't do much in the way of exercise, but I do try to burn at least 300 calories a day doing something. Most of my wt. loss it due to diet. But you can't think of this as a diet...it is a healthy lifestyle change. Start slowly and make changes that you can live with. You really can do this. Please feel free to add me. My name is Kimberlee, 49.

Faericn_Rising

You can definately lose with diet alone. Even MFP here has a setting for 'sedentary'. and then you set your exercise to 0 workouts a week. It will manipulate the cal number it gives you to create a sufficient deficit for loss. Just stay under your number.

However, i will say... I hated exercise. I couldnt walk to the main office in our development. I hated moving. But then...

I found i was losing with diet alone, and it was easier than i thought, and i wanted to go farther... thats when i started taking little walks.

For me, the key, was doing things i didnt find dreadful and icky. I only do exercise that i enjoy. i walked for a while. i did biking when it was warmer. and then i found a dancing game for Xbox360 (DDR) that i adore. i put it on super slow and did some very easy, very cool stuff. i learned it slowly over time. Now i am 33 lbs lighter and play on difficult level for hours.

You can do it with diet alone.

But once you get the hang, i think our inherent nature to challenge ourselves kicks in... I went from wanting to lose 50/75 lbs for our wedding in 11 months, to wanting to know what its like to tear *kitten* across open space as hard as you can, and not stop.

Good luck.

julimonster

But it HELPS even if you just get up early and go for a 30 minute walk, something to get your heart pumping! Why not get the most out of your diet?!

Mummyadams

Sure you will lose weight but by exercising you will look toned, fit and strong ... why would you not want that?

suckerlove

I have had a badly sprained ankle during the last month and a half, so my exercise has been very limited, but eating right and walking as much as I can, I have lost 9+ lbs since the beginning of October.

louloumelon

I think that 80% of weight loss is about what you eat...and the 20% is working out...
Good luck

dhanisk

Thanks guys! I know this is a long journey ahead of me, do I expect it to be easy? No. Since I've never had much luck before with my weight, hopefully when I see a change I'll start adapting to a more "I can do this" attitude. I don't want to just be a couch potato and set around inside all day but cut calories to lose weight. I am active, I'm just not super active in my opinion. I hope once I lose some of the weight I can start to feel good about the exercise part. Right now, honestly, I'm just to embarrassed to even go into a gym and attempt a workout.

Curious if your work involves sitting the entire day. If yes, a very simple way to get some additional exercise and burn a few calories will be to stand half the time instead of sitting for the entire 8 hours. I recently started doing it. You lose an additional 120 calories a day just by standing for four hours instead of sitting for fours!! It may not sound much, butit amounts to roughly 30,000 additional calories loss on a 250-day per year basis.

yuckidah

Very rarely any exercise here either. Results have been slower than than they probably would've been had I moved my a#$e frequently & consistently, but I'm 20kgs/43lbs lighter than I was on New Years Day and haven't raised a decent sweat yet :happy:

Get_Me_Fit1

Yes! My friend went on weight watchers for free, and only eats healthy. She never exercises, and has lost 30+ pounds