Exercise without really dieting?..

tjah32

I've been very seriously considering stopping the food portion of MFP.
Why? Because my main goal isn't weight loss. The number on the scale generally stays the same (which is a healthy one) with only minimal attention to what I eat, since I tend to automatically eat fairly healthy things anyway. I do have a number punched in as a goal in my profile, but that number is mostly arbitrary.

My overall goals are to improve my cardiovascular health, get more toned, and improving my muscle to fat ratio. While accomplishing these, the number on the scale may go down, but it may also go up, and I"m ok with that. Dieting won't really achieve what I'm really going after.

My biggest issue is having the motivation to get myself to the gym, and I sort of look at the calorie goals as an easy way out. I tell myself, 'I haven't worked out in a week, but at least I'll still be making progress cause I'm under my daily calorie goals.' When really that "progress" isn't working toward my main goals at all.

Can anyone offer any insight on how effective this would still be though? Any tips on motivating yourself to get to the gym? I always mean to, but then keep putting it off, do other things around the house, then just seem to run out of time in the day, and tell myself I"ll go tomorrow.

Mighty_Rabite

I think as long as you are eating relatively healthily, you probably don't need to worry about playing the role of forensic accountant as far as calories go. I keep somewhat of a loose watch on mine personally, but my biggest watch is focused on strength gains/plateaus, as well as how I see myself in the mirror. IMO, the mirror is a much better reflection of how we should feel about our appearance than the scale anyway!

Game8

At first you will just have to push yourself to go to the gym and get your workouts done, but after a little while, when you start seeing progress and seeing your body change, it will become an addiction. You won't be able to stop even if you wanted to. Once you have a taste of how being healthy and fit changes your life, you will always come back for more. But getting started is the hardest part, after that the momentum will build on its own.

meshashesha2012

that's what i did for 20 years. i gained a lot of weight:laugh: i also ate pretty healthy too, i just ate a lot of food.

the good news is it was pretty much a 20 year bulking cycle so i have lots of LBM for someone my height plus the workouts are the reason i ended up 60 pounds overweight instead of 120 considering how much i was eating.

you don't have to diet but, if you're like me and have the tendency to be a bottomless pit, you still might want to keep track of your calories.

as for motivating yourself to get to the gym, find something you like and expand on that. i've always loved weight lifting, sprinting and martial arts like capoeira and kick boxing, so those are always a part of my fitness routine.

meeper123

as long as you still do portion control and eat minimum amount of calories a day I don't see the big deal

sweetpotatofry

It sounds like you're pretty good at Intuitive Eating and since your goals are not specifically pertaining to weight loss, I'd say go for it!

For someone still interested in losing weight, though, I think tracking your food or at least paying very close attention would speed the process along.

FitEndAg_i

I also am very much about cardio-vascular as well as metabolic health. I've been doing 25 of my 50 minute a day exercise(biking on a good ole fixed-gear) vigorously. I've been doing very well with much better blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol, triglycerides and the pounds are falling away, 30 so far with a target of 15 more. Keep my eye on my plate but so does my nose and belly, not wanting jelly, I'm still workin' it. Drop in our group, A Spirit of Fitness, maybe you'll want to join in. Great Health to You!

markr13

Hi there
Logging your diet in here can be really useful for weight loss as you say but it’s also a good habit to have. As you say weight loss is not a goal of yours and yes you are correct you can change your muscle to fat ratio by the way in which you train. Although when it comes to really fine tuning your physique it again will come down to diet as in ratios of protein to fats and carbohydrates so I would say stick with it as you’ll have a good record of your diet and later down the line if you are not reaching your goals as you wish to at least you’ll have a good record of your diet giving you something to work with. For myself and my clients I always notice a huge difference in motivation when there is a goal set. A really good reason to stick to your gym routine, like a mountain to climb or a marathon to run or even something as simple as taking a holiday with friends and wanting to look good. Find a reason to put yourself under some pressure to make it happen otherwise it’s just to easy to put it off. My client recently mentioned that being that she had paid for my boot camp made all the difference, plus it’s different to the gym as you’ll need to let your trainer know if you’re not going to show up. Hope this helps

kelly_e_montana

I think it's great. I am working on Intuitive Eating and I just track my exercise. Well, I also don't track my calories as it's part of an binge eating disorder recovery plan for me. But, if you're not having any problems, I think the changes in how you feel will soon motivate you to keep working out. I work out regularly, sometimes hard, but more often or not just doing things I enjoy like brisk walking, hiking, swimming, lifting weights, etc. You will also see changes in how your clothes fit, how much flexibility you have, and how defined your muscles are. I lost 30 pounds and no one noticed but as soon as I worked out for a month and my body composition started changing more, everyone was like "Whoa!" Go for it! Sounds like a healthy plan for LIFE!

Also, for some there is a restriction/binge cycle, so if you are one of those people, just logging the food itself somehow/somewhere, but not the cals is a good option. I guess whether it's good for people to track depends on if they have disordered eating or just poor food choices sometimes.

cmriverside

~You'll never regret having exercised. You will, however, regret it if you don't.


~Move and your heart will follow.

c53204

It is possible. I started using MFP before I started dieting and exercising and the number of calories I consumed was unbelievable.

3000-3500 a day, for a very lightly active person.

Exercise and MFP has worked for me. But more than losing weight, I can say the exercise has made me feel better than just dieting (which I tried in the past).

Be interested to hear how you get on.