success stories with just food, no exercise?

nicosuave2013

Hi there,

I am new here and enjoy reading the success stories to help keep me motivated. My plan is to get on track with healthy eating for a couple of months before adding in ANY exercise. I am not new to excercise, I can and will get back at it but find that every time i start a new plan I jump right in with food AND exercise and within 2-3 weeks im fed up, frustrated (not to mention i suffer BADLY from the "oh i worked out today so i can eat whatever i want" syndrome) and collapse. SOOOOO...this time I have decided to concentrate on getting into the habit of healthy eating etc first.....
After week #1 i am down 3.8 lbs.....i need some stories to help me through...who has had big successes with no exercise???

asja1979

I lost 10lb in one month just counting cal.(1220cal.) no exercise

cjroberts08

I have lost 80 pounds so far just by changing my diet. I thought the same as you that if I did everything at once I would give up, but not that I have my diet more under control my plan is to start exercising. It's daunting though cause the last time I exercised was in high school p.e. class. Not really sure what to do yet, but I'll figure it out eventually.

themanda04

so far i've lost 35 pounds just by changing my diet. i'm just about ready to start adding in some sort of exercise; for right now, i walk everywhere as fast as i can.

dicksboro08

your diet is so much more important than exercise. they say abs arent made in the gym there made in the kitchen. some experts go as far as saying the ratio is 80:20 (food v erercise) in how you look. and i have to say i agree. if you train hard all week but eat mcdonalds everyday you wont see any results. therefore have a go at the plan without exercise and you will notice a huge difference. good luck with your plan

deb3129

I lost my first 50 pounds without exercising at all. Once I lost the first 50, I started feeling better and had WAY more energy, so I started exercising. Nothing drastic at first, just short walks. Now I actually enjoy exercising!!

rocket_ace

its 90% diet and that's the truth. and many years ago, I went on a very low calorie diet - and it worked but my muscles really wasted away. I don't think its a healthy way to go. you HAVE to exercise to be healthy, so no point in not just starting now. no point at all. that being said, if you have significant weight to lose, you may not be able to exercise yet and of course you should check w/ a doctor if you are at all doubt. and as per losing muscle, I don't think it actually becomes an issue until you get close to the end of the weight loss process (like around 25% body fat for me, 30% for women).

nicosuave2013

thank you all so much for your stories and feedback....rocket ace i agree with you and i can stand to lose a good few p0unds before worrying about that lol

Velum_cado

I previously lost 150 lbs with just changing my diet. I gained all but 30 lbs back, though. Not sure if that has anything to do with how I lost it, but that's what happened.

AllonsYtotheTardis

I lost my first 20 lbs with no exercise. Once that much was gone, I had a little more energy and started walking for exercise. (Now I've added running as well).

I've been making one change at a time, get comfortable with it, then add the next change. Seems to be working for me. I'm ready to add strength training now, too.

paxbfl

I totally agree that diet is more important than exercise. If you want proof look at me... I worked out 6 days a week and didn't lose a pound until I got my diet in shape. Because I did the "I workout so I can eat whatever I want" thing too.

Still, I love exercise. I would encourage you to do SOMETHING... especially if you're not new to exercise. Just make the decision that you're not going to eat those exercise calories back. The extra calories you burn through exercise will help you lose weight that much faster. And if you have a bad day and eat a bit too much, the calories burned in exercise will help you stay under your goal every day.

Plus you just feel incredible when you workout, lose weight, and start to feel "fit".

Good luck!

jennifersrosenberg

Absolutely. Diet is everything. I'm just focused on that now, NO exercise and I am down 12 lbs in 14 days. Also inches off my measurements. My diet is hard core tho. Maintaining will be the challenge.:flowerforyou:

GuybrushThreepw00d

Losing weight is all about a food, specifically a calorie deficit.
You don't need to exercise, if you're careful with your calories....

However, have you heard of Skinny-Fat...?
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/skinny-fat

Personally i can't think of much worse that losing weight without exercising. It's not the "weight" i want to lose, it's the FAT!

jennifersrosenberg

It's also so hard to exercise when you are overweight and that can be so discouraging. I will feel much more comfortable at the gym when I am slim!

vizsla99

I think your approach is smart - I used that approach when I kickstarted my plan. My idea was, get my body used to fewer calories and really solidify my eating habits, THEN when you may naturally start hitting a plateau shock your body again in 60 days with adding exercise to the equation. It's worked great for me.

KipDrordy

I think I'm understanding what you're saying. Jumping in with too much of a lifestyle change and being able to sustain that over the long haul may be unrealistic for some. I know that's the case for me. Personally, I knew I wouldn't be able to go from sitting around doing nothing and eating tons of food to a clean diet and working out religiously. I've seen people do just that and while it works, it isn't something they sustain and they ultimately give up. The absolute easiest way to get to deficit is by cutting calories. Skipping a slice of cake is a lot easier than an hour of working out. That said, I have upped my movement a bit. I take my dog on a daily brisk walk for anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Now that I'm down to a weight that I feel I can sustain, I'm going to increase my intake a bit and add in some weight training. Bottom line, there are a lot of ways to skin a cat. Go with whatever will work for you in the long run. If doing no exercise is the answer for you, then do no exercise.

bobbiesinger6971

Congrats to everyone on your success :-)

xxnellie146xx

I lost about 100 lbs without consistent exercising. I recently started incorporating in it.

snapril68

Yep lost 15 lbs in 3 mos just by switching my diet and little to no exercise. At first was just eating what I wanted within 1200cals but plateaued quickly so then switched to a low or non-fat, lean meat diet with lots of fruits and veggies and very little starches. Still kept about 1-2 cheat days per week but the weight just melted off after that ....... Good Luck!

freedobandito

In the 3 months between Mid August to Mid September I lost 50 lbs mostly by counting calories and increasing activity a little bit. I was 375 when I started counting. The biggest change I did exercise wise was find something to do outside the house that would include standing / walking for at least 1.5-2 hours and have the activity occur in at least 30 min intervals. (Window Shop at the mall, See a Movie, Do some more window shopping etc) Saturday and Sunday, and during the work week I would go for a 20 minute walk out in the parking lot before eating lunch.

FYI: I understand your concern and that has happened to me, infact most of my weight gain from 260lbs to the 375 before MFP 10 years ago was after trying a heavy workout routines multiple times. I would get great success build muscle but then crash. The Gym will never be a life style for me so I am trying not to do any activity or level of activity that I don't intend to maintain.

skyeliz525

I lost my first 20 lbs with no exercise. Once that much was gone, I had a little more energy and started walking for exercise. (Now I've added running as well).

I've been making one change at a time, get comfortable with it, then add the next change. Seems to be working for me. I'm ready to add strength training now, too.

^^^^^Exactly, this!!!^^^^^^^

If you don't make the changes in a way in which you get comfortable with them then you will be overwhelmed and give up!

You can't just wait around for a leprechaun to jump out of no where and say "OK, on to the next change", you do have to push yourself, but that is part of setting smaller, non-scale goals for yourself.
Set a goal to eat more veggies, then when grabbing for some baby carrots instead of a bag of chips feels natural, set another goal.
Maybe like drink X glasses of water everyday.
And if you mess up once, don't beat yourself up, you are human and not perfect, so recognize that you messed up and MOVE ON!
Then when YOU are ready, add in your exercise. Before then you could sneak in smaller amounts as you go, park farther away, walk the grocery cart back to the store instead of the convenient corral, take the stairs when given the opportunity. These will all also become second nature, just like eating healthy. And when the time comes for true organized exercise, try all sorts of stuff and see what you like. You don't have to be a runner because Susie is. You don't have to love Zumba because Stacy does. Maybe cycling is your thing. Maybe it's weight lifting, maybe kickboxing or MMA. Heck, my hubs and I walk around our neighborhood a couple of times and when we are on the shorter streets that run N/S, we do lunges or shuffles or drop and do some push-ups, jumping jacks or whatever at the corner.

But in the meantime, keep up the good work! You can do this!

sheppeyescapee

I've been losing weight primarily from diet. I do a little light exercise, but nothing major. Have lose 23lbs so far doing that. I presume that the closer to goal I get the more exercise I'll need to add in. For now it's working fine for me though which is great considering the chronic fatigue, chronic pain and other medical shizzle I have going on.

bbydl64

I think you should be at least walking daily. Just start with 15 minutes. My dog helps me to want to walk, even when its only 20 degrees out.

cnelson1974

I've lost 40 lbs. without exercise. Well I have to walk to different departments at work. And I occasionally (rarely) walk my dogs. But I really don't like to call that exercise.

I will eventually add jogging to the mix, but that's when I stall or get close to my goal.

MarissaCB39

I lost 20 pounds on just dietary changes. I "exercise" by dealing with my two small kids, baths, play and walks. Now that I've lost a total of 35 pounds I need to exercies to lose the other 20 because my body is too happy at this weight.

Starfish1125

I agree with what everyone has said here. Once you get the small goals into your daily routine, adding exercise will come in time. I started back on track Jan 1st and gave up soda cold turkey. I then challenged myself to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

I am now very comfortable not drinking soda and drinking the water.

I'm starting to think about adding exercise. I liked what skyeliz said about not having to like something b/c someone else likes it. I can't tell you how many times I've started Couch 2 5k and never finished because I hate running.

There. I said it. I HATE RUNNING! I don't think that will ever change and since my last foot surgery (2009) ruined my right foot for life, I hate it even more. So why do I try to convince myself that I will start to like it. I won't.

So tonight, instead of starting that program, again, I'm just going to take my dog on a nice brisk walk. We will both get so much enjoyment over that!

Thank you for starting this post. It feels good to say it out loud that I hate running! LOL (no offense to those of you who enjoy it.)

Freedom125

I completely understand where you're coming from. I can't tell you how many times I've started a new "diet" all gung-ho and doing everything perfectly - and I've burned out just as many times, although the last time I lasted a whole 8 weeks!

I know what my downfalls are and I have a plan to counteract every one of them this time:
1) If I do too much too fast, I'll burn out. Plan of action: take it one step at a time! This isn't a race! So what if I get skinny fat and then have to spend the next year building muscle? I know the alternative means I'll probably give up entirely, so temporary skinny fat is the lesser of two evils.

2) I need to EAT, or I'll give up. Every diet I've tried, with the exception of Atkins, has had me eating 1200/cal/day or less. And I'll do fine for a while but then I'll get stressed at work, or super happy at home, or some ridiculous made up reason to celebrate will throw me right off track and cause a binge, which will then be followed by another binge. And another. This time, I'm eating 1500 calories per day, staying full all the time, and I feel great! I even lost 4lbs my first week.

3) I get bored. I eat the same things day after day because I can't be bothered to take the time to constantly re-plan my meals. Then I start to get bored and start buying lunches at work and eating poorly. This time, I'm keeping the same premise but I found an organics company that will deliver a mixed box of veggies once a week. I don't know what's coming, so it's a challenge to figure out what to do with the random things that show up at my door.

4) For now, I am shallow, I am superficial, and I need to see the scale go down. When I work out, it doesn't. So for now, until I've lost a lot of my excess fat and I'm in a comfortable routine, I'm not working out. I know that's stupid, I should care more about recomposing my body, etc. but it's the truth - for now I need constant reassurance that the scale is going the right way.

Kellyeee2013

I did it the opposite way. I started going to gym for free to try it out with a friend and got into really enjoying it... and once I was used to it I started eating better and reducing cals and it made the gym seem even more worthwhile going! Awesome that the reverse works for you though!

nicosuave2013

WOW THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!! I HAVE READ ALL THE POSTS AND FEEL GOOD ABOUT MY CHOICES.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL XOXOXO

briannadunn

Exercise to maintain muscles and it does make you feel better but don't if you feel like you can't yet, eventually you will feel like you want to and you will exercise just for fun.

treasurewealth

Freedom125 wrote: »

I completely understand where you're coming from. I can't tell you how many times I've started a new "diet" all gung-ho and doing everything perfectly - and I've burned out just as many times, although the last time I lasted a whole 8 weeks!

I know what my downfalls are and I have a plan to counteract every one of them this time:
1) If I do too much too fast, I'll burn out. Plan of action: take it one step at a time! This isn't a race! So what if I get skinny fat and then have to spend the next year building muscle? I know the alternative means I'll probably give up entirely, so temporary skinny fat is the lesser of two evils.

2) I need to EAT, or I'll give up. Every diet I've tried, with the exception of Atkins, has had me eating 1200/cal/day or less. And I'll do fine for a while but then I'll get stressed at work, or super happy at home, or some ridiculous made up reason to celebrate will throw me right off track and cause a binge, which will then be followed by another binge. And another. This time, I'm eating 1500 calories per day, staying full all the time, and I feel great! I even lost 4lbs my first week.

3) I get bored. I eat the same things day after day because I can't be bothered to take the time to constantly re-plan my meals. Then I start to get bored and start buying lunches at work and eating poorly. This time, I'm keeping the same premise but I found an organics company that will deliver a mixed box of veggies once a week. I don't know what's coming, so it's a challenge to figure out what to do with the random things that show up at my door.

4) For now, I am shallow, I am superficial, and I need to see the scale go down. When I work out, it doesn't. So for now, until I've lost a lot of my excess fat and I'm in a comfortable routine, I'm not working out. I know that's stupid, I should care more about recomposing my body, etc. but it's the truth - for now I need constant reassurance that the scale is going the right way.

Thanks a lot. I gained from this write up. It all applies to me especially no. 2.