Currently not working out and no plans to do so.

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  • BigBrunette
    BigBrunette Posts: 1,543 Member
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    I'm not exercising right now. I'm trying to make incremental, sustainable changes to my lifestyle. Initially, I'm focusing on food choices and portions. Next, I'll focus on exercise. For me, I have to build healthy habits one at a time. Otherwise, I burn out and blow it off.
  • 3319jane
    3319jane Posts: 38 Member
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    I started with just diet too, as I felt I needed to get food under control and I lost a fair few lbs that way. Once I had started to lose, it encouraged me to exercise, as I knew it would be good for me.

    I started walking a bit, then swimming before work in the mornings. I bought a bike last year and discovered I really enjoyed cycling - I even started riding to work just this week (8 miles each way) and I am loving it.

    I tried the gym, but it wasn't for me.

    So ultimately, yes you can lose weight without exercise but if you can find something active that you enjoy, it won't feel like exercise, it's just fun.

    Good luck.
  • triskaidekaphile13
    triskaidekaphile13 Posts: 92 Member
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    I'm guessing it depends on why you want to do this. If the number on the scales is the most important thing then yes, I'm certain you can get it to a certain figure through diet alone. However, if you are doing it for health reasons then it's possible to be an ideal weight but still be totally unhealthy.

    I was a binge eater and therapy helped me to get to the place where I was able to stop sabotaging my efforts to lose weight. I haven't had a binge since before I started on MFP last July. I wear a FitBit to encourage me to move more and since I finished C25K I love to run. Running clears my head and the release of endorphins from exercise is a fantastic feeling. I now love to workout but don't go to a gym. I run on the street and at parkrun and do weights, cardio and stretching at home.

    As a former couch potato who felt self concious doing any form of exercise I know how unattractive exercise can be. Just starting to move more and walk was where I started and I still try to do 10,000 steps a day now.
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
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    I think that you're on the right track with choosing to focus on one thing first and then you can work on the other parts later. Maybe in the beginning choosing to d everything all at once seemed to work but consequently perhaps going all in at once so quickly, it's backfired in the longer term as you're going back go old habits.

    Focus on your goals first. Why do you want to achieve your goal. Know that it isn't necessarily how hard you WANT it that's going to change anything, it's how hard your willing to WORK for it - therefore you need a realistic and long term goal and PLAN.

    Step 1 Assess goal

    Step 2 Make small changes to food over the next couple of weeks. Maybe you could change your usual breakfast to a more healthy and filling one, or simply add more fruit or vegetables, or simply throw out any unhealthy snacks and get healthy alternatives... Choose small changes and then eventually implement your whole good eating plan. I found I was addicted to sugar, so I slowly had to cut down on sugar but didnt go full on cuz my cravings were too strong and I was setting myself up for failure. So I eliminated bits can day slowly.

    Step 3 exercise - make a basic plan, 30 mins daily of even 3-4 days a week of anything as long as your moving. Then eventually increase intensity, increase to longer times or frequency/ days per week.

    Good luck xx
  • cmcmommy
    cmcmommy Posts: 197 Member
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    You can walk . Last year i started off just walking around the block adding another block each day . I now walk 3-5 miles a day and I've lost 51 lbs just doing this and watching what I eat. My goal was 100 in a year which i now know is unrealistic. But I'm happy with where i'm at and will keep trying for the other 49lbs.
  • 50Mimmy
    50Mimmy Posts: 15
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    I started with the diet. And now that I have gotten used to it, and lost some weight, I have started to work out too. I felt that for me, it was necessary to focus on the diet-part first.
  • SutapaMukherji
    SutapaMukherji Posts: 244 Member
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    love the discussion on this thread.
    bump
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,261 Member
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    i started with both straight away, focusing on exercise and food portions at the same time. my excercise sessions are between 18 and 40 mins each day with a rest day once a week. The exercise i find is for making you feel better, stronger and it changes your shape for the best. find something on You tube that you enjoy doing. there are so much too choose from. i pick something on fitness blender each day.
  • ddky
    ddky Posts: 381 Member
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    absolutely, you can lose the weight without working out. But try to find an activity that you enjoy. Yoga, Zumba, hiking, dancing, whatever. If there is something that you find out you actually like, it won't feel like a workout. and you will be able to tone up as you lose the weight. Walking is something that I enjoy and I find it is just as good for my mind as it is my body. Good luck to you.
  • blinkinglights
    blinkinglights Posts: 5 Member
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    I think it's important to recognise that a binge eating problem and a weight problem are two separate issues and therefore need to be dealt with separately. Ultimately, you could get to your goal weight with sheer will power and exercise, but if you haven't addressed the binge eating problem you're always going to be prone to relapse. It's quite likely that the weight problem is a symptom of the binge eating problem, I'd recommend 'Overcoming Binge Eating' by Christopher Fairburn if you want to look at tackling the issues with food first :)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Binge-Eating-Christopher-Fairburn/dp/0898621798 good luck!
  • avsweb
    avsweb Posts: 2
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    Wow... U sound like me. I just starting walking again every day, but it's hard.
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    ez...I lost 10 lbs almost overnight by just eating starches veggies and fruits..no exercise needed..just take some walks:)
  • avsweb
    avsweb Posts: 2
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    Paradisochick, the comment was for you... I am new at this, your the first page I commented on. I guess, walking is working out though... But at times, it's st soo hard. Good luck to you.
  • scookiemonster
    scookiemonster Posts: 175 Member
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    For me, finding physical activity that I enjoy and that makes me feel strong and capable has made a huge chance in my relationship with my body and how I feel about it. Mentally, I'm a lot healthier because of that, and the way that I treat my body has changed as a result. Ultimately, I think the thing that made the biggest difference in my eating habits was the fact that, when I started doing physical activity that made me proud of what my body could do, I started to notice how different I felt when I was eating well, and feeling less like I needed crappy food to fill some sort of emotional void. So, while there's nothing wrong with focusing on changing your approach to food, taking care of your body is a multidimensional issue, and being active can help a lot in your food-related efforts.

    Plus, you know, I like that I can eat more when I work out :wink:
  • momzeeee
    momzeeee Posts: 475 Member
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    HI all,

    Back when I first started MFP, I worked out 5 days a week. Also watched my calories and both efforts combined lost me about 15 lbs.

    I have slipped since then - not working out, too lazy to get to the gym, eating whatever I felt like etc. I gained back 7 lbs.

    Lately, I've been feeling like my biggest problem is not just getting to the gym and being more active, but curbing my eating habits. I binge eat, eat out of boredom, eat just for the hell of it - you name it. Is it safe that I just try to work on those eating issues right now, and get that under control, and lose weight safely that way? I feel like that is the biggest obstacle I have to face and feel that even if I do work out all the time, I will never have dealt with my eating issues and getting it under control.

    Has anyone done this - focusing on the diet portion and not working out? Would you recommend it? I have about 100 lbs to lose. I totally get that strength training needs to be involved to build some muscle and get rid of leftover flab, but I just want to get this weight off and control those urges that make me eat and then do all the other required things like working out etc.

    Thanks

    Yep, I lost 40lbs without doing any exercise and I did it on purpose. I had read from several different sources that weight loss is all about food and exercise is separate. I decided to focus on food first, lose the weight, and then focus on starting some sort of exercise after I transitioned into maintenance.

    After I hit goal I started walking and strength training and that's my focus right now (besides figuring out this wacky maintenance thing lol). A couple months into it I've lost a few more pounds and have a body that frankly I never dreamed I'd have-still surreal to look at myself in the mirror and know that it's me I'm seeing :)
    I have no regrets doing it this way-worked great for me!
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
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    You're not exercising and you don't plan to do so...

    Okay - this is "New Topic" worthy why??

    If you can't find your own amibition, don't expect me to find it for you.
  • kw344
    kw344 Posts: 7 Member
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    I find I eat worse on days that I don't exercise. Exercise puts me in a better mood and in a better frame of mind that I am less apt to lose control of eating.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    Do it for the health benefits not the weight loss ones then
  • paradisochick
    paradisochick Posts: 83
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    Wow - thank you to everyone that has responded to my question, Im overwhelmed with the support and advice.

    I totally understand that some exercise needs to be involved in an effort to get healthy, and as for now, I do still make it a point to walk all the time - Im just not walking on the treadmill at the gym. I should have clarified that I wont be going to the gym any time soon, but that Im still keeping my membership for later LOL

    I just personally feel that I went at it too hard the first time around, put too much pressure on myself to work out and watch my calories, from previously doing NONE of that. It was too much of a change. I realised that my biggest problem was my eating habits, and so I've chosen to deal with that first. The exercise will come later.

    Again, thank you to everyone on this thread - you all are awesome!! :happy:
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
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    Wow - thank you to everyone that has responded to my question, Im overwhelmed with the support and advice.

    I totally understand that some exercise needs to be involved in an effort to get healthy, and as for now, I do still make it a point to walk all the time - Im just not walking on the treadmill at the gym. I should have clarified that I wont be going to the gym any time soon, but that Im still keeping my membership for later LOL

    I just personally feel that I went at it too hard the first time around, put too much pressure on myself to work out and watch my calories, from previously doing NONE of that. It was too much of a change. I realised that my biggest problem was my eating habits, and so I've chosen to deal with that first. The exercise will come later.

    Again, thank you to everyone on this thread - you all are awesome!! :happy:

    you know you don't have to hate it find something fun to do my friend does roller derby I run and zumba :)

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