Exercise is the only way I lose weight

tracypk
tracypk Posts: 233 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm just curious if anyone has any insight into why I can only lose weight if I exercise. I have heard of people who just cut calories and are able to lose weight, but when I do that nothing happens. I just maintain. I have read a lot and there is so much information. I haven't come across the reason for this. Just wondering if anyone has any idea why this is.

Replies

  • bradwwood
    bradwwood Posts: 371 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Yep definitely need more info.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I have thyroid disease which makes it extremely hard to lose weight with diet alone. If you're healthy, most likely you're significantly undereating or unintentionally overeating due to measurement/portion size errors.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    It's because you are special. Some people just can't lose weight with diet alone. They can eat like 1200 calories and not lose a lb but eat like 2000 and exercise half an hour a day or so and it drops off. It's weird. Just keep exercising and you will be where you want to be in no time. Good luck!
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    Do you eat back exercise cals?

    If you're not eating those back you have a bigger deficit when you're exercising then when you're not. Thus why you're not losing.
  • NikoM5
    NikoM5 Posts: 488 Member
    If you are not losing weight from your diet then you are not in a calorie deficit. It's that simple. Your body needs a certain amount of energy to operate. If you do not provide enough energy in the form of food then your body will dip into it's reserves and you will lose weight.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    My guess would be that you're not really at a deficit with diet alone. Either you have an input error in setting up your plan or you're not truly accounting for all of your calories in your diary. I've come across quite a few people who insist they log properly...except they don't log this and they don't log that...those thises and thats add up.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
    I feel the same.

    However, even worse i have a very low calorie diet, and still only lose weight with excersise. I am sure people will slam me for saying so but this is the only way i stay the size i like! Even then i look around and feel its unfair that i live a restrictive diet and huge amounts of excerise when others can comsume double and excerise half!!! hmmmp! I have no answers!
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
    I know this is late I had to get back to work. Anyway, thank you for your input everyone. I will continue to exercise so I can lose the weight. It is very possible that I don't track accurately. I do my best, but honestly I hate tracking my food.
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.
    I am 5'8", 160 lbs, 35 yo, my TDEE is 1800 and I eat around 1300. My goal weight is 145. Keep in mind I'm not saying that I don't lose weight. Just only if I DON'T exercise. If I am sticking to my routine then I'm fine. Just a thought could this have something to do with stress or hormones? If the exercise is reducing my stress maybe that's the difference. Not sure just guessing. I'm only concerned about this because sometimes life happens and I can't stick to my regular exercise and it would be nice if I didn't fall off track during those times.

    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
    bump
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.
    I am 5'8", 160 lbs, 35 yo, my TDEE is 1800 and I eat around 1300. My goal weight is 145. Keep in mind I'm not saying that I don't lose weight. Just only if I DON'T exercise. If I am sticking to my routine then I'm fine. Just a thought could this have something to do with stress or hormones? If the exercise is reducing my stress maybe that's the difference. Not sure just guessing. I'm only concerned about this because sometimes life happens and I can't stick to my regular exercise and it would be nice if I didn't fall off track during those times.

    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.

    Do you eat back your exercise calories?

    If not, you're probably netting around 800 or so at the end of the day, not 1300. So you're in a huge deficit and your body is all like: AWWW HELLL NO!

    Try eating back your exercise cals. For the first few weeks your weight might not move. It may even increase a bit but once your body starts being fueled properly you should improve.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.

    This right here could be your problem. If you're guessing and not keeping accurate track of every single thing that goes into your mouth -- and that includes that one Hershey kiss, that small piece of cheese, and that itty bitty crumb of cookie, and the booze! Oh the calories in one glass of wine alone can ruin your day!-- then you're likely to be over eating which is stalling your weight loss.

    You need to hold yourself accountable and accurately track every thing that you eat. Sure I can ball park a bowl of pasta or a piece of steak but 90% of the time I'm way off in the serving size. Weighing, measuring and tracking keeps me honest and it lets me know where I am and whether or not that treat that I want is worth going over my limit.
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.
    I am 5'8", 160 lbs, 35 yo, my TDEE is 1800 and I eat around 1300. My goal weight is 145. Keep in mind I'm not saying that I don't lose weight. Just only if I DON'T exercise. If I am sticking to my routine then I'm fine. Just a thought could this have something to do with stress or hormones? If the exercise is reducing my stress maybe that's the difference. Not sure just guessing. I'm only concerned about this because sometimes life happens and I can't stick to my regular exercise and it would be nice if I didn't fall off track during those times.

    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.

    Do you eat back your exercise calories?

    If not, you're probably netting around 800 or so at the end of the day, not 1300. So you're in a huge deficit and your body is all like: AWWW HELLL NO!

    Try eating back your exercise cals. For the first few weeks your weight might not move. It may even increase a bit but once your body starts being fueled properly you should improve.
    So you're saying that while I'm exercising I have a huge deficit and when I stop my body hangs onto what it can because it freaks out thinking I'm going to starve it again?
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.
    I am 5'8", 160 lbs, 35 yo, my TDEE is 1800 and I eat around 1300. My goal weight is 145. Keep in mind I'm not saying that I don't lose weight. Just only if I DON'T exercise. If I am sticking to my routine then I'm fine. Just a thought could this have something to do with stress or hormones? If the exercise is reducing my stress maybe that's the difference. Not sure just guessing. I'm only concerned about this because sometimes life happens and I can't stick to my regular exercise and it would be nice if I didn't fall off track during those times.

    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.

    Do you eat back your exercise calories?

    If not, you're probably netting around 800 or so at the end of the day, not 1300. So you're in a huge deficit and your body is all like: AWWW HELLL NO!

    Try eating back your exercise cals. For the first few weeks your weight might not move. It may even increase a bit but once your body starts being fueled properly you should improve.
    So you're saying that while I'm exercising I have a huge deficit and when I stop my body hangs onto what it can because it freaks out thinking I'm going to starve it again?

    Well, yes. I'm not going to use the term 'starvation mode' but I think there is a delicate balance in your body and maybe long term huge deficit would work for weight loss you'll eventually end up feeling ****ty.

    When you mix up those long term huge deficits with brief periods of proper eating your body does what it can to adjust, so it seems like you can't lose without exercise but in reality your body is just trying to make things right.

    You need to feed your body consistently and healthily and then give your body time to adjust and get back to a healthy state of 'mind'. So be it.

    It's not going to happen fast. It's going to take time. So buckle up. Get comfortable. And realize that eating 1300 AND your exercise cals for awhile isn't going to show immediate results but it will do your body good in the long run.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    people are going to question your food and calorie intake. you don't have your food diary open, and haven't provided height, weight, age. So, nobody can really help you until you do all that.

    ^^This! Otherwise I can only guess that when you're exercising you are creating the proper deficit to lose weight. And when you're not exercising you're not staying in the deficit that is needed.
  • tracypk
    tracypk Posts: 233 Member
    ETA: looking at my diary is not going to help because I don't keep it updated so it's not accurate to what I actually eat. Some times I finish out the day on paper or in my head.

    This right here could be your problem. If you're guessing and not keeping accurate track of every single thing that goes into your mouth -- and that includes that one Hershey kiss, that small piece of cheese, and that itty bitty crumb of cookie, and the booze! Oh the calories in one glass of wine alone can ruin your day!-- then you're likely to be over eating which is stalling your weight loss.

    You need to hold yourself accountable and accurately track every thing that you eat. Sure I can ball park a bowl of pasta or a piece of steak but 90% of the time I'm way off in the serving size. Weighing, measuring and tracking keeps me honest and it lets me know where I am and whether or not that treat that I want is worth going over my limit.
    Crap I was afraid of this. I am so bad at it. It's not that I don't feel like I want to be accountable I just hate searching for the food and sometimes not finding it and guessing about what it is, blah, blah, blah. Just excuses though. Sometimes though I am pretty good at it. There are days I really try and I measure and all that jazz. Thank you for the info. I will see what happens when I am honest with my food tracking.
  • a135fp
    a135fp Posts: 2
    Eat less and dont workout=starvation mode to ONLY get those food calories; eat less and workout(break a sweat)=your body will pull glucose from fat stores just in case you burn up all the glucose you ate. The more consistantly you workout, the more your body prepares for the next one by constantly pulling glucose from fat stores. The more intense you workout, the more glucose will be constantly be pulled from fat no matter how much, you eat. Therefore the less you eat and workout, the more energetic you will feel and less cravings you will get because your body will be constantly be fueled by energy.
    (Its like eating your own fat :0)
  • a135fp
    a135fp Posts: 2
    Eat less and dont workout=starvation mode to ONLY get those food calories; eat less and workout(break a sweat)=your body will pull glucose from fat stores just in case you burn up all the glucose you ate. The more consistantly you workout, the more your body prepares for the next one by constantly pulling glucose from fat stores. The more intense you workout, the more glucose will be constantly be pulled from fat no matter how much, you eat. Therefore the less you eat and workout, the more energetic you will feel and less cravings you will get because your body will be constantly be fueled by energy.
    (Its like eating your own fat :0)

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