Do you need to diet to lose weight?

ersiruno
ersiruno Posts: 5
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Does dieting contribute a lot to losing weight? If I exercise without diet will I still be able to lose weight and get fit?

I've always had a really high/fast metabolism. Never had to exercise or work out, but after having 4 kids it seems that the weight is staying and not going anywhere. I haven't been gaining, but I haven't been losing weight either. I LOVE to eat and I am willing to cut my portions (I seriously eat A LOT!), but not necessarily change what I eat since I'm a really picky eater. Do you think I'll still be successful or do I have to do both? Diet & exercise?

Replies

  • kingnatalie
    kingnatalie Posts: 163
    My personal experience is that diet is more important than exercising when it comes to weight loss. Although I highly recommend exercising as well - there are many, many positive aspects that exercising gives to your body.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    The easy answer is no, as long as you burn more calories than you consume you will loose weight. cutting 500 calories/day out of your diet per day may be easier than burning an extra 500 calories/day through exercise.
  • kellykat
    kellykat Posts: 180 Member
    For me, it takes a combination of eating right and exercise. I tend to lose a lot quicker and more consistently when I work out. Losing weight is a benefit of being healthy and I want that lifestyle.
  • sportygal
    sportygal Posts: 221 Member
    80% of weight loss (body composition change) is NUTRITION!! You can exercise yourself into the ground (I have in the past) and not see any results!!! I used to work out 3 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 18 days straight and NO RESULTS!!! If you live by the 90% rule with nutrition, you can still get some "fun" food and see results.
  • kimmydear
    kimmydear Posts: 298 Member
    I have to watch what I eat to lose weight. The past 5-6 months I was exercising vigorously (running 4,5,6 miles 4x a week) but not watching what I ate. I gained weight. So now I am putting the focus back on calories along with the running, but it's hard. I'd rather exercise hard and eat lots! ;-)
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
    There are three ways to lose weight.

    1. Diet alone, no exercise.
    2. Exercise, no diet
    3. Diet and Exercise

    Of course with Diet and Exercise you will notice the most results.....BUT it will happen with 1 and 2. Just not as quickly.
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
    You probably at least should track your food so that you get an idea of how much you are eating and how consistent it really is. Some people can naturally be very good with self-regulating. Others (like myself) can really *think* that they are eating a consistent number of calories and really be way off.

    But, assuming you do hold your calories from food consistent, yes, you can create a caloric deficit from exercise along and lose weight. That said, it can be hard to "out exercise" your food intake. One extra cookie or small dish of ice cream can take a minute or two to eat (and forget about) but it can take 30 minutes to burn off those calories.
  • poustotah
    poustotah Posts: 1,121 Member
    Your diet does not mean eat healthy. Diet is what you put in your body every day. You can have a good diet or a bad diet but either way, it's a diet. If you are eating a lot of high fat, greasy foods that are clogging your arteries, IMO you have a bad diet. If you are eating a lot of veggies, low fat, whole grains, IMO you have a good diet. Losing weight is a fairly simple concept that is made SUPER easy (for me) by this website. I weigh 150 now. I burn about 2200 calories from daily activity so I HAVE to eat that many calories if I want to maintain my 150. If I exercise, I have to eat more. For me, I started out by changing all of my white carbs to whole grains. I lost 10 lbs right off the bat and that was a good, long-term, healthy choice. Then I started exercising. There went another 10 lbs and another good, long-term choice. Then I started cutting back calories and working with a trainer. There went 70 more lbs. I no longer work with a trainer, but I made sure to learn something from him and from all of the people on this site. A trainer will tell you that losing weight is 75% of what you eat. I'm not sure if that's true, but it has worked for me.

    Good luck!!!
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
    I LOVE to eat and I am willing to cut my portions (I seriously eat A LOT!), but not necessarily change what I eat since I'm a really picky eater.

    I just read this more carefully. Cutting portions *IS* "dieting" in that it cuts the amount of calories you take in. So no, you don't necessarily have to drastically change WHAT you are eating to lose weight, but eating less of it will help.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
    Knowledge is power! That's the best part about counting calories. There is no telling how many calories a day I was eating before. I was gaining weight, even though I was exercising fairly regularly. As we age (I'm 40 something), we have to relearn how much to eat to stay in a healthy weight range. In my teens and 20's, all I had to do was be sensible. Not so now! But because I have been tracking calories for 3 months now, I am much more informed about what is going in, and how much is burning off. For me that is the key! Now I think I will be able to maintain once I reach my goal!
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    A recent study showed that women on average need to workout an HOUR every day just to maintain their weight when eating an unregulated diet. So, hypothetically yes, you can lose weight without regulating your diet. But if it takes an hour on average just to maintain... think about how much working out that really is. I'd rather keep an eye on my calories as well.

    Since what you really don't want to do is cut out foods you love, my advice is DON'T! I eat stuff I love still. I keep telling everyone - I've been eating girl scout cookies since I got them in February. The thing is making sure I have the calories for them and that I only have one or two. I also eat Skinny Cow almost every day, so I get ice cream. I'm not sure what your faves are (I've clearly got a sweet tooth), but I guarantee there are ways to work them in. Especially if you are willing to work out a lot and earn extra calories.

    Good luck!
  • Jennplus2
    Jennplus2 Posts: 984 Member
    I was told by my Dr that the fastest way to drop weigh is to count and reduce calories.

    You can start by changing one small thing, then add another healthy step, and so on.
    For example: Order a burrito like you typically do but get black beans instead of refried beans, next time get black beans and pass on the rice inside.

    When I started my weight loss I made a goal to stop eating fast food. Lost 10 lbs with just that small change. Then I stopped drinking soda. Then I started drinking 8 glasses of water per day. Then I started exercising. The next goal was to add 5 veggies and 2 fruits everyday.

    Every little bit helps. But for me exercise is a great way to keep losing even when I want to splurge and eat a food I love that is high in calories. A life change has to be realistic, if you know you are going to eat the things you love change the way you cook so you can still eat it but the calories are not so bad. No more McDonalds french fries, but I can bake some mean sweet potato fries at home that are just as yummy but a lot healthier!
    :flowerforyou: Just my 2 1/2 cents
  • ersiruno
    ersiruno Posts: 5
    Thanks everyone for all the info! I do eat a lot of carbs, which I am willing to cut out. But I think the main thing I need to do is cut down my portion size! I don't eat junk food or drink soda, for me it's mostly eating TOO much. I guess with being pregnant and nursing for the past 7 years I've just gotten used to eating a lot :(
  • simona1972
    simona1972 Posts: 355 Member
    I LOVE to eat and I am willing to cut my portions (I seriously eat A LOT!), but not necessarily change what I eat since I'm a really picky eater.

    Im not a picky eater, but what I first did was cut my portions and I lost weight without exercise. Slowly I incorporated exercise and sitll watched the portions.

    I dont think there's anything that Ive told myself is off limits in terms of foods. I just eat less of it. A LOT less :)
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
    In theory, yes, you can lose weight by exercising and not dieting.

    The problem is a)making sure you're getting adequate nutrition and b)making sure you're not eating your exercise calories.

    That is to say, a lot of people think, "I can afford to eat that Big Mac, I went to the gym today!" They over-estimate how many calories they burned through exercise, and eat those calories back (and then some) during the course of the day. It's why many people can't lose, or gain, when they JUST exercise.

    Diet is THE most important part of weight loss- not just because of calorie counting, but also in terms of WHAT you're putting in your body. Exercise is good, too, and ideally you'd do a combination of both.... but dieting (that is, eating a reasonable amount of healthy food every day) is the better/easier/faster/healthier (that is, if you're one of those person who 'rewards' themselves for going to the gym by eating a donut) route to a slimmer you.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Mercury.. I think you meant to say making sure you ARE eating your exercise calories.

    don't wanna confuse things-but if I exercise enough, I can afford to eat that Big Mac. (Not that I would...YUCK) but the key is to really have a good idea of how much your exercise is buying you...and eat those calories back so your body's furnace stays burning hot...
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
    Mercury.. I think you meant to say making sure you ARE eating your exercise calories.

    don't wanna confuse things-but if I exercise enough, I can afford to eat that Big Mac. (Not that I would...YUCK) but the key is to really have a good idea of how much your exercise is buying you...and eat those calories back so your body's furnace stays burning hot...

    No, I didn't mean to say I AM. I wasn't talking about myself, period.

    I meant to say if you're NOT dieting, and only exercising, then you should NOT be eating your exercise calories. That would be silly- because then you wouldn't be creating a deficit at all. It defeats the purpose. And my POINT is that, often, when people exercise (but NOT in conjunction with a better diet) they 'reward' themselves with unhealthy treats, which completely erases the work they just did in the gym, anyways, and leads to weight maintenance or weight gain. Meaning, it makes it very difficult to lose weight.

    Which is the whole point of this thread- asking if you need to diet to lose weight.

    I'm saying, no, you don't. But it's very difficult/almost impossible for most people to lose weight solely by exercising, without making changes to how and what they eat.
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