Can I still lose weigh without exercising?

Celebi03
Celebi03 Posts: 310 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Lazy, lazy, I know. But it's not about being lazy, after my workouts I feel so dizzy. I eat 1200-1400 calories sometimes less when I don't exercise. I know eating less 1000 isn't good, but I don't always do it. I actually feel pretty good when I aim for 1200, if I aim for 1400 I feel bloated and the weigh doesn't come off. Point is, I haven't exercised of a week and lost 2 pounds, normally diet + exercising would make me lose 1 pound. I don't understand. Any advice would be great! :wink:

btw I weigh 183 aiming for 160

Replies

  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    If you set your goals through MFP to the recommended to lose setting and eat the calories it suggests you will lose weight as it already creates a deficit for you.
  • Fit_French
    Fit_French Posts: 134 Member
    I RARELY workout and I'm losing weight. Very slowly though. When I do workout its something low impact like Pilates, I love the burn! But that's just whats working for me. Hope that helps!
  • Celebi03
    Celebi03 Posts: 310 Member
    If you set your goals through MFP to the recommended to lose setting and eat the calories it suggests you will lose weight as it already creates a deficit for you.

    how do I do that?
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    You exercise to tone your muscles. You diet to burn fat.

    You can lose fat without exercising, but you can't build muscle without exercising.

    If you REALLY want to supercharge fat burning, eat enough food and do resistance/strength training. Do lunges, squats, deadlifts and so on. Don't worry about cardio.
  • greenfalls107
    greenfalls107 Posts: 87 Member
    Can you lose weight without exercising? Sure, but you may feel tired, grumpy, hungry, and in general feel like a slug. I am probably lazier than you, and I have a bunch of health issues that provide me with plenty of excuses not to exercise. However, I feel better daily if I push myself. I do not care if I slow ride my stationary bike for 10 minutes during a food show. Or take 2 short walks (15 minutes each) in a day.

    I will admit when I have down days, when all I can do is drag myself down the stairs. But, I know I have to get back to moving. It helps my pain levels, my brain function, and in general I feel mentally better. And the older I get, the more I appreciate being able to move.

    If you are losing weight now, and feeling well than I say keep up what you are doing. On the days you are more hungry than normal, eat healthy foods and try to move a bit to keep your net calories under 1500. Pay attention to how you feel overall. I wish could lose weight without moving, but for my body and my sweet tooth moving is required.
  • Celebi03
    Celebi03 Posts: 310 Member
    You exercise to tone your muscles. You diet to burn fat.

    You can lose fat without exercising, but you can't build muscle without exercising.

    If you REALLY want to supercharge fat burning, eat enough food and do resistance/strength training. Do lunges, squats, deadlifts and so on. Don't worry about cardio.

    Yeah I was told something similar. I want to get to 160 and THEN tone. thanks btw
  • Celebi03
    Celebi03 Posts: 310 Member
    Can you lose weight without exercising? Sure, but you may feel tired, grumpy, hungry, and in general feel like a slug. I am probably lazier than you, and I have a bunch of health issues that provide me with plenty of excuses not to exercise. However, I feel better daily if I push myself. I do not care if I slow ride my stationary bike for 10 minutes during a food show. Or take 2 short walks (15 minutes each) in a day.

    I will admit when I have down days, when all I can do is drag myself down the stairs. But, I know I have to get back to moving. It helps my pain levels, my brain function, and in general I feel mentally better. And the older I get, the more I appreciate being able to move.

    If you are losing weight now, and feeling well than I say keep up what you are doing. On the days you are more hungry than normal, eat healthy foods and try to move a bit to keep your net calories under 1500. Pay attention to how you feel overall. I wish could lose weight without moving, but for my body and my sweet tooth moving is required.


    Thanks! this helped, I'm thinking about walking more often instead of cardio.
  • zaftiggirl
    zaftiggirl Posts: 82 Member
    Food is fuel - if you don't like exercising, then your body won't need quite as much fuel. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight (in most cases).

    Let's say your body burns 2000 calories a day, without exercise. If you eat 1200 calories, and maybe burn 400 more calories with exercise... then you're 'netting' 800 calories a day. That's too few calories, no matter what. Ideally you'd net 1200 calories, if you must eat that low. So on an exercise day, you'd eat 1600 calories. It sounds scary, but if you're eating foods that will fuel your body and muscles... I don't think you'll feel 'bloated,' unless you're eating crappy foods. And I think you would actually lose weight.

    I don't know how old you are or how tall you are, but most people's weight loss eventually stalls at 1200 calories because it's simply not enough calories for your body to run, and your body assumes that there isn't enough food for you to eat so over time it adapts to not burn so much. That's called slowing down your metabolism... and it's not really a good idea, unless you want to only be able to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life. That's what happened to me, and I couldn't lose weight to save my life until I started eating 2100 calories a day. I exercise 5 times a week though.

    It's all about whether you just want to have a lower number show up on the scale, or whether you want a fit looking body. Eating low calories and not exercising will result in a lower number on the scale, but if you don't exercise you probably won't look 'fit.'
  • tallulahthunderbird
    tallulahthunderbird Posts: 138 Member
    I've lost 70 pounds with only minimal exercise (walks with my husband) but I started out heavier than most.
  • MariaChele85
    MariaChele85 Posts: 267 Member
    Yes you can. I got really sick ( like almost dying) and didnt excercise for almost 2 weeks and I lost 4lbs. I just made sure that I made good food choices and rested to recover. I washed my car and cleaned up my house, thats about as much excercise that i got.
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
    You lose weight in the kitchen and get fit in the gym. You can lose all the weight you want without stepping foot in the gym. Problem will be that you will be a skinny flabby person, lacking any muscle tone or physical fitness for definition and health. You'll look great in clothes, but not so good nekkid.

    Exercise is great for your over all health, both physical and mental, keeping your metabolism up and giving your body definition. It can help speed up your weight loss results and give your energy a huge boost, but you shouldn't depend on it for weight loss - that's where the kitchen comes in! There are so many great reasons to exercise, but as someone once told me "you can't outrun your fork" which just means what I have already said - you lose weight in the kitchen and get fit in the gym.
  • 2essie
    2essie Posts: 2,847 Member
    If you set your goals through MFP to the recommended to lose setting and eat the calories it suggests you will lose weight as it already creates a deficit for you.

    how do I do that?

    On your home page,goals, change goals and follow the prompts. It will give you a figure to follow. If you put down that you are sedentary then eat your exercise calories back if you decide to do some exercise. If not then stick with what MFP gives you. Or you can go to a site that works out TDEE, take 15 to 20% off that figure and eat that amount of calories.
  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
    diet makes you look good in clothes. exercise makes you look naked. take your pick.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    You exercise to tone your muscles. You diet to burn fat.

    You can lose fat without exercising, but you can't build muscle without exercising.

    If you REALLY want to supercharge fat burning, eat enough food and do resistance/strength training. Do lunges, squats, deadlifts and so on. Don't worry about cardio.

    Yeah I was told something similar. I want to get to 160 and THEN tone. thanks btw

    What they're trying to say is, it will be easier to get to 160 if you begin strength training now. You'll lose more fat and preserve your sexy muscles if you use them now. If you lose weight through calorie restriction alone, when you reach your goal weight, (a LOT longer from now than if you lift) then you will have to ever so slowly creep back up your calories in order to avoid gaining. If you start lifting now, you can eat more and still shrink and tighten up all along the way.
  • saeede83
    saeede83 Posts: 96 Member
    a few years back, I lost 35 lbls by diet in 3-4 months. I didn't change my activity that much. but the problem was that I gained all the weight back because being on 1200 calorie diet was not something I could stick to for the rest of my life.
    On the other hand having a low calorie diet makes me tired and hungry all the time, so it affects my productivity at work and in home. It's not sustainable.

    I think of this as a transition to get into a normal life style, where I can eat normal, be active and healthy. Think long term, at some point you need to start exercising to maintain your weight.

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