Weight loss without regular exercise?

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rachael1805
rachael1805 Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've scoured the site to find a thread on this topic, but will bite the bullet and ask the question...if weight loss is essentially achieved through calorie defecit and is 80% diet and 20% exercise, do I really have to focus on exercise so much? I intend to exercise every day, but easily spend my time doing other things, like post on here, for example ;)

I know resistance training will help to retain lean muscle under the fat, but will not exercising really be that detrimental? I find it much easier to control my diet and stay in defecit than I am finding the motivation to exercise. I'm really only exercising around twice a week, for half an hour or so- either a 3 to 5 km run on the treadmill or a 30min dvd (like 30DS or similar). Everyone else seems to do SO much exercise each day!
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Replies

  • water_coloured
    water_coloured Posts: 81 Member
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    The only thing you need for weight loss is a caloric deficit. You do not need to exercise.
  • lacostello
    lacostello Posts: 4 Member
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    I am interested in people responses to this as well. Thanks for asking the question.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    You can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight as long as you eat at a deficit.
    But, exercise is healthy physically and mentally, can increase metabolism, gives more wiggle room to your caloric goal and can change the way your body looks regardless of pounds (for example, practicing yoga strengthens my core, giving me the strength to stand taller, giving me a leaner look). It's also does something pretty great for our self esteem...which I'd say contributes to our ability to be successful in this journey.


    Eta: exercise IS recommended to help hold on to lean body mass, losing too much muscle during weight loss is an issue (you want to lose fat while hanging on to the lean stuff). It's just not necessary for dropping actual pounds.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Exercise is done for reasons other than weight loss. Here are the benefits of exercise:

    1. Increased fitness (strength, flexibility, stability, endurance).

    2. Maintaining lean body mass (the portion of your body weight that DOESN'T come from fat) while losing fat.

    3. Increasing your calorie goals so that you can safely eat more while maintaining a calorie deficit

    4. Overall health for the heart and bones

    Honestly if all you care about is seeing the number on the scale go down then frankly (and I hope I'm not insulting anyone by saying this) you're doing it wrong. That is only a small part of the story. Yes, you can achieve that (a reduction of overall body mass, which includes both fat and muscle, as well as bone density if you're not careful) through a calorie deficit alone, but it's not recommended unless you are physically unable to do any form of exercise.
  • rachael1805
    rachael1805 Posts: 72 Member
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    You can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight as long as you eat at a deficit.
    But, exercise is healthy physically and mentally, can increase metabolism, gives more wiggle room to your caloric goal and can change the way your body looks regardless of pounds (for example, practicing yoga strengthens my core, giving me the strength to stand taller, giving me a leaner look). It's also does something pretty great for our self esteem...which I'd say contributes to our ability to be successful in this journey.

    Great response, thankyou. I know how great I feel after exercise, just losing the battle with motivation to do it more regularly :(
  • BunBun85
    BunBun85 Posts: 246 Member
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    I've lost 107lbs without exercise but it's really slowed down for me now, about 4lbs a month, so I've started doing some exercise to help it move at a pace I find more acceptable.

    And you know, to tone up too. It's a lot easier to move at 209 than it was at 316 though. =)
  • WalkingMermaid_
    WalkingMermaid_ Posts: 205 Member
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    I don't particularly workout out at the moment due to back/neck issues, a walk here and there, nothing intense and I am losing 1.5 lbs - 2 lbs a week on 1800 calories.

    I plan to start a swimming program when my new local pool opens, but that'll be about it. They weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
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    As you say, weight loss is 80-90% diet. Plenty of people lose weight just by controlling their diet, although a lot of the threads I have seen on the topic are from people who have over 100 lbs to lose who find exercise extremely painful due to their weight, which doesn't seem to apply to you.

    Not that just dieting won't work for you, but exercise will have at least the following benefits:

    1. You'll be able to eat more, since you are burning calories exercising, which makes sticking to your diet easier
    2. As you mentioned, you could lose muscle mass, which lowers your metabolism, which means you have to eat even less food to keep a calorie deficit
    3. Fit > skinny

    All that said, explore other options for exercising, find something that interests you. I had a hard time sticking to any exercise routine until I started Starting Strength (weight training), and now I can hardly imagine missing a workout.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Exercise is done for reasons other than weight loss. Here are the benefits of exercise:

    1. Increased fitness (strength, flexibility, stability, endurance).

    2. Maintaining lean body mass (the portion of your body weight that DOESN'T come from fat) while losing fat.

    3. Increasing your calorie goals so that you can safely eat more while maintaining a calorie deficit

    4. Overall health for the heart and bones

    Honestly if all you care about is seeing the number on the scale go down then frankly (and I hope I'm not insulting anyone by saying this) you're doing it wrong. That is only a small part of the story. Yes, you can achieve that (a reduction of overall body mass, which includes both fat and muscle, as well as bone density if you're not careful) through a calorie deficit alone, but it's not recommended unless you are physically unable to do any form of exercise.

    :drinker:
  • fatzant
    fatzant Posts: 40
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    I'm 12Lbs down and have done minimal exercise (the odd walk here and there) youR calories are based on a target you set for example I wanted to drop a pound a week so my goal is 1210 a day, sticking to this and occasionally going over :( I have still managed to loose, the only thing is you will have no definition as not building muscle mass, I have come to the conclusion I can loose weight without the exercise, but for the toned flat belly muscles I want I will have to start at some point!
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
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    I would try to find an exercise I enjoyed more than the one you're doing. There are hundreds of ways to exercise. I personally like hiking and walking in beautiful or interesting areas and could do that all day. Exercise improves my whole quality of life.
  • rachael1805
    rachael1805 Posts: 72 Member
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    Exercise is done for reasons other than weight loss. Here are the benefits of exercise:

    1. Increased fitness (strength, flexibility, stability, endurance).

    2. Maintaining lean body mass (the portion of your body weight that DOESN'T come from fat) while losing fat.

    3. Increasing your calorie goals so that you can safely eat more while maintaining a calorie deficit

    4. Overall health for the heart and bones

    Honestly if all you care about is seeing the number on the scale go down then frankly (and I hope I'm not insulting anyone by saying this) you're doing it wrong. That is only a small part of the story. Yes, you can achieve that (a reduction of overall body mass, which includes both fat and muscle, as well as bone density if you're not careful) through a calorie deficit alone, but it's not recommended unless you are physically unable to do any form of exercise.

    I hear you...I suppose, at the commencement of my weight loss journey, scale number, looser clothing, controlling diet through calorie counting, learning about optimum nutrition/modifying recipes is superceding exercising. Was just wondering how detrimental it would be...
  • rachaelgifford
    rachaelgifford Posts: 320 Member
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    I lost 4 stone without exercise once. It didn't stay off though. It is too easy to slip back into old eating habits. I wuld never do it again without exercise!
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    Great response, thankyou. I know how great I feel after exercise, just losing the battle with motivation to do it more regularly :(

    There are sooooooooo many ways to work our bodies, find something you like!!

    Also, when I started and exercise was not only painful physically, but also emotionally, it was super difficult to get motivated. My strategy was to tell myself "just 10 minutes" it was an easily achievable goal, the kind that I KNEW I could suck it up long enough to achieve. I found that most of the time, 5 minutes in I'd think, hey, this isn't too bad! And I could keep going for a while no problem...but it also gave me a guilt free way out after 10 minutes if I was feeling just too overwhelmed. The 10 became 15 became 20, and eventually, I didn't need to work so hard to convince myself (usually lol )
  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
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    You can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight as long as you eat at a deficit.
    But, exercise is healthy physically and mentally, can increase metabolism, gives more wiggle room to your caloric goal and can change the way your body looks regardless of pounds (for example, practicing yoga strengthens my core, giving me the strength to stand taller, giving me a leaner look). It's also does something pretty great for our self esteem...which I'd say contributes to our ability to be successful in this journey.

    Great response, thankyou. I know how great I feel after exercise, just losing the battle with motivation to do it more regularly :(

    You've been here for over a year and record a 1 kilo loss. That alone should answer your question.
  • Naywifey07
    Naywifey07 Posts: 74 Member
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    Well I can only speak for myself and I just watching what I eat clearly doesn't work for me alone. I have to have to visit the gym a few times a week!!!:yawn:
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
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    You don't need to exercise to lose weight. Losing weight it's only about calorie deficit. Gym is for shaping your body.
  • rachael1805
    rachael1805 Posts: 72 Member
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    You can sit on your bum all day and still lose weight as long as you eat at a deficit.
    But, exercise is healthy physically and mentally, can increase metabolism, gives more wiggle room to your caloric goal and can change the way your body looks regardless of pounds (for example, practicing yoga strengthens my core, giving me the strength to stand taller, giving me a leaner look). It's also does something pretty great for our self esteem...which I'd say contributes to our ability to be successful in this journey.

    Great response, thankyou. I know how great I feel after exercise, just losing the battle with motivation to do it more regularly :(

    You've been here for over a year and record a 1 kilo loss. That alone should answer your question.

    Yes, I registered on MFP a year ago, quite probably, but have been using it for about a week. I think it just said I have logged for 5 days in a row, which is the only time I have ever logged consistently on MFP. Still learning certainly, not sure how to change my ticker yet, certainly don't need the aggression *now knows why I was so nervous asking the question*
  • mikeveggie68
    mikeveggie68 Posts: 116
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    I'm losing about 2.5 pounds a week with very limited exercise, mostly walking... and even that has been hindered by a foot injury I suffered at the end of June that doesn't seem to want to go away. I have several medical issues...spine injury, bone on bone in both knees, so even when I do get to the gym what I can do is limited, but as soon as I get *close* to my goal weight I will push to excercise more so that I can tone up the areas where I lost weight, my friend lost a ton of weight but never worked out and he just had flabby skin leftover from where he used to be fat
  • elleryjones
    elleryjones Posts: 88 Member
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    I think "motivation" is a fuzzy concept. If I waited until I was truly feeling motivated to go to work, um, I'd be in bed right now. If I waited until I was truly motivated to pay my bills, um, I'd be homeless.

    Sometimes it's not about waiting for that particular feeling, but making things a habit, tricking yourself into doing it, and getting started on it before you realize what you've done. I love to exercise, love the endorphins, etc. but it is still incredibly hard most days to make myself do it just because I'd rather be doing other things - watching TV, eating Twizzlers, etc. I bribe myself with good music on my IPod, with the thought that it'll only take 30 minutes, that I can watch "Castle" whle I'm on the treadmill, or with the thought of having 90 uninterrupted minutes out of the house and away from my children (that I love dearly but I need my alone time as well).

    I just try to take it a day at a time. If I think about it too much, I don't want to do it.

    Hang in there! Remember, this is a life long process. You need your body to be healthy, as you'll be using it for the rest of your life. No need to torture yourself with exercise that you hate. Find something you enjoy and stick with it. :)

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