Will simple measures like these result in weight loss?

I am in very much the same boat, the only exercise I do is walk at least 30-60 min 3 times a week. I do however feel that adjusting your diet can do a lot of good. Be honest with yourself about what you eat, log everything, use scales, and eat a deficit. I try not to focus too much on each day, but rather on a week, because there will be days when I am over and days when I am under. I try to do a lot of extra movement and it certainly works for me. I don't log this though, I just do it. It looks like there are a lot of people who seem to log everything (why would there be an entry for light cleaning in the database even).

In the past I have always joined a gym and went for like a month and then it fell by the wayside, so this time I tried to do something different and it does seem to be working :-)

Movement rules

In the past, there was a time when I didn't purposely exercise at all. I did not schedule any workouts. However, I kept active while at work and walked to work and walked home. I also used a lot of stairs instead of elevators. When I no longer worked a physically demanding job and stopped walking to and from work yet kept the same diet, I started packing on the pounds. I realized that every bit of extra movement I made in the day really made a difference in my weight.

I also worked for a man who kept his diet the same, but began walking for 45 mins during his 60 min lunch break every day. He slowly dropped a bunch of weight just by making that extra bit of effort. He worked 12 hrs a day, so this was the best way for him to fit some exercise into his day. On the weekends, he took stairs instead of elevators and parked his car far from his destination so that it forced him to walk while running errands.

Diet plays a huge role in losing weight, but moving around as much as possible during your busy day doesn't hurt :happy:

Calorie Deficit = Weight Loss
Exercise = Fitness

All you need to lose weight is a sustainable calorie deficit.
That being said, if you exercise, you gain more calories to eat during the day (the way MFP is designed, eat back the calories you burn).

If you don't have time to exercise, just focus on maintaining your calorie deficit.

Good luck!

While I havent seen any significant weight loss from it, using stairs and taking longer walking routes when going to class etc has definitely improved my fitness level and my thighs and butt feel amazing, lol

I say yes. To me, losing and maintaining my weight has largely been attributed to diet because I am also short on time for exercise. So I look for any opportunity I can to be on my feet. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking further from the store, spot cleaning the house, you get the gist. Every little bit helps. Sounds like you have the right mindset!

Focus on your diet. Make sure that you are eating at a deficit by logging everything honestly. If you keep focus on that, then adding the steps you mentioned will be terrific.

For the days that you can manage a 30 minute workout, I really like Jillian Michaels 30 day shred or Ripped in 30. They are short but intense cardio workouts that include a small measure of strength.

When I first started, I found that they were east to fit into my schedule and help me stay focused. They are also inexpensive at just under $10 each, so that's good too.

I don't mean to push her stuff so hard, but I thought since your time is limited that they might be helpful to you.

Moving more, as you put it, will help as far as fitness goes but your diet will determine if you actually lose weight. If you are not in a calorie deficit it doesn't matter how much you move. If you are trying to use moving more each day to create a deficit that's fine but you will still have to make sure that your diet is where it should be, (calorie deficit) in order for weight loss to happen.

Hi all,

I just wanted to ask whether there are any of you who successfully lost some weight as a result of incorporating more movement into your daily life, rather than working out for many hours per week. The reason I ask is because my work schedule is insane and I can only get in about three 20-30 mins workouts a week, which I know is not much. The way I'm planning to incorporate movement into my daily routine is just take the stairs instead of the lifts (eg. walking up to 9/F), stand up more on transport, perhaps get off one stop before my destination so I'd have to walk, and so on. How much would these things actually help for weight loss, or would it just mean maintenance?

Thanks so much!

Before Joining MFP, I walked stairs for a total of 20 minutes a day, sometimes 40 days. My job is a lot of walking, but your metabolism stabilizes and becomes accustomed to your daily routine. You will need to change it up eventually. First - you will probably notice a drastic change, possibly a lost of 3-4 lbs in 2 weeks. But it will taper off.
I also have an insane work schedule. 12-16 hour days, 4-6 days a week, and it switches from day shifts to night shifts. I started intermittent fasting two weeks ago, and have seen a big difference. 3 lbs in one week. Check out http://theiflife.com for more information on intermittent fasting if you are interested.

this sounds like me when I was working, trying to make my job activity burn calories to lose weight!

I really like this question, because I had the very same concerns starting out. While I love to move, I purposefully stayed away from rigorous workouts because I've gone overboard in the past and burned myself out. Instead Im giving myself 60 days of very light activity: kundalini yoga in the morning for an hour (it's mostly breathing and swinging your arms) and walking everywhere I go. But managing my caloric intake is the thing that's helping me lose. With the lighter activity, I can concentrate on balancing my diet and making healthier food choices. After the 60 days I plan to up my activity a little.

I've been at the since January 2013. I don't exercise.