I hate exercise

you can definitely lose weight without exercise. The only thing you need to do to lose weight is eat less calories than you burn. If you don't exercise, then you will just eat fewer calories.

Then don't exercise, find activities that you enjoy. If you enjoy cycling buy a bike, go for a walk, play tennis, go kayaking.....find ways to make it fun.

I started running because, like eating your vegetables, it's good for you and I fell in love with it when I changed the way I thought about it. We think of exercise in terms of work when it should be play.

If you maintain a modest, consistent caloric deficit you will lose weight with or without exercise. Exercise promotes fitness and health not weight loss in fact it's not uncommon for distance runners to put on a few pounds training for a long race.

Don't underestimate that walking you do. But you really should incorporate strength training if you can. It's not just for weight loss!

For me, any exercise becomes a chore if I do the same thing day in and day out...so I change it up. Elliptical one day. Yoga another, long walks, running, weights, dvd's, etc. etc. Changing it up works for me. And sometimes just a quick short work out is all I feel like doing but I don't feel as much of a slacker if I at least get in 15-20 min of some kind of healthy movement in. Find a combo that works for you!

Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity

No. 1: Exercise controls weight

No. 2: Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

No. 3: Exercise improves mood

No. 4: Exercise boosts energy

No. 5: Exercise promotes better sleep

No. 6: Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

No. 7: Exercise can be fun

http://www.mayoclinic.org/exercise/art-20048389


Sometimes you need to suck it up and do things we don't like to do!!

I have a hard time with exercise, because of medical reasons, but...there are many activities you can do that give you adequate exercise and strength training, without going to the gym:
Do you like to garden
Walk your dog
You can park further away from your destination
Washing your car
Shoveling snow
Chopping wood
Walking the stairs, instead of the elevator ( or just some of them)
Playing with your kids
Trampoline
Swimming
Hula hooping
Skateing
Moving furniture around
Window shopping
Basket ball
Football
Soccer
Baseball/softball
Throw your socks all over the floor and pick them up 1 by 1 a few times
Horse back riding
Rakeing grass
Push mowing the grass
Weed trimming

That's just a few I could think of, but they are all really good exercise and some are even strength training. You just have to change the way that you look at exercise.

You can lose weight without exercise. But you're likely to lose a lot of muscle in the process, and it's possible that you will end up being thin but flabby.

There are many things I don't especially like doing, but that I do because (a) I know they are good for me, like brushing and flossing my teeth, or (b) I like the results of having done them, like calorie restriction. I enjoy several forms of aerobic exercise, but for me, strength training falls into category B. I don't like doing it, but I like having done it, because I notice the results. (Since I generally cycle, walk, and run for aerobic exercise, I focus on core and upper body exercises when doing strength training.)

If you can't motivate yourself otherwise, you could look into commitment contracts such as those offered by Beeminder.com, where you pledge a small amount of money that you lose if you don't do what you said you want to do. They operate on the principle of akrasia: doing things against your own better judgment because they are attractive in the moment. This recent post (with accompanying video) on their blog sets out the idea: http://blog.beeminder.com/qs2013/

I use Beeminder to track the physical therapy for my back, and my strength training, because I find that otherwise I tend to slack off, and I feel a lot better when I do them regularly.

Get some music in your ears...and walk the weight away. Walking is very good for heart health...body toning...and weigh loss. Once you start walking...you won't wanna stop....the music takes over..and you just go with the flow.

Have you tried lifting? It is far less grueling than being on the elliptical for an hour and you get visible results.

I feel the exact same way about: going to work, play dates for my kids, cleaning the house, laundry, mowing the lawn, doctor visits, PTA meetings and shoveling snow.

But I do it anyway because I know it has to get done.

ETA: I remember telling my wife a year ago how much I hated the gym and that "I'll never be a gym person" I ended up logging 213 gym days! I get really bored so I set personal fitness goals that are short term and attainable. Once I hit them I move on to something else. I've done boxing, stronglifts, all pro beginner workout, doing C25K currently. Circuit training.

The biggest difference is the gym days are noticeably changing my body more than just eating a deficit. If you get really hungry ( as I do) have something light before and after the gym or eat back all or 50% of your exercise calories.

Put the earbuds in, tune out the world and get busy.

I hate cardio.. so I weight train with vigor. I'll get rid of the flub with my calorie deficit. No reason to hate what you are doing to improve yourself, it HAS TO be sustainable.

When you just don't enjoy anything involving exercise, it's worth doing some looking inside. Exercise can be so many activities, many of which people do for the pure fun of it. I wonder if someone tried to force you to do things, or made comments about how you look doing things, or was never happy no matter what you did, or decided you must have extra time on your hands so here's some extra work for you to do, or whatever ... so that you won't enjoy exercise until it becomes something you do for your own pleasure, without feeling like that person is criticizing you when you do.

I notice everything you tried is a dedicated workout program sort of thing. Ever consider just biking, or paddling (if you've got water nearby)? You know... something more like play?

You don't need exercise to lose weight, but moving about is great for your health.

I don't want to invade this conversation, but I found it because I am the founder of a site that aims to encourage people who hate to exercise to find something they like and learn how to do safely and so they'll want to keep doing it. MyFitnessPal seems to be more for folks who mostly like exercise, but if you ever want to share your story of how you went from an exercise hater to an exercise lover I'd love to feature it on ih8exercise.com and our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Ih8exercise

Good luck to all - looks like you're all doing an amazing job!

Thanks,
Lorie Parch