Losing weight with no excercise????

you won't start building real muscle until your body gets rid of most of the excess fat, so i would definitely suggest going to the gym. being skinny won't mean anything unless you're healthy too, which is what going to the gym and working out is all about. but congrats on that weight loss anyway!

<Sorry didn't mean to post twice>

From what I understand it's normal to hit plateaus where you can have an off week. I wouldn't let it get you down.

As far as exercise goes, you don't need to exercise to lose weight, but exercise has many other health benefits associated with it. You will experienced increased cardiovascular health and higher energy levels, better mood, etc. If you do a cardiovascular workout, and not a strength workout, you shouldn't have to worry about adding additional muscle weight.

If you do start an exercise program, MFP recommends that you eat back all of the calories you burn during exercise. Your allotted calorie count is a "net calorie count" so if you do exercise, you may have to raise your calorie intake. Eating too few calories could cause you to stop losing weight.

You will NOT build muscle mass on a caloric deficit. You will get stronger, especially when you first start, but even that will slow as you continue to eat under maintenance. You WILL, however, lose what muscle you have if you continue to diet while not challenging your muscles by doing both cardiovascular and resistance training.

YES YES YES, you should work out. Lift weights, jog, walk, march in place, have a pillow fight with an angry llama (watch for the spitting), challenge the devil to a harmonica playing marathon. You could even do an elliptical, but I hate those things. Hell, it's better than nothing.

Exercise has some helpful and a few less helpful benefits to losing weight. Exercise helps slim and tone, increases your metabolism but it is heavier than fat so there is a small time when increasing exercise and building muscle it may not show on the scale. That is its main less helpful aspect. I think the rest are helpful. It will show in inches lost instead. I think yes we want to lose weight but also inches. I need exercise to help me balance my calorie intake relative to what is happening in my life. It I go out and celebrate with family one day I can increase my exercise to burn the calories. That way I am not dieting I am just eating and living healthier. Exercise is not going to make you bigger or make your weight more permanent. In fact it will help you. For me the point is to get healthier so exercise is key. I had a hard time losing without exercise and I had a hard time losing without watching calorie intake relative to exercise. Yes I have periods where I get less exercise but to me they are 2 sides of an equation that works for me.

Walking is exercise. To me anyway. That's what I do. Was doing everyday but back flared up and had to take hiatus, just started back up. I still lost 6lbs while I was not walking. It did not slow down my weight loss results.

Resistence training is good for toning and cardio good for heart and lungs. Exercise is important part of good health.

My job is physical so I do not do any upper body stuff, I actually have muscle under my flubber in my arms. But I walk for lower body. Stairs and walking up hills too.