Experiences of people losing weight without exercising

chatoune021
chatoune021 Posts: 4 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey,

I needed to lose weight and started MFP in July. I really loved it right away, especially when I saw the weight coming off the first days. The first week I lost almost 6 lbs, so it was really motivating to keep going, even though I knew the following weeks would not be like that.

I am 5"3, I started at 185lbs, and I am now at 172lbs. I set up my first goal at 150... my weight 2 years ago. I was never skinny, but I was happy at 150. The lowest I have been is 140lbs and I found it hard to maintain. However, it will probably be my 2nd goal :)

When I was 140lbs to 150lbs, I used to go to the gym twice a day everyday, but I don't have so much time anymore. And I really don't feel like it to be honest. I love the fact that I am losing weight now, just entering my calories, and keeping them at 1200 or lower.

I just wanted to see if other people are doing like me, just counting their calories and losing the weight without exercising, and how it works for them. Please share your experiences, and also pics if you wish.

Thanks :)
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Replies

  • sim_moore
    sim_moore Posts: 23 Member
    I started off with walking about 5km per day in the first 2 weeks and lost 5KG.. Since then I have not had as much time to do so and found the weight is still coming off.. I am down 16KG now after 10 weeks and doing little more than eating 1500 calories ish per day and a few pushups and squats in the mornings...

    A few changes I have made.
    Probiotics daily seem to help.. Especially Kimchi
    3-4 coffees per day
    Lots of fruit
    Plenty of Spice and Chilli's

    Seems to be working well so far :)
  • chatoune021
    chatoune021 Posts: 4 Member
    Oh thanks for your tips...
    I started walking the 1st 2 weeks also, but I live in Texas, and the heat is killing me. I am definitely waiting on the temperatures to cool down a bit so I can go back to my evening walks, which I enjoyed.

    I never tried probiotics so I will give it a try, as for coffee... I don't like it haha :)
  • TheWorstHorse
    TheWorstHorse Posts: 185
    I think you will find a lot of people here lose weight independent of their exercise habits: they eat at a calorie deficit determined by their daily activity level. That is why you hear phrases like "eat your exercise calories back" and "the weight battle is won in the kitchen" so often.

    If you like to exercise, you should exercise. It is good for you. You will feel better. Gyms are fun places to hang out. And so on.

    But you shouldn't count on exercise as a weight loss or maintenance method. It is too easy to overwhelm the calories you burn exercising with a single five minute indulgence (a single Panera oatmeal raisin cookie clocks in at approximately 400 calories, which is forty-five minutes to an hour of cardio for most people). Worse yet, if you have to miss a day or a week of cardio, you are suddenly eating at maintenance or worse.

    The hard truth of weight loss and maintenance is this: you can't eat whatever you want whenever you want and you do have to actively and intelligently control portions and make conscious choices about what and when you eat.
  • Fairlieboy
    Fairlieboy Posts: 84 Member
    What you put into your mouth is about health, and the consequence of poor food choices is bad health. Weight is pretty much only a marker. (Some- 20%, of overweight people have no health risks, but 20% of lean people have health risks). So consider weight is a marker, a bit like this analogy from Gary Taubes.
    You put a table in the doorway to a room. Everytime you enter, you bruise yourself. So you treat the bruise. The solution is actually to move the table.

    Exercise is about health. The only weight related health issue is mechanical stress. Just pick up a 10kg weight in the gym and walk with it for 1 hour. Thats hard work. Even for 5 minutes of lunges. So dropping the weight has health benefits.
    Don't confuse the two. Many do. Beginning a health program and incorporating exercise "confounds" the outcome. It is a dogma that to loose weight you have to eat less and move more.

    So do the exercise for the benefits of cardio, feeling better, doing something you enjoy.
  • klkarlen
    klkarlen Posts: 4,366 Member
    The exercise that I do (and I log, since I chose the sedentary setting) is not what folks would consider to be formal exercise, you might be able to count me in.

    I clean stalls twice a day, I walk around my office building a few times a day (inside if it's too hot or raining), take the stairs, park further from the door, and stand for at least two hours per day at my desk while I work. I do some exercise at home, usually a few sets of something while watching TV, or things like leg lifts while washing dishes, washing my hands, brushing my teeth.

    So it is possible to increase your activity, without going to the gym. And it works for me.
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
    I'm like you, a working mom with no time to exercise. I also have a completely sedentary life. I try to go for walks but I'm sure that will stop when the weather changes. My ability to go the gym changes based on stuff outside my control.

    I'm currently losing weight based on food logging and diet changes alone. Feel free to friend me.

    Z
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Weight loss begins in the kitchen. You will lose weight if you are at a deficit. Exercise is great to help retain muscle mass while losing, and its great for your health, but it is not necessary to weight loss.
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
    i lost my first 60-70 i think it was with out exercise.... exercise is just good for you, helps you tone, and gives you a buffer to eat more..... if you are in deficit you will lose it just may be harder and you may not be as satisfied with the lose due to tone.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    When I started on this path in April 2011, I was 376 pounds. I thought I'd never be able to lose weight without surgery so I went to see a lap-band surgeon. He told me he wanted me to lose 90 pounds before he'd do the surgery. I about passed out. I started doing what they said to do - logging on MFP, went to see a therapist, going to the support group meetings. One of the things he said when first starting out that it's more important to get the logging down and get some weight off because it would relieve some of the stress on the back and joints. So, I thought, "okay - that just means I have to exercise at some point, but not today."

    I lost 115 pounds in two years, went in for surgery to remove excess skin from the belly, had a hard time recovering....not because of anything the doctor did or didn't do - but he took off 26 pounds of mostly fat. Fat has hormones. I went into a depression and menopause. It can happen - may not always happen, and it said so in the materials they gave me. I still would have done it though.

    Anyway - from April 2013 to about a month ago, I fell off the wagon hard. It's been a real BUTT to get back on track, but I feel like I finally am. I still haven't really exercised.

    I did get a Fitbit One. When I got it, I was lucky to be getting in 500-800 steps a day. Now I'm averaging somewhere between 2000-3000. Not looking to set any records, just to do something in the right direction.
  • Fairlieboy
    Fairlieboy Posts: 84 Member
    So it is possible to increase your activity, without going to the gym. And it works for me.

    Absolutely correct. The paleo guru - Mark Sisson from the Daily Apple says as one of their lifestyle changes is " move slowly most of the time, but occasionally move fast". Science research is pretty clear and suggests this normal sort of slow movement is critical. The other way of expressing it is "don't sit for more than 20 minutes at a time"
  • _Tink_
    _Tink_ Posts: 3,845 Member
    You can certainly lose weight without exercise. But you'll just be a smaller version of yourself. If you want to be fit and strong and change your body composition, you need to work out.
  • crawfishgirl333
    crawfishgirl333 Posts: 69 Member
    hey im almost like you , i started at 178 or so but ive not lost much yet but trying. im 5 2 and have never really been skinny , 130 was the lowest i can remember weighing that was in high school like in 1988 long time , but im really comfortable at 150 . wanting to get back there.
  • countscalories
    countscalories Posts: 418 Member
    I'm shorter (almost 5'1") and weighed more than you (256 lbs.) when I joined MFP. Thank God I finally changed the way I was eating! For MFP activity, I chose the "sedentary" level, and I eat under 1200 cals per day. Under the fat, I'm a very small person. For me, this is the correct amount to consume. I've lost over 80 lbs since Jan. 1st of this year. I do not exercise. I know that some women work out a lot, and as someone said earlier, can change their body composition. But that's not me. I know that I'll never have the kind of dedication it takes to do that. However, now I can take the stairs instead of an elevator, and when I go shopping, I look forward to parking at the far end of the parking lot so I can do some extra walking. I feel so much stronger than I did when I weighed more, and I'm able to do so many more things. My doctor told me that any kind of increase in physical activity is good, even if it's not a formal exercise routine. So, the better I feel (the lighter I get), the more I can move!
  • SB4Hope
    SB4Hope Posts: 23 Member
    It is nice to read all these posts. I hate exercising and don't have much time. Working full time certainly puts a dent in my day and I don't want to spend the evening working out. I do like to walk when the weather is nice and I have a treadmill in front of the TV, but I don't want to feel that if I don't get on it, I can't eat. I am 5'3" and fallen into about 150#. I would really like to lose another 10 and could if I got on the exercise band wagon. I may at some point, but know I can stay at this weight if I want to. Thanks to all that helped with not feeling guilty about not exercising
  • lisas2415
    lisas2415 Posts: 9 Member
    Love all these posts as i have been wondering the same...i have had succcessful weight loss in the past, without exercise, which i have now regained for different reasons. I have now started again in good circumstances with more determination then ever to reach and keep my goal weight and wondered if at some point this time i should include exercise.
    I agree with the posts re calorie deficit.
    I'm a busy working mum, so I'm fairly active with walks to school, busy at work, walks around the park etc, i share a horse so that gives abit more activity a couple times of week., but that's it. For now I am just going to carry on not exceeding my kcal limit on my fitness pal and see how it goes. Usually doing that I can lose an average of 2lbs a week.
    Evening is the only free time i have and by that point i just don't feel like working out, i would rather just relax and eat nothing after 7pm which seems to be working. I also find that when i execrise i have a larger appetitie and as a result can end up eating more overall than if i hadn't.
    I have a long way to my main goal yet, later down the line if my body looks like i need to tone it up depsite losing weight then i think that is when i will think about exercise, but only then. At the minute taking it fairly easy in the evening, only eating when necessary, making sure it's healthy when i do, loads of water & findning little ways to be a little more 'active' each day seems to to be working okay without any specific planned excercise :)
    i would be interested if anyone had got to the point in their weight loss journey where they Had to execrise to continue weight loss to reaxh their goal, what a difference it then made to their weight loss and body, and how they added it into their routine etc and managed their kcal intake accordingly?
  • Jaywalker_7
    Jaywalker_7 Posts: 68 Member
    I lost 70 lbs years ago without exercise. Gained it all back and then some, especially with a pregnancy in there. This time, I'm only down 50 lbs so far but am exercising and feel so much better. My body is looking better and even tho I'm seeing some loose skin, I feel like it's better than if I wasn't working out. I felt like a was just "mushy" before but smaller. Now, even tho I still have a long way to go to get to goal, I have a nicer shape to my body than before. Even tho it's all still covered in fat. In due time! Either way, losing the weight is beneficial to your health. Just being that I've done it both ways, I personally can say I like my results so far much more with exercise. But great job for commiting to the eating part for now! That is HUGE...
  • Jaywalker_7
    Jaywalker_7 Posts: 68 Member
    Also wanted to add... For those struggling with finding time to exercise...this was my biggest problem at first. My schedule varies so there's no "set time" to workout. I also have a toddler, so when I'm not working, I'm cooking, shopping, cleaning, all while taking care of a crazy toddler. I had to accept that I was never going to have a normal workout schedule and needing to fit it in wherever I could. I told myself that I would wake up at 4:30am and sneak one in. ((sound the obnoxious buzzer)) WRONG. I never woke up. Snooze button until I really needed to get up. So that wouldn't work for me. So now, some days if I'm able to leave the little one with the sitter after work I sneak in 15 minutes. Literally go right from work (change into workout clothes at work) and go to a hill by my house. I run up and down the damn hill for 15 minutes. Do I wish that I could so something more "structured" for an hour? Sometimes. But I've gotten creative and make myself work harder cuz it's sometimes a short amount of time I have. Other days I do a workout video at home with the little one involved. I don't love the inconsistency, but I've learned that ANY form of physical activity is helpful, and sometimes we gotta make due. It's been a great learning experience for me and now I know that I can find time.
  • onewarmmomma
    onewarmmomma Posts: 222 Member
    WTG YOU!!

    I have lost 31 pounds with minimal exercise. I haven't stepped foot in a gym, though...the only exercises I have done are things I've found on Pinterest or what DVD's we have lying around the house. I did, however, buy a Fitbit, and that seem to keep me motivated to move. If I see I've only gone 2600 steps and it's 3pm, I get my @$$ out of the chair and walk around the house or something.

    Seeing that ticker move to the right and the scale move to the left is satisfying! Knowing I can do it without busting my hump is even more satisfying :)

    I do plan to join a gym when I get close to my goal weight, though. It's important to me to tone everything...not just slim down. But for now I'm happy with what I'm doing!
  • MegE_N
    MegE_N Posts: 245 Member
    I hate going to the gym, however I do love going for walks. I was eating back about half of my 'walking' calories (I usually do 10,000 - 20,000 recreational steps a day) but at 35lbs down I hit a stall. Got some advice to separate workout from food, so now I'm eating about 1100 - 1400 calories per day no matter what and still doing my walking. Seems to be doing well - 36lbs down, 34lbs to go!
  • DePorre2122
    DePorre2122 Posts: 3
    You can loose the weight with out working out. I have personally done both. I lost about 50 lbs on weight watchers about 6 years ago with out working out and just watching what I ate, but i also had a different job where I was on my feel much more than i am now. Last year i lost about 80 lbs before my wedding, i did this with both excersize and eating right. Un fortantly I gained every lb back. :( Now that I am back on track I think a good moderation of both is helpful and gives a good balance. I read that muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. So think of it this way, 5 lbs of fat burns 20 calories a day and 5 lbs of muscle burns 250 calories a day. Loosing weight is a science not magical. Working out doesn't have to be running on a treadmill for an hour every day. Simple things like jumping jacks that take a few seconds to do can really help in the long run. 7,000 jumping jacks = 3,500 calories. 3,500 calories is one pound. So if you do 10 sets of 100 jumping jacks a day that right there is one pound. I know 1,000 sounds like a lot but I spread it out through out the day. If you have the mind to do it, you will even if you don't want to work out. A Good motivation tool that I found was on Pinterest. I created a workout board and a motivation board, there's lots of great ideas on there that might help give you more ideas. Good for you for loosing weight!!!

    Sarah
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

    1. Lose weight.
    2. Build muscle and tone.

    I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Oh thanks for your tips...
    I started walking the 1st 2 weeks also, but I live in Texas, and the heat is killing me. I am definitely waiting on the temperatures to cool down a bit so I can go back to my evening walks, which I enjoyed.

    I never tried probiotics so I will give it a try, as for coffee... I don't like it haha :)

    You might look into indoor "walking" by Leslie Sansone. I live in the Midwest and winters do me in. These "Just Walk" or "Walk at Home" DVDs allow me to walk when it's rainy, or dark, or snow piled up on the sidewalks. They're sold at Target, Amazon, etc.

    I've lost weight several times with zero exercise. Every time I did that, I lost muscle + fat, and every time I gained the weight back. Now (for me) exercise has to be a lifestyle change. Added exercise gives me a small cushion (of extra calories) to keep the weight off.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

    1. Lose weight.
    2. Build muscle and tone.

    I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

    Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.
  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    my philosophy is do what works for you.
    im not a gym person, at least now I'm not. so i find ways to exercise that are ok for me. long walks outside are my go to. i also do little things like like leave my grocery cart in one spot and walk to and from it with groceries throughout the store. i park in the back of the lot even in the rain every.single.time anywhere i go. i dance and jump around with my kids 10-15 minutes most days. to get my heart rate up.

    as others have said most of your weightloss will come from watching what you eat. you don't need to exercise to lose weight but you do need to exercise for overall health and I think it makes your body look nicer as your lose weight not so flabby.

    i attribute almost all of my weight loss thus far to following MFP and eating at a deficit.

    whatever you do make sure its something you can do for life. that's how i incorporate changes i always ask myself can i maintain this routine/exercise/regiment/etc forever? and sometimes you have to just try before you can answer that question always be willing to change the plan. a plan in the beginning may not be the same plan 6 months in tweak and change things to find what works.
  • violasmith85
    violasmith85 Posts: 274 Member
    From what I've seen and heard weight loss is 80% diet 20% fitness. I don't exercise, well at least not at this point. When I was exercising I'd get super hungry and eat back the calories and then some. I've lost 24lbs without exercising at all. I do want to eventually add in some strength training, but I'm nowhere near my goal yet and I don't want to screw with my progress at this point.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I think you will find a lot of people here lose weight independent of their exercise habits: they eat at a calorie deficit determined by their daily activity level. That is why you hear phrases like "eat your exercise calories back" and "the weight battle is won in the kitchen" so often.

    If you like to exercise, you should exercise. It is good for you. You will feel better. Gyms are fun places to hang out. And so on.

    But you shouldn't count on exercise as a weight loss or maintenance method. It is too easy to overwhelm the calories you burn exercising with a single five minute indulgence (a single Panera oatmeal raisin cookie clocks in at approximately 400 calories, which is forty-five minutes to an hour of cardio for most people). Worse yet, if you have to miss a day or a week of cardio, you are suddenly eating at maintenance or worse.

    The hard truth of weight loss and maintenance is this: you can't eat whatever you want whenever you want and you do have to actively and intelligently control portions and make conscious choices about what and when you eat.

    All of this.

    I see this topic come up a lot, OP. I never know how to answer others' questions about it, either.

    To me, "no exercise" means literally none, just sitting all day at the office and spending the every evening and weekend sitting around watching TV and/or lounging.

    But to some people, "no exercise" means not going to the gym, not heavy lifting, not doing Zumba or Body Pump classes, not running, and not using an elliptical or treadmill at home. So in that case you could say I've lost 134 lb without any exercise.

    My exercise is walks 2-4 nights per week (pretty steady pace) for 30-45 minutes, and then 5-6 (at least) hours of being active on the weekend...hiking, sight-seeing, shopping/mall-walking, riding bikes on trails... and/or some combination of those. Aside from the occasional muscle soreness from biking or a challenging hike that gets me all sweaty and out of breath on a craggy hillside I don't feel like I ever exercise to be totally honest.
  • Tanie98
    Tanie98 Posts: 675 Member
    I am sure you can still lose weight without exercise but I feel better when I exercise. I love running outside when the weather is nice. Find something that you love and stick to it so it doesn't feel like chore
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

    1. Lose weight.
    2. Build muscle and tone.

    I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

    Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.

    I'm sorry I wasn't clear... My END goal weight is 154 if I keep the same level of muscle (more if I bulid muscle, but actually the 154 is at the high side of where I should be for fat %). When I'm at 175 (or when I have time if I hit 175 before late November), I plan to start strength training. So the PRELIMINARY weight loss goal (175) is simply based on losing weight (step 1). That will leave me at more than 20% body fat yet, so I will need to continue to lose fat while I try to gain muscle. I'm not sure whether I will have a net weight gain or loss, but I'll be more focused on body composition at that point (I will still be eating at a deficit, so I should be losing weight still).
  • Kaelakcr
    Kaelakcr Posts: 505 Member
    In the beginning, it makes total sense to only concentrate on diet. Once you have that under control, you might consider exercise, if you want to change the composition and appearance of your body even more. But if you ask me it can actually be pretty harmful for people trying to stay at a caloric deficit.

    Something you can do that will help is to do laps while taking care of things. You can easily hit 5000 steps. which will help boost your energy burn without causing you to get more hungry. :)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I've been losing weight without exercising much. I enjoy hiking whenever I can, but I don't have a lot of time to get out very often. But my plan is to:

    1. Lose weight.
    2. Build muscle and tone.

    I'm still on the first step, and frankly I just don't have time to workout regularly. However, when I get to the strength training phase, I'm going to have to find some time to work out. Fortunately, I will have more time starting in November. Around that time, I expect to be at my preliminary weight loss goal (I intend to transition to step 2 when I reach 175 lbs., or in late Nov., whichever comes last).

    Don't wait until you are AT goal to strength train. Strength training while eating at a deficit helps you KEEP lean muscle. As you get closer to goal your body has less reserves and can catabolize lean muscle mass for fuel.

    I'm sorry I wasn't clear... My END goal weight is 154 if I keep the same level of muscle (more if I bulid muscle, but actually the 154 is at the high side of where I should be for fat %). When I'm at 175 (or when I have time if I hit 175 before late November), I plan to start strength training. So the PRELIMINARY weight loss goal (175) is simply based on losing weight (step 1). That will leave me at more than 20% body fat yet, so I will need to continue to lose fat while I try to gain muscle. I'm not sure whether I will have a net weight gain or loss, but I'll be more focused on body composition at that point (I will still be eating at a deficit, so I should be losing weight still).

    Good - glad to hear that :flowerforyou:

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