Is there a way to lose bodyfat with just EXERCISE (including cardio, strength training etc) alone?
Uhfgood
Posts: 128 Member
tl;dr - Counting calories is a pain the butt. I move less now, would like to know how to lose bodyfat primarily through exercise (strength training and/or cardio) if possible irrespective of diet.
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So quickly I realize that diet has to be a big priority. I also realize even when you exercise a lot you can't just pig out on junk food. Not really what I'm going for.
I keep reading about how exercise is not a good way to lose weight/fat and yet, if it's about calories in/calories out you would think that there would be a way to use exercise as your primary means to lose body fat.
Seriously I do not want to have to watch every single calorie that goes into my body. Eating approximately 1700 cals a day, and doing this does work, I lost over 50 lbs in about half-a-year a few years ago. Counting calories is such a pain in the butt, I'm tempted just to say screw it all if I die of a heart attack early, I die. At the same time I don't really want to die early.
You know we have a big obesity problem here in the US, and they always like to blame the fast food or the processed foods or gluten or saturated fats or trans fats, carbs or whatever. Sure I believe a majority of it. Trans fats are man-modified fats. Sure some people have gluten sensitivity. Saturated fats may be linked to heart disease (or maybe not as I've read in some places). Processed foods and fast foods have high amounts of calories and so-on and so-forth. But it's not one-sided as all of that, in fact you can read the contrary to most of those above (except for trans fats). But then we ignore the fact of the matter is the population grows and we all end up moving less. I don't have any scientific data or studies to point to, but we don't really know if the amount of obese people is increasing or if it's just the population increases (well you may, and in fact if you do you can point me to it in a comment). Okay so let's take the population increases out for a moment, and we're moving less.
Think about it, 50 years ago, tv wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now, sure you had some solid tv watchers but it was a lot less. We didn't have internet until the 1990's. Video games were mostly for kids and teenagers in the late 70's to early 80's. The home systems were primarily atari 2600 pre-1985 and then the NES from 1985 onward. Kids used to play outside more, and even still did when the consoles were here. But now we have the internet, we have on demand tv, we have 3 consoles, that ADULTS are now playing to all hours. This is not to mention things that make our lives a little more lazy. Remote controls, wireless input devices, things like dishwashers and clothes washing machines (yeah I know from the 1940's-50's etc), microwaves, etc.
We move less now. You know 'correlation does not imply causation' -- which is true, but the correlation is pretty good. We move less now, we're fatter now.
Okay so, before I move on, I want to say I'm not trying to debate whether diet is important or not, so please no debates in this area, but back to my original point. I want to figure out what exercise(s) I can do both cardio and strength training (although I don't have any equipment) that I can use to lose bodyfat. I sit around all day on my computer, and I think that's the primary reason my weight goes up. Does anyone know of good exercises (and yes I know I will have to work up to the intensity) that would lose body fat without causing a drastic change in my diet?
Thanks for reading.
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So quickly I realize that diet has to be a big priority. I also realize even when you exercise a lot you can't just pig out on junk food. Not really what I'm going for.
I keep reading about how exercise is not a good way to lose weight/fat and yet, if it's about calories in/calories out you would think that there would be a way to use exercise as your primary means to lose body fat.
Seriously I do not want to have to watch every single calorie that goes into my body. Eating approximately 1700 cals a day, and doing this does work, I lost over 50 lbs in about half-a-year a few years ago. Counting calories is such a pain in the butt, I'm tempted just to say screw it all if I die of a heart attack early, I die. At the same time I don't really want to die early.
You know we have a big obesity problem here in the US, and they always like to blame the fast food or the processed foods or gluten or saturated fats or trans fats, carbs or whatever. Sure I believe a majority of it. Trans fats are man-modified fats. Sure some people have gluten sensitivity. Saturated fats may be linked to heart disease (or maybe not as I've read in some places). Processed foods and fast foods have high amounts of calories and so-on and so-forth. But it's not one-sided as all of that, in fact you can read the contrary to most of those above (except for trans fats). But then we ignore the fact of the matter is the population grows and we all end up moving less. I don't have any scientific data or studies to point to, but we don't really know if the amount of obese people is increasing or if it's just the population increases (well you may, and in fact if you do you can point me to it in a comment). Okay so let's take the population increases out for a moment, and we're moving less.
Think about it, 50 years ago, tv wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now, sure you had some solid tv watchers but it was a lot less. We didn't have internet until the 1990's. Video games were mostly for kids and teenagers in the late 70's to early 80's. The home systems were primarily atari 2600 pre-1985 and then the NES from 1985 onward. Kids used to play outside more, and even still did when the consoles were here. But now we have the internet, we have on demand tv, we have 3 consoles, that ADULTS are now playing to all hours. This is not to mention things that make our lives a little more lazy. Remote controls, wireless input devices, things like dishwashers and clothes washing machines (yeah I know from the 1940's-50's etc), microwaves, etc.
We move less now. You know 'correlation does not imply causation' -- which is true, but the correlation is pretty good. We move less now, we're fatter now.
Okay so, before I move on, I want to say I'm not trying to debate whether diet is important or not, so please no debates in this area, but back to my original point. I want to figure out what exercise(s) I can do both cardio and strength training (although I don't have any equipment) that I can use to lose bodyfat. I sit around all day on my computer, and I think that's the primary reason my weight goes up. Does anyone know of good exercises (and yes I know I will have to work up to the intensity) that would lose body fat without causing a drastic change in my diet?
Thanks for reading.
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Replies
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ultimately it will always come down to calories.
You cannot out train, out exercise a poor diet.
You will only burn so many calories during exercise.....and then if doing weight lifting, you will only burn so many calories for muscle repair and development.
None of which will be enough to compensate for 1000 calories more than you need daily.0 -
There are certainly exercises that will burn more calories than others. Look under the exercise tab and play around with the exercises that are listed there and play around with the minutes for each. I think you are absolutely right when you say we move less now and weigh more, but I did hear an interesting story on NPR about how it is theorized that the reason kids are bigger now is that we overuse antibiotics. Animals raised for food are given antibiotics to "beef them up" and we prescribe antibiotics at a drop of the hat for babies and toddlers these days. The scientists also theorized that antibiotics are responsible for all the peanut allergies you hear about nowadays. Anyway I digress. But yes, look at the calories burned on the exercises, find an exercise you love that hopefully burns a lot of calories and work it into your day.0
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Assuming you are not eating more than your body requires to maintain then any extra exercise you add into the mix will create a deficit and therefore fat loss. Even an extra walk at lunchtime.0
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Of course not! You can burn 600 calories in an hour of exercise and eat 600 calories in a few minutes.would like to know how to lose bodyfat primarily through exercise (strength training and/or cardio) if possible irrespective of diet.
No - the primary reason is because you are in a calorie surplus. I sit at a computer all day too but I'm not in a calorie surplus so I maintain my weight.I sit around all day on my computer, and I think that's the primary reason my weight goes up
Exercise is great but unless you find the balance between input and output you are doomed to failure.
Yes you can get fitter and stronger for sure but unless your aim is to be fit, strong but get bigger every year then you had better find a way to control your calories in. Doesn't have to be calorie counting directly as there are different technicques to achieve an appropriate calorie intake (meal timing, intermittent fasting, eating off smaller plates etc!).0 -
The only way I can think of that that MIGHT work would be with a combination of CLA and appetite suppressants, but MFP doesn't advocate supplements....0
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No - the primary reason is because you are in a calorie surplus. I sit at a computer all day too but I'm not in a calorie surplus so I maintain my weight.
The reason I'm in a calorie surplus is primarily because I don't move. And in fact I maintain my weight as well, it just happens to be 220lbs ;-)0 -
I've gained weight while exercising daily. Unfortunately, it comes down to the choices that go into your mouth.0
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Think about it, 50 years ago, tv wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now, sure you had some solid tv watchers but it was a lot less. We didn't have internet until the 1990's. Video games were mostly for kids and teenagers in the late 70's to early 80's. The home systems were primarily atari 2600 pre-1985 and then the NES from 1985 onward. Kids used to play outside more, and even still did when the consoles were here. But now we have the internet, we have on demand tv, we have 3 consoles, that ADULTS are now playing to all hours. This is not to mention things that make our lives a little more lazy. Remote controls, wireless input devices, things like dishwashers and clothes washing machines (yeah I know from the 1940's-50's etc), microwaves, etc.
We do move less, yes. That is correct.
And since people can sit more, and have food near by and keep munching....then of course they will get fatter.
If you get up and move more, than you will be eating less....due to the fact you are doing something other than stuffing food in your mouth.
I have a sedentary job (I/T).....I work out 5 days a week...some where between 1 - 2 hrs....weight lifting.
Right now, I maintain my weight on ~3500 calories.
So since I don't move as much as I once did....as long as I stay around that number, I will not put on weight.....
So the fact that we are sitting more, or are more sedentary does not mean we are getting fat due to that.
We are getting fat cause we are putting more in our mouth, when we do sit.
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I'm not considering eating non-stop junk food. How about those people that eat whatever they want never diet but never put on weight? There are people like this. The fact is a lot of them just move more. They've always been athletes, or worked out with weights since high school or whatever. In fact half of the success stories in fitness and bodybuilding are from people who were always fit in some way, and just let themselves go, but then they're able to get back in shape easier than I do.0
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I'm not considering eating non-stop junk food. How about those people that eat whatever they want never diet but never put on weight? There are people like this. The fact is a lot of them just move more. They've always been athletes, or worked out with weights since high school or whatever. In fact half of the success stories in fitness and bodybuilding are from people who were always fit in some way, and just let themselves go, but then they're able to get back in shape easier than I do.
Then they have a high metabolism.
They can still get fat, if they eat more than they need.....
They just haven't gotten to that point, for whatever reason....
Some would say I am one of "those" people....but I assure you....
Give me a pan of brownies or home made chocolate chip cookies....I will put on weight.
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Think about it, 50 years ago, tv wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now, sure you had some solid tv watchers but it was a lot less. We didn't have internet until the 1990's. Video games were mostly for kids and teenagers in the late 70's to early 80's. The home systems were primarily atari 2600 pre-1985 and then the NES from 1985 onward. Kids used to play outside more, and even still did when the consoles were here. But now we have the internet, we have on demand tv, we have 3 consoles, that ADULTS are now playing to all hours. This is not to mention things that make our lives a little more lazy. Remote controls, wireless input devices, things like dishwashers and clothes washing machines (yeah I know from the 1940's-50's etc), microwaves, etc.
We do move less, yes. That is correct.
And since people can sit more, and have food near by and keep munching....then of course they will get fatter.
If you get up and move more, than you will be eating less....due to the fact you are doing something other than stuffing food in your mouth.
I have a sedentary job (I/T).....I work out 5 days a week...some where between 1 - 2 hrs....weight lifting.
Right now, I maintain my weight on ~3500 calories.
Well there you go :-) I need to figure out what combination of exercises would allow me to maintain a lower weight at higher calories.
I didn't stop because counting calories didn't work, I stopped because it was annoying tracking everything you ate and making sure you kept it within this narrow window (for me). They say after while you work it into your lifestyle and have a pretty good idea what you can eat and not eat, but after 6 months this didn't work with me. So within 2 years I gained it all back and was not any wiser with my food choices than I was before.0 -
The best exercise is practicing portion control. That will have you losing fat like nothing else can.0
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I'm not considering eating non-stop junk food. How about those people that eat whatever they want never diet but never put on weight? There are people like this. The fact is a lot of them just move more. They've always been athletes, or worked out with weights since high school or whatever. In fact half of the success stories in fitness and bodybuilding are from people who were always fit in some way, and just let themselves go, but then they're able to get back in shape easier than I do.
Then they have a high metabolism.
They can still get fat, if they eat more than they need.....
They just haven't gotten to that point, for whatever reason....
Some would say I am one of "those" people....but I assure you....
Give me a pan of brownies or home made chocolate chip cookies....I will put on weight.
I'm also looking at your profile pic -- while you may not want the extra weight, that will hardly make you overweight unless you do it every day non-stop -- or at least by looking at the pic I don't really believe you (I do it's just based on the pic alone one would tend not to believe it)
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No - the primary reason is because you are in a calorie surplus. I sit at a computer all day too but I'm not in a calorie surplus so I maintain my weight.
The reason I'm in a calorie surplus is primarily because I don't move. And in fact I maintain my weight as well, it just happens to be 220lbs ;-)
So if you are at maintenance you only have to make a small change to tip the balance. Apart from exercise remember "activity", just swapping a car or train journey for walking or cycling may tip the balance. Example - I walk the stairs to my office, 6 flights up/down. Do that 4 times a day, 5 times a week is a nice additional calorie burn. I walk or cycle to the station daily, not far but it adds up to ten miles a week, every week.
But (and this is a big but!) most people compensate for additional exercise/activity by eating more. So the big but leads to a big butt!!
I stayed fat for 20 years despite being very fit and getting loads of exercise. It's only when I controlled my intake I could get rid of the fat. Remember jaw muscles are the strongest muscles in the body.
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I always felt it was possible to lose weight with just exercise and I have had some limited success doing that. A few years ago I did a 5x/week boot camp with a long bike ride on Saturday and lost about 15 pounds and got a lot stronger. I ate healthy too but didn't count calories etc. so I had plenty of cheese and other favorites in whatever quantity I desired. The basic problem is this level of activity is probably not sustainable for most people and over time I resumed my 2-3 pound a year weight increase. I've come to realize that diet (i.e. eating good food in the right proportion) is the far more sensible and sustainable way to lose (and maintain) weight. Exercise remains an important part of a healthy lifestyle but proper weight maintenance starts with eating the food your body needs in the right quantity. If you do that any weight issue will take care of itself.0
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If you were to start exercising more and maintained your current eating level, technically that would be enough to lose fat. However, unless you track your intake, it's likely that you'll end up eating more as exercising tends to make folks hungry so you'll continue to maintain if not gain. So ultimately, the only way to be certain would be to continue tracking.
Maybe you could give yourself a little leeway if the calories seem too restrictive? Not sure what your current goals are but say you're set to lose 2 pounds per week...try 1 or 1.5 pound(s) per week instead as this will give you more calories. Logging exercise also gives you more calories but be cautious about those numbers as many are overestimates. Try only eating back about half at first.0 -
So, here is an option, Lift heavy to build muscle and focus on Macros instead of calories. You could also check out the Paleo diet and give that a shot, as long as you limit nuts, you really can eat almost as much as you want without counting calories.
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Why so specifically body fat? Calories out > calories in = weight loss. Any form of training can help to achieve this.
Body specific fat burning exercises? Pretty much any muscle building exercise. So bicep curls will help to burn belly fat for example. Also long distance running. You will inevitably burn fat from doing this.0 -
MinnieInMaine wrote: »If you were to start exercising more and maintained your current eating level, technically that would be enough to lose fat. However, unless you track your intake, it's likely that you'll end up eating more as exercising tends to make folks hungry so you'll continue to maintain if not gain. So ultimately, the only way to be certain would be to continue tracking.
Maybe you could give yourself a little leeway if the calories seem too restrictive? Not sure what your current goals are but say you're set to lose 2 pounds per week...try 1 or 1.5 pound(s) per week instead as this will give you more calories. Logging exercise also gives you more calories but be cautious about those numbers as many are overestimates. Try only eating back about half at first.
I try not to eat back anything I exercise off -- I'm nowhere near as active as that :-)
My TDEE according to alot of calculators is actually around 2200kcal and I've set my goal to 1700 (I usually add in 100 calories to what I actually consume, to cover stuff like sugar and milk in my coffee and anything extra I happen to miss, this seems to work well enough), so really I only count 1600 calories eaten -- that is my goal is usually 1600 calories, then the 100 overage is taken care of, for a total of 1700 -- this should yield 1 lbs a week. We'll have to see next week if i'm at 218.8 instead of 219.8 ;-)
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You could increase your burn considerably and end up losing weight if exercising doesn't cause you to eat more than you did before. Maybe try the generic portion control option without having to count calories? Give it a go for a few weeks and see if it works for you.0
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Why so specifically body fat? Calories out > calories in = weight loss. Any form of training can help to achieve this.
Body specific fat burning exercises? Pretty much any muscle building exercise. So bicep curls will help to burn belly fat for example. Also long distance running. You will inevitably burn fat from doing this.
I tend to use losing weight/losing body fat interchangeably since really when you want to lose weight you really want to lose the fat. I guess I'm not concerned with losing muscle mass as I haven't got any to speak of (or not particularly even if I did I can't see it because of the fat :-) )0 -
Several people are recommending the portion control route, so I might do that in conjunction with exercises that tend to burn more. I still hear running will burn a lot. Need to work up to that myself, but I'm still thinking of doing it.0
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Many people don't enjoy counting calories, which is why so many fad diets and diet programs exist. Some like weight watchers just substitute points, and you're still counting and logging. Others like Atkins and Paleo try to restrict foods that many people over eat and/or are calorie dense.
I find diets that restrict foods difficult to follow, but you could definitely try swapping out some of your "normal snacks" (sorry, I don't think you actually said what you typically eat) with veggies or maybe a serving of potatoes for a serving or two of veggies. Many of the diets I mentioned above give a freebie to veggies because (depending on how you prepare them) they are relatively low calorie for a high volume of food. Essentially you can fill up on fewer calories.
For some people, eating intuitively works. They try to only eat when hungry, etc, but for a lot of other people, we're on this site because following our hunger cues got us overweight. Since you did lose weight with fewer calories, you should have a good idea of what correct portions are and what 1700 calories in a day looks like. You could try emulating that and see what happens for a month. Then, reassess after you look at what your weight does.
But, I agree. I added in weight lifting and walking, and I started to be a lot more hungry. I get to eat more food because I've greatly increased my daily burn, but if I added in the exercise without calculating my new TDEE and limiting myself to my new calorie goal, I likely would have gained weight.
Also, when first adding in exercise, you can often gain weight, so take a few pound gain with a grain of salt. My doctor actually suggested I not workout when I first started to lose because seeing the scale go up (usually do to increases in cortisol and water retention due to muscle repair) can be so disheartening for people that they give up before really even starting.0 -
What worked for me was counting calories very accurately while I was losing weight. Once I got to my goal weight, I am able to just "ballpark" my estimates in my head. I am still counting, but only in my head. Counting calories for a few months really helps you learn portion sizes and calorie counts.0
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You cant outtrain a bad diet.0
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there are 4 videos in this series. They are easy to find once you paste in this first link. They are a pretty good representation of why you can't outtrain a bad diet. I will also note that exercise is primarily good for: (a) losing water weight; (b) re-composing your body; and (c) improving your cardiovascular health. Exercise is not great for fat loss when you're not at a caloric deficit. Fat loss comes from caloric deficit and that's why the nutrition side of it is super important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbuzsY_34Q 0 -
Wait - so the 3 minutes it takes in a day to count calories is more effort than the 2-3 hours a day it will take to exercise off your bad diet?0
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Just spend every waking minute working out and you might burn more calories than you could possibly consume -- but remember you would have to run a marathon to burn 2900 calories which is equivalent to eating 674 M&M's -- so stop reading this and get moving!0
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Everyone keeps saying you can't out-train a bad diet as if it's automatically assumed the diet will be bad. One can out-train a good diet that has no calorie counting. If he is aware of how much he usually eats and makes effort not to eat more than he does he will eventually lose weight if he includes some good burns into his routine.
Calorie counting has been fantastic for me. I do not find logging annoying, but we have to accept that some people do. As long as he burns more than he consumes, it does not matter which method he uses to get there.0 -
Wait - so the 3 minutes it takes in a day to count calories is more effort than the 2-3 hours a day it will take to exercise off your bad diet?
I'm in no way advocating a bad diet.
There are some forms of exercise I enjoy doing, or at least that don't seem like work.
To say it only take 3 minutes a day to count calories isn't the whole picture. For one thing you don't do it once, although I suppose if I could remember what I ate that day at the end, it would work. (Shouldn't be too hard, but sometimes you over look some snacks, as well as having to remember exactly the portions you ate, and specifically what you added, did I have half a tablespoon of mayo and a teaspoon of ketchup or was it just one full tablespoon of mayo.) For another thing you're going okay, so what do I have left to eat, 1200 calories, okay that's two 600 calorie meals (lunch and dinner), but wait I'm having that 800 calorie dinner, so that leaves 400 for lunch, okay, so lunch comes around but you forgot to add in that soda (no comments about cutting out soda), so now you can't eat that 800 calorie dinner, you have to make it a 600 calorie dinner again.
It's most likely I'm doing it all wrong, yeah say what you want about pre-planning and pre-making your meals but now you've turned a 3 minute chore into 30 minutes, and then you spent a whole half a day at the beginning of the week pre-cooking some of your meals.
So you may be condescending if you want, I'll continue to look for the exercises that burn more so I don't have to restrict myself to just all-you-can-eat brocolli and a 4 oz steak (4 ounces of steak, HAH!)0
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