Does it work without exercise??

Fro the first two weeks on MFP, I just watched what I ate and lost 2 lbs.
Then the enablers here motivated me to exercise

sorry..double post.

:flowerforyou: Yes, it does, I just use the food diary portion. I have been in a weight loss program and working with a personal trainer, so I don't worry about the Net calories. I do note exercise days and what the general mood is, especially during stressful times. So far I have lost 72 pounds over the past year or so. This site helped me change my eating habits and general relationship to food.
Good luck and hang in there.

I'm losing weight just by following my calorie guidelines & drinking 8-9 glasses of water a day. I haven't begun any sort of exercise plan as of yet, but it sure would help tone me!:flowerforyou:

You will lose weight by limiting your calorie intake, but you will lose it more quickly and creating healthier habits for your life (that will help KEEP the weight off) if you exercise. I just started a little less than a month ago and exercise for 1/2 hr 3 times a week. (Just swimming laps at the pool, walking, cleaning house, or doing Wii Fit.) I have lost 7 lbs already! It doesn't take much. You don't have to start running or join a gym. Do what you are comfortable with and/or enjoy! Good luck!!

yes...
for first couple of months, i just ate very healthy, right up to my 1200 cal limit... and lost well

then i started adding cardio, stuggled a lil to get calories consumption of the extra calories working well for me... and doing fine again *S*

edited to add:
i actually lost more per week when i was not exercising... it seemed 1200 per day was the spot my body was realy happy and willing to release weight... but i am not sure how accurate the calories are that i am recording for the cardio (i tend to develop muscle tone easily) and am still searching for the 'sweet spot' as to how much of those exercise calories i need eat back (right now am eating 1/2 back). i am losing again now but at a lower rate.

i sure wish i had a HRM so could be more sure of my calorie burns *L*

I've lost 25lbs since November (with a 2 month break in there..) and I've exercised very few times. I need to start exercising though because, although my clothes are getting bigger on me, I want a nice flat stomach and cardio is the only way to get it.

I agree with what everyone has said. You will lose weight but will lose it faster with exercise. Like mentioned below, exercise involves a lot of different things including cleaning your home or working in the yard or playing with your kids if you have them. You can get a step counter and make your first goal to walk 5,000 steps/day building up to 10,000...just moving helps. Also, I'm sure that as you lose some weight, you are going to feel like being more active. That is what I've experienced.

Hi
I have never seen a 'homepage' for this site where it explains the ideas and methods behind the MFP site, or how to make it work for you! Have I missed it?? Presuming I haven't, I'd like to ask a question about weight loss. Is it possible to use this site without exercising and just sticking to the calories suggested? I know you wouldn't technically become fitter, but you may lose weight? I was wondering if anyone just did the calorie counting and still had good loss! Or if you had to do the exercise to see real and long term loss.. Thanks.

You should experience great weight loss. Unfortunately it will be more muscle then fat. And, weight will go back on quickly if you get off track.

Everyone has pretty much covered most of it. MFP basically considers exercise for fitness, not necessarily weight loss. MFP chose to use the Mifflin-St Jeor formula because it is generally considered more accurate. They created this site to be different from other sites for a specific reason. Most sites use Harris-Benedict and use exercise to create the deficit for weight loss, keeping the daily cal goal static.

MFP recognizes that many people cannot exercise regularly, or maybe at all, due to physical limitations or time. And many people set up an exercise plan, but as we know, that's not necessarily what actually happens every day. So they wanted to create a site that allows for weight loss, regardless of exercise. So, they set it up to use BMR + activity level. The activity level is not intended to include any purposeful exercise.

That way, if you do no exercise, you still have a built in deficit for weight loss. When you do log exercise, cals are added back in to keep that deficit stable.

Might also help to read these threads that explain how MFP works, how it gets the numbers it gives you and how metabolism works (exercise, notably strength training, WILL help metabolism).

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/237264-great-article-on-skinny-fat

i've done it without exercise up until just last week and yes, i've lost weight (the first being baby weight, but it's weight nonetheless). my weight loss has come to a halt & i think it's because i'm not exercising. i've started to use the treadmill and i'm hoping to "jumpstart" the loss again. of course, adding exercise to your routine is much healthier, but it can be done without.

I lost the first 120lbs of my 160lbs without exercise. Yes, you can do it. I was too heavy to exercise comfortably and just didn't want to. I will aslo tell you a secret. You can start out with as litle exercise as you want. I did 10 minutes of walking 3 times a day. When I got tired of doing it 3 times. I did 20 minutes and 10 minutes. then eventually i grouped it to 30 minutes all at once. I branced out from there and started lifting weights, etc. Now I workout 5 days a week, sometimes more and I really enjoy it. so start out as small as you want, no amont of exercise is uesless.