keto and exercise (or not!)

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Hello! Curious about how many of you are losing without actually going to the gym/doing a "workout"? Reluctant to renew my membership (time and money issues) but can manage a 45 minute walk with the dog 4 days/week + one 90 minute yoga session......I was doing LC all summer and it was flying off but was also pretty active. Thoughts?
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  • justbreathesrw28
    justbreathesrw28 Posts: 39 Member
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    I was wondering the same thing. Wasn't sure if you were supposed to when you first start. I'm 4 days in on Atkins phase 1 and have been doing light cardio on an eliptical for 30min/day. Does that mess with your keto? Should I hold off??
  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
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    I have RA so my workouts are not consistent at all. I mostly do Barre3 or take walks. Some weeks I don't do anything at all. I might lose faster if I worked out harder but I've still been losing so it's ok!
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
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    40 lbs down with no exercise.. Just keto diet
  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
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    I was wondering the same thing. Wasn't sure if you were supposed to when you first start. I'm 4 days in on Atkins phase 1 and have been doing light cardio on an eliptical for 30min/day. Does that mess with your keto? Should I hold off??

    It's fine to exercise. I've read intense exercise can actually get you into ketosis faster. Some people don't feel like exercising the first week or two but if you feel good go for it!

  • cottagegirl71
    cottagegirl71 Posts: 167 Member
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    the thing is.....I hate "exercising"! Haha - I admit it :)
  • pippacorcoran
    pippacorcoran Posts: 59 Member
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    I bought a cross trainer for 70 pound . It's in my living room in front of the tv so I can exercise and watch my fave tv shows while my baby naps (after my housework is done) (the voice) and also I love challenges!! I currently am doing 3 challenges , plank challenge, squat challenge and abs for beginners (fit to fat app is amazing!!)

    The challenges tend to keep me motivated! And it makes me enjoy exercising more :)

    But to answer your question if you exercise this mfp app says you can then eat extra cals and carbs!

    And also it prevents loose skin! This diet can help you lose weight fast so loose skin is a concern for me :)
  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
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    If you hate exercise, there's a pretty good book for you:
    No Sweat

    Basically tells you had to motivate yourself to get the innumerable health benefits of exercise without beating yourself up about it.
  • Couchpotato39
    Couchpotato39 Posts: 691 Member
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    I didn't exercise at all the first month. Now I mainly lift weights a couple of times a week and do Zumba one day a week. I also try to hit 10,000 steps 5X's per week and weather permitting try to hike one day out of the weekend. In terms of weight loss, you don't need to exercise but it does help in toning, cardiovascular health and makes me feel better in general. Do what works for you!
  • cottagegirl71
    cottagegirl71 Posts: 167 Member
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    thanks - love hearing what is working for everyone else!
  • Smoked33
    Smoked33 Posts: 186 Member
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    I look at it this way. If I'm using my fat as fuel, the more fuel I use, the more fat I burn! So as exercise requires fuel, I will and have burned more fat by adding exercise. Walks are good but if you could up that to a jog you'll likely have better results. I do all my workouts either in the basement or outdoors..no gym membership required. There are great home video options for working out...(p90x for example I've done)... youtube stuff for free...get some resistance bands or some weights and encorporate resistance training if you don't like treadmills or recumbant bikes. There are so many easy ways to get moving and it can only help your weight loss...on top of all the other benefits to your overall health.
  • bluefish86
    bluefish86 Posts: 842 Member
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    I stumbled across this website and thought it might be of interest: LC-Triathlete

    It has some really great studies linked, as well as his own anecdotes about being low carb and doing endurance exercise.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Hello! Curious about how many of you are losing without actually going to the gym/doing a "workout"? Reluctant to renew my membership (time and money issues) but can manage a 45 minute walk with the dog 4 days/week + one 90 minute yoga session......I was doing LC all summer and it was flying off but was also pretty active. Thoughts?

    Weight loss happens primarily in the kitchen. Or, as the saying goes -- you can't outrun a bad diet.

    Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit. It does, however, increase overall health (which can indirectly contribute to weight loss, but generally only marginally). So, the important thing is that you're being active and doing what works for you and helps you reach your health/fitness goals that aren't necessarily weight-related.. If that's a 45 minute walk and a yoga session, then that's what it is.

    A lot of people work activity into their everyday lives, without specifically going to work out. Hauling a bunch of dirt and mulch for your garden, for example, is hard work and counts as a "workout," even though it's not in a gym.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I am ridiculously inactive. I started in May averaging 3000 steps a day. Made it a goal to double that starting in August. I did well with that through September, then slowly got right back to averaging 3500 currently. I just walked. That's all. Tried some resistance training off and on for a week or two just using cords at home, but not enough to have mattered. I also had many days over the summer that I did very hard physical work while remodeling my Dads house. Those days and preceding days were major. I felt them a week later! So that's literally all I've done.
    Lost almost 30 of my 39 pounds. I'm 8 months in. But I actually weigh the exact same right now as I did in October, so... It's time for me to add more activity for sure. I do believe exercise should be done with the focus on health and not weight loss. If your desire to lose weight is for better health, exercise just makes sense. But I also think walking your dog everyday counts as long as it's a good 20-30 minutes at a brisk pace.
    Sadly, I've been paying gym fees this whole time. :( yeah... I know. One battle at a time. Lol
  • Smoked33
    Smoked33 Posts: 186 Member
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    Dragonwolf wrote: »

    Weight loss happens primarily in the kitchen. Or, as the saying goes -- you can't outrun a bad diet.

    Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit. It does, however, increase overall health (which can indirectly contribute to weight loss, but generally only marginally). So, the important thing is that you're being active and doing what works for you and helps you reach your health/fitness goals that aren't necessarily weight-related.. If that's a 45 minute walk and a yoga session, then that's what it is.

    Respectfully I completely disagree with this(focusing on the bolded part), especially on keto. While I agree you can't outrun a bad diet, that statement is moot here since the 'diet' in question is keto, and as such you don't need to increase your food intake to fuel the workouts. Given these points you're increasing your energy expenditure which will cause you to burn more fat as fuel.

    While you don't have to exercise to lose weight...it will help with the cause(accepting that weight loss is not linear so it's not run x miles = lose x lbs).
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Smoked33 wrote: »
    Dragonwolf wrote: »

    Weight loss happens primarily in the kitchen. Or, as the saying goes -- you can't outrun a bad diet.

    Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit. It does, however, increase overall health (which can indirectly contribute to weight loss, but generally only marginally). So, the important thing is that you're being active and doing what works for you and helps you reach your health/fitness goals that aren't necessarily weight-related.. If that's a 45 minute walk and a yoga session, then that's what it is.

    Respectfully I completely disagree with this(focusing on the bolded part), especially on keto. While I agree you can't outrun a bad diet, that statement is moot here since the 'diet' in question is keto, and as such you don't need to increase your food intake to fuel the workouts. Given these points you're increasing your energy expenditure which will cause you to burn more fat as fuel.

    While you don't have to exercise to lose weight...it will help with the cause(accepting that weight loss is not linear so it's not run x miles = lose x lbs).

    I thought that's what she meant... Could be mistaken... Though I don't think so.

    "Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit."
  • wabmester
    wabmester Posts: 2,748 Member
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    My favorite studies are dose-response studies. You know, like varying carb intake and measuring the effects.

    Here's a dose-response study of exercise:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762482/

    With regard to body weight, we found that even without changes in diet, 73% of our overweight or mildly obese subjects were able to prevent weight gain or experience modest weight loss with 180 min of moderate-intensity exercise each week (29). Moderate amounts of exercise also led to significant loss of total body fat mass (Figure 1). More activity (the high-amount group) resulted in greater weight loss, fat loss, and reductions in measures of central obesity

    Personally, I don't exercise for weight loss, but it might help. Some people appear to be more exercise-sensitive than others.

    It definitely helps in terms of body composition, strength, endurance, heart rate, circulation to tissues, HDL, and other health markers.
  • Smoked33
    Smoked33 Posts: 186 Member
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    I thought that's what she meant... Could be mistaken... Though I don't think so.

    "Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit."

    Apologies @Dragonwolf. I completely missed that critical NOT in your sentence. I was multi-tasking when I read your reply and didn't see it.
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
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    It was my goal this month to start exercising, but it hasn't happened yet. As others have mentioned, I've read a number of quality studies that suggest that exercise provides minimal weight loss benefits, so it hasn't been a top priority for me in that regard. I've lost 23lbs in the last month and probably about 5 lbs in the three weeks before that (I didn't step on the scale).

    My exercise objective is to reduce my insulin usage even further, which in turn will help my weight loss, more so than the actual exercise alone. On a ketogenic diet, I've reduced my insulin use by 90%. I was at 30-35 grams of carbs a day at the beginning of the month and reduced to less than 20 grams the first week of January and haven't had a further drop in blood sugar levels yet, so haven't been able to reduce insulin any further. But I'm confident that some daily exercise will help me kick the last 10% as I have successfully reduced my insulin in the past with exercise, with no changes to diet at the time.
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
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    wabmester wrote: »
    If you hate exercise, there's a pretty good book for you:
    No Sweat

    Basically tells you had to motivate yourself to get the innumerable health benefits of exercise without beating yourself up about it.


    Thanks for sharing I will look into this book!
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    edited January 2016
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    wabmester wrote: »
    My favorite studies are dose-response studies. You know, like varying carb intake and measuring the effects.

    Here's a dose-response study of exercise:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762482/

    With regard to body weight, we found that even without changes in diet, 73% of our overweight or mildly obese subjects were able to prevent weight gain or experience modest weight loss with 180 min of moderate-intensity exercise each week (29). Moderate amounts of exercise also led to significant loss of total body fat mass (Figure 1). More activity (the high-amount group) resulted in greater weight loss, fat loss, and reductions in measures of central obesity

    Personally, I don't exercise for weight loss, but it might help. Some people appear to be more exercise-sensitive than others.

    It definitely helps in terms of body composition, strength, endurance, heart rate, circulation to tissues, HDL, and other health markers.

    Assuming the "without changes in diet" part includes no increase in food intake, then the people losing weight were probably eating at maintenance levels, so the increase in activity allowed them to drop some weight. I didn't say it was completely moot -- exercising still burns calories, so if you're not making up those calories, you will either lose weight if you weren't over-eating, slow/stop gaining if you were, or lose a little more weight if you were already at a deficit.

    However, it's the "20" part of the 80/20 rule when it comes to weight loss. Dietary changes, even if they're tweaks in an already good diet, will generally get you farther with less effort than trying to exercise your way to a given deficit. Because of its relatively small effects, it's better, in my opinion, to exercise for purposes of non-scale goals (health, strength, etc) than the scale ones, because that's where exercise shines.
    Smoked33 wrote: »

    I thought that's what she meant... Could be mistaken... Though I don't think so.

    "Exercise doesn't really contribute to weight loss unless you're not increasing your food intake to fuel those workouts, in which case, it's only doing so because it increases the deficit."

    Apologies @Dragonwolf. I completely missed that critical NOT in your sentence. I was multi-tasking when I read your reply and didn't see it.

    No worries. :)

    And yeah, it was my point that it won't hurt to do so, but you don't have to exercise to lose weight if you don't want to or can't. (We could also go into the other effects that result in the scale slowing or stopping the downward trend when exercise is introduced or utilized, but that's a whole different can of worms. ;) ).