Do you have to workout daily to lose weight?

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violetpurdy
violetpurdy Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a tad obsessive, so during my 6 month journey of weight loss so far, I've probably only missed two or three workouts. I do 40 minutes daily of cardio, burning about 300ish calories. Due to that, I eat 1500 calories.

I'm find it hard to workout every single day and I'd like to drop that to 6 times a week instead. My family also suggests I go to a therapist because of my obsession with weight loss and I have a funny feeling I'll be told to tone it down, so mind as well prepare.

What's tripping me up is how much I should eat and if it's possible to still lose weight. I'm 19, 109lbs, and 5'3 if this helps. I also have moderately active days excluding workouts. Just regular steps through the day are anywhere from 5000 to 7000 for me.

If I don't workout one day a week, should I lower my calories to 1200 since I won't have the 300 exercise ones? If I still eat 1500 even on a day I didn't workout, am I still getting a great enough deficit?

I'm just confused and stressed about this all, so some support is very much needed. Do you guys workout daily?

Thank you. :)
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Replies

  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
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    Like person above. Some people lose all their weight without exercise at all. You need days to rest and muscle recovery
    Just cut back a day to start with
  • violetpurdy
    violetpurdy Posts: 39 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, you don't.

    In fact, you can lose weight without working out at all.

    Even if you like working out, your body needs days to rest and recover.

    You're approaching the bottom of a healthy weight range. Why are you eating at a deficit? What is your specific goal? It sounds like your family is worried about you and that is worth paying attention to.

    I suppose at this point I'm looking more to fix things I don't like that I still see instead of aiming for a number on the scale. For example, I have armpit fat and I want to get rid of it, so I know I still have weight to lose. That's my goal at the moment.
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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    OP:
    Your BMI is 19.3 This is the lower percentile of the healthy range.
    I second @janejellyroll and @MissusMoon. Why are you trying to lose more weight ?
  • violetpurdy
    violetpurdy Posts: 39 Member
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    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    You're 19, 5'3, and weigh 109 pounds? That puts your BMI at 19.3, at the very low end of 'normal weight', almost to underweight. I'm really concerned that you would try to cut your calories down to 1200 to lose weight.

    As to working out, you should be taking at least one or two rest days a week to let your body recover. If you don't, you're going to start breaking down, not building up. Please listen to the concerns of those close to you and take good care of your health and your body.

    Thank you for the words of advice. I'm going to try and allow myself rest days and stay with 1500 calories a day.

    This may be a stupid question, but do we burn pretty much the same amount of calories a day? Like, for example, if I'm active most days, will I still burn the same (or close) on a less active day?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,981 Member
    edited May 2016
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    What's your goal weight? MFP wouldn't let me set a goal weight for your height under 104 pounds. To lose 0.5 pound per week, it gave me 1300 calories before exercise.

    What's your frame size? http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

    If you have anything bigger than a small frame, you're already at a good weight for you and your family is right to be concerned. You can certainly take a rest day and switch to maintenance calories.


  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
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    You dont seem to have much weight to lose
  • ChampCrucial
    ChampCrucial Posts: 120 Member
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    You can workout 3-4 days a week. As long as you enjoy it do it. If you don't enjoy your workouts I would suggest finding different exercises you like. If your not ding any resistance training like bands, weights, calisthenics, yoga, trx, or anything do it.
  • ubermofish
    ubermofish Posts: 102 Member
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    violetpurdy wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, you don't.

    In fact, you can lose weight without working out at all.

    Even if you like working out, your body needs days to rest and recover.

    You're approaching the bottom of a healthy weight range. Why are you eating at a deficit? What is your specific goal? It sounds like your family is worried about you and that is worth paying attention to.

    I suppose at this point I'm looking more to fix things I don't like that I still see instead of aiming for a number on the scale. For example, I have armpit fat and I want to get rid of it, so I know I still have weight to lose. That's my goal at the moment.

    You should start lifting instead of doing cardio only, you'll see better results. Start out with something like Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength, get your form down well, and then keep adding weight.
  • violetpurdy
    violetpurdy Posts: 39 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    violetpurdy wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, you don't.

    In fact, you can lose weight without working out at all.

    Even if you like working out, your body needs days to rest and recover.

    You're approaching the bottom of a healthy weight range. Why are you eating at a deficit? What is your specific goal? It sounds like your family is worried about you and that is worth paying attention to.

    I suppose at this point I'm looking more to fix things I don't like that I still see instead of aiming for a number on the scale. For example, I have armpit fat and I want to get rid of it, so I know I still have weight to lose. That's my goal at the moment.

    Do you do any resistance training? That's going to do way more to "fix" what you don't like than losing more weight. Lots of cardio and eating at a deficit are only going to target more of your muscle. You might continue to lose weight, but you probably aren't going to like what you see in the mirror any more than you do now.

    I'm not sure what "armpit fat" is, but are you sure your expectations are realistic?

    I do a variety of push ups, if that counts. Ultimately, I want skinnier upper arms. However, I've read online before that simply lifting weights and push ups and such won't make smaller arms, just muscle under fat, which is why I'm hesitant to tone down the cardio.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    violetpurdy wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    violetpurdy wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    No, you don't.

    In fact, you can lose weight without working out at all.

    Even if you like working out, your body needs days to rest and recover.

    You're approaching the bottom of a healthy weight range. Why are you eating at a deficit? What is your specific goal? It sounds like your family is worried about you and that is worth paying attention to.

    I suppose at this point I'm looking more to fix things I don't like that I still see instead of aiming for a number on the scale. For example, I have armpit fat and I want to get rid of it, so I know I still have weight to lose. That's my goal at the moment.

    Do you do any resistance training? That's going to do way more to "fix" what you don't like than losing more weight. Lots of cardio and eating at a deficit are only going to target more of your muscle. You might continue to lose weight, but you probably aren't going to like what you see in the mirror any more than you do now.

    I'm not sure what "armpit fat" is, but are you sure your expectations are realistic?

    I do a variety of push ups, if that counts. Ultimately, I want skinnier upper arms. However, I've read online before that simply lifting weights and push ups and such won't make smaller arms, just muscle under fat, which is why I'm hesitant to tone down the cardio.

    Do you have a trusted person in your life who can help you understand if your expectations are realistic? The potential problem with saying "I'm going to lose weight until I'm happy with my body" is that it doesn't consider if your goal is consistent with health. It's possible that your arms *are* thin, you just don't have the perspective to see that right now. This is nothing to be ashamed of -- it's really common and you wouldn't be alone in this.

    Your current weight and height make it seem unlikely that losing weight is the solution to "fixing" what you see in the mirror.
  • violetpurdy
    violetpurdy Posts: 39 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    What's your goal weight? MFP wouldn't let me set a goal weight for your height under 104 pounds. To lose 0.5 pound per week, it gave me 1300 calories before exercise.

    What's your frame size? http://www.myfooddiary.com/Resources/frame_size_calculator.asp

    If you have anything bigger than a small frame, you're already at a good weight for you and your family is right to be concerned. You can certainly take a rest day and switch to maintenance calories.


    It's saying I have a broad frame, which I'm assuming is bigger.

    I don't really have a goal weight, I just want to look thinner in certain places, such as my arms.

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