Do you have to workout daily to lose weight?
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JessicaMcB 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.
If you're concerned about armpit fat I would consider if your bra is correctly fitted or not- a small fitting bra can make armpit fat appear in people who don't actually have any. I say this because I know I was definitely wearing the wrong size at 19 as do a lot of women.
Re: the actual number I would definitely talk to your doctor. If you actually have weight you can stand to lose they'll tell you.
I'm definitely going to look into finding a better fitting bra, as my current ones have always been a little too small. Thank you for this tip and also thank you to the others who stated it as well
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Mavrick_RN wrote: »Where is your profile picture? I'm suspicious someone is trolling for some anorexia site.
I'm not trolling from an anorexia site. I never really thought to add a picture, but if I did, no one would think I looked anorexic.1 -
janejellyroll wrote: »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.
That makes sense, I do worry at times that I'll never be happy with my body. I go to my mother about this and she doesn't think I need to lose more weight, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so still seeing fat on my body makes me feel as though I still have work to do. But that's a psychological issue I'm sure, not a weight one.
Thank you for the words of advice by the way. 1 -
I think you should definitely take your families concerns seriously, you could be seeing things that other people just aren't. Another suggestion would be to stop with the weight loss and instead focus on a body recomp program and eating at maintenance.1
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Your daily calorie burn will vary with your daily activities.
You have the minimum amount of calories your body burns (BMR, basal metabolic rate) to just live. This would be as if your body was in a coma, the breathing, the heart beat, and other bodily functions. Average for your age/weight/height (according to scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) is about 1320. There are very few reasons to eat below this number if you're a healthy individual at a healthy weight.
Every time you move, even just living your life or moving around the home, you burn a little more than you would at rest. So, you need to fuel that activity.
Don't dismiss weight lifting/strength training so quickly. You don't have to give up cardio if you like doing it. Please look around on the forums (especially in success stories) for people who lift and use a program that adds weight progressively (such as the previously mentioned Stronglifts or Starting Strength.) They inspire me so much. I love seeing before and after pictures of people who haven't lost a pound (or have even gained weight) and are completely transformed over a period of months to a year and beyond. In my opinion, strength is way sexier than skinny.
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You can lose weight quite successfully without exercise. However, I believe maintainers tend to do better if they exercise regularly.0
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anyone can have skinny armpits.
how bout a killer goal like winning a SUP competion?
working out, just to workout is boring.
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violetpurdy wrote: »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.
Sounds like if you really are focused on being in the gym change that cardio to lifting. That may help you with the aesthetics you are looking for. be prepared tho...You may see an increase in weight but that may assist in the appearance that you are going for.
I do agree with the others too. You may really need to talk to someone if you are feeling obsessive.2 -
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.
Ah, then what you want is body recomposition. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
Also see The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess which was available through my library system, so perhaps yours as well.
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kshama2001 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.
Ah, then what you want is body recomposition. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
Also see The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess which was available through my library system, so perhaps yours as well.
Was going to say just this. Recomp. And also getting some help with your self perception and over-exercising. You don't need to lose any more weight, the aesthetic you want won't be achieved by doing what you are, unless that aesthetic is skeletal, in which case you most definitely need professional help and pronto.2 -
violetpurdy wrote: »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.
The bold cannot be overlooked. You need to see a therapist. The sooner the better.3 -
You don't have to work out at all to lose weight, you just need to eat less calories than you burn.
However, as an avid runner and weight lifter, I must say that working out has some wonderful benefits. 0 -
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.
Although this is true, I don't recommend losing weight without any exercise at all. I've made that mistake before in the past. The end result was bad body composition and anorexic (skinny-fat).-1 -
FeedMeFish 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.
Although this is true, I don't recommend losing weight without any exercise at all. I've made that mistake before in the past. The end result was bad body composition and anorexic (skinny-fat).
I'm not recommending it, I am acknowledging that it can be done.0 -
With what you shared about your age, weight, height etc I wouldn't worry about losing weight. Focus instead on lifting, contouring, shaping up what you have, toning, tightening. Slap a label on it then get busy doing it. Find out your TDEE, get your nutritional macros sorted out and start working with weights to start developing yourself. Frankly you are still "growing" and your body hasn't quite reached its final shape so what you might not like right now may not be there in 5 years.
If and when you transition to weight training you are going to want to do some homework- no you won't turn into HeMan, you will transition into this amazing person who has serious lifting skills. Good luck.0 -
I don't think what you need is to lose WEIGHT per say.... I think some of the unhappiness with your body could be due to the fact that you are strictly doing cardio. When you do weights, the muscle you build will be leaner than the fat, although denser. So, the number on the scale may go up, but you will end up looking smaller/leaner. Moreover, muscle burns fat, from what I understand. So, the more muscle you build, the more fat you will naturally burn. Why don't you try cutting down to doing like 3 days a week of lifting and 1-2 days of cardio? Definitely look at The New Rules of Lifting because it's fantastic.
Also - if your family is legitimately worried about you, please understand they're worried because they love you. The people commenting on this thread are worried because your weight for your height is LOW. I have a broad body frame at 5'4" and I'm shooting for 160 lbs or so. Maybe you should consider doing some more research on weight loss, consider a personal trainer/dietician, or someone that can help you to format your nutrition/exercise with your aesthetic goals. Good luck! 1 -
First off, I understand your struggle completely. I used to be a cardio bunny and strictly keep calories at a deficit just like you. I would cry when the gym closed early on holidays and freak out if I went one calorie over my daily intake. I was terrible. I was miserable, hungry and tired all the time. I had a flabby tummy but wasn't "fat". Honestly, it doesn't sound like you need to lose weight from your stats. Sounds like you should start lifting. It will give you more definition, and you won't have to do so much cardio, or eat such little amounts.
That being said, a rest day is GOOD for your body. I work out 6 x week (heavy lifting + 15 to 30-minutes of cardio) and eat anywhere from 1,400-1,600 calories per day. I've managed to gain and then maintain my weight, however my body composition is leaner than ever. Definitely give yourself a rest. Once you realize how much your body needs it and how much better you perform after a rest, you will be grateful. Also, lifting helped my fitness-OCD a lot (and home life OCD) because I realized the importance of a rest day because my body was so exhausted. My muscles really "pop" after a day of rest and good eating. Just a suggestion!0 -
If many others around you are urging you to see a therapist, and you are the only one who thinks you need to lose weight, I would definitely take their advice seriously and seek some help. Don't wait! And also, just because you have fat in certain areas, does NOT mean you have to lose weight. It may simply mean you need to do some weight/resistance training to tone those areas. You are already at the low end of "healthy", any lower and you would be considered underweight. Do not go there, its not a place you want to be.0
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Ur not even a tad bit over weight tf... And I don't think don't that amount of cardio burns that amount of calories for the weight that you are0
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Moderate eating for weight loss.
Exercise for health.
Do both.0
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