Dieting vs. Exercise vs. Dieting and Exercise

JoshKevCaron
JoshKevCaron Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just want to hear the communities opinion on these three options.

I personally have always been a fan of dieting and exercise but this time around in doing a lot less exercise as my current gym is a 30 minute bus ride away and I don't have the time to bus there and back and keep up with the chores around the house.

I also don't see it as dieting as I eat what I like as long as I am within my calorie goal. I've always seen success like this but I feel like I always took on more than I can handle so I've yoyod a lot. I want to lose weight slowly but surely. It's a marathon not a sprint.

Sidebar,

Where can I buy a cheap food scale? My Walmart doesn't carry them...
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Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Amazon
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I have to look at exercise as a lifestyle change. I've yo-yo dieted in the past. Lost weight - stopped exercise - gained it back, repeat.

    Now, I look at exercise as a tool to improve my health and help keep the weight off in the future.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    If you are asking which way I prefer to create a deficit when wanting to lose weight: diet alone, exercise alone or a combination of diet and exercise then I prefer the combination approach.

    A little more food than the diet only approach but less time spent away from my family than the exercise only approach.
  • emmaprocopiou
    emmaprocopiou Posts: 246 Member
    I count calories obvs as I'm here.
    I try my best to stay around my weekly/ daily goal and I do excersise.
    However my exercise doesn't mean I go to the gym , I walk . It does mean that I can eat more if I need to I'm on 1200 cals (im small
  • emmaprocopiou
    emmaprocopiou Posts: 246 Member
    Arrgh stupid app didn't post the rest
    Short version - I watch cals to lose weight , I excersise for health but it also allows me to eat a bit more.
    Shouldn't matter how you get excersise just move more and reap the benefits
  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
    Diet alone is all that is needed for weight loss. Exercise helps with body composition. I prefer how I look when I'm exercising regularly in addition to cutting calories, but sometimes if I am low on time or sleep (due to kids, not due to bedtime or staying up late to have fun), exercise may drop off for a while. I'm trying to stay true to the meal plan, though. This extra weight I've been toting around for 18 years has to go.
  • LoveEpifanie
    LoveEpifanie Posts: 37 Member
    I look at diet as being the main weight loss tool and exercise is just an extra aid to diet. If someone were only to change one thing in order to lose weight, I would suggest they change their diet.

    I bought my food scale on Amazon, it was pretty cheap.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    I am in the minority, I guess, but prefer to exercise more, rather than eating less, or for gaining eat more and still exercise a lot. I've only ever had to make small adjustments (weight - wise) though.
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
    I tend to exercise more when I'm maintaining. It's hard to lift (progressively) on a deficit
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I diet when I get too fat, which I do every few years because I really love to eat, drink and be merry.
    I exercise whether I'm dieting or not because I believe it's extremely rare for a person to remain healthy without regular exercise, and because I get to eat more when I'm active.

    So if I'm losing weight it's always diet and exercise.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    While I didn't regularly exercise until I was also trying to lose weight, I now currently keep them separate in my mind. By that I mean that I exercise for fun and enjoyment, to improve my health and appearance, and to get/remain strong. When I want to lose fat, I cut calories to achieve a calorie deficit. I don't try to create or deepen a deficit by exercising more.

    Is that what you were asking?

    I'm also one to keep my focus on my calorie goals for the day, not on excersize. No one gains weight by eating less calories than they need per day. So I calculate what my maintenance calories would be if I were at my goal weight and I never eat more calories than that number. With this approach I have the peace of mind knowing that even if it takes a while, I will reach that goal. Plus that, I have nothing else but staying a few hundred calories below the goal weight maintenance calories number to worry about. If I excersize a bit, not a big deal. If I eat more one day, no big deal. As long as I am staying under goal weight maintenance number.



  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I go walking a lot for exercise, but it's not just for weight loss, it's to build up my fitness and health. I want to be able to walk up 18 floors of stairs eventually so I don't have to use the lift as I'm claustrophobic. I'm up to walking up 9 floors now, so am definitely feeling the benefit.
  • Montepulciano
    Montepulciano Posts: 845 Member
    Can not outrun a bad died...or out lift, or out swim...or what ever do you doing exercise wise. Only way to lose weight is to have a calorie deficit. Having said that I work out regularly either with walks or in the pool. I like how I feel working out, so at the end of the day, for me, I would say both.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    I didn't start exercising until I lost all my weight.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I originally started by doing calorie counting and exercising. When I fell off the calorie counting, I kept exercising because I found a form that I really enjoy. I gained everything back because I was over eating, but now I'm back to doing both and I feel a lot better about everything.

    Cutting the calories will get the weight off, but IMO exercise will get you the body you want, so both IMO are essential, but that doesn't mean being in the gym 7 days a week. If you need something to do at home look into You Are Your Own Gym or Convict Conditioning or hit up YouTube for exercise videos. You can also subscribe to something like Daily Burn or invest in something like T25 (Beachbody workout series). Also, check out Pinterest, they have a lot of different exercise info on there.
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    I only found success losing weight when I focused on my eating habits.

    I was going to the gym three times a week last year and still gained weight. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize that no amount of cardio in the world would undo how much I was eating.

    I treat exercise as a mostly separate aspect of my journey to work on myself. I want to be strong and to be able to run. I want to have a strong figure underneath this fat when it finally disappears. I want to be able to run - and well.

    Sometimes I eat back some of my exercise calories, but rarely all of them. I use it as a bit of cushion for my noms, but mostly as a separate goal.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    I got my scale from Walmart. I ordered it online and checked the "free store pickup" option. Cost me only $12 + tax.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    I ride a bike for exercise. And go hiking. And run in my neighborhood. I got a $15 set of resistance bands to use at home.

    Only exercise makes you happy, although restricting your food is useful for weight purposes.

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