Diet vs Exercise

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  • Bocch
    Bocch Posts: 191 Member
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    My2 cents: In my opinion, start the diet and do the walk. Try to follow the MFP recommendations for your daily intake of food. Remember, a piece of cake is not good calories. Good "healthy" food will/ should satisfy you. Good healthy food will give you the energy to do a nice brisk walk. So, have your egg and toast in da morning with your coffee or tea. Feel good and satisfied and then go for that walk. After the first week of your walking challenge yourself to walk longer or faster. Enjoy the scenery. Eventually your healthy eating habits will give you the energy to do more then walking and that is what you really want. Increase your exercise challenges weekly, maybe.
    I have a sweet tooth as well. I am currently adding unsweetened apple sauce late at night. Will be adding unsweetened canned peaches, I also plan to have something to drink late as well, coffee satisfies me. I have found once you cut out the salt and the sugar you really don't miss it. But if you indulge in sweets every other day or on weekends...you might be torturing yourself unknowingly.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I too get sweet cravings after dinner. I have recently discovered protein fluff, high volume, low calorie and yummy!

    45g Casein. I use Optimum Nutrition choc/peanut butter casein powder
    20g frozen raspberries
    250ml unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    3g xanthan gum

    Put it all in a bowl and mix using a hand mixer, around 5-8 minutes. Sometimes I cant even eat it all, which is unheard of for me.

    Macros are:

    212 calories
    34g protein
    4g fat

    You can add coconut oil if you want to up the fat content, or sub the raspberries for banana for a change.
  • dfnewcombe
    dfnewcombe Posts: 94 Member
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    Focus on your diet right now- make your nutritional choices and changes things you can live with. If now is not a good time to commit to an exercise program than just look for opportunities to increase your activity. Choose a further parking spot, take the stairs, run in place while you are watching the microwave heat up your 1 minute whatever. Have 20 minutes? Throw on a pair of comfortable shoes and go for a walk- if you don't have a circle- walk in one direction for 10 minutes and turn around. Don't worry about pace, but soon you will see that you have reached a further distance in the 10 minutes. Ask around, have a friend join you for a walk. Think outside the box- we had a health/fitness challenge at work a year or so ago- you scored points for doing activities for a period of time. People were vacuuming more often, gardening, going for group walks, and one even started fly fishing. The points were the gauge of success- the challenge was just a way of getting people to look at ways they could improve their diet and increase activity.

    I think we can (or I do) begin obsessing over the food aspect, when can I eat, how much, will that work with what I have already had..... and the activity is just a nice break from that. You will notice the increase in energy that you feel soon! Best of luck with your progress remembering always that it is not linear.
  • Inzie2016
    Inzie2016 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks everyone! Yea I'm getting used to tracking everything, I still slip up here and there! I also have a job where I sit at a computer so I try to get up and go outside for a walk during the day " when it's not 100 degrees outside" lol but I am trying to walk a lot more.
  • Charabz69
    Charabz69 Posts: 52 Member
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    I exercise every day and I would say I eat quite healthily but I find when I rely on exercise alone and don't use the MFP, the weight creeps back on, so I reckon that it is definitely more important to get your diet in check first, Good Luck!
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,006 Member
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    I started my weight loss journey at age 60, on my birthday. I was not in a hurry to lose; after all, I'd been overweight for 40 years! But I lost 50 pounds before my 61st birthday and a total of 100 by my 62nd. I've heard most of my life that at that age, it could not be done, I would need surgery, I would need pills, I would need some diet club, and I had to exercise. Over the next two years, I lost 23 more pounds, bring my weight to 113 - 115 pounds.

    Well, I thought I was real smart, because I thought to exercise only once; still the weight came off.

    NOT smart!


    I became weak. I am still weak. Like a 99-year-old woman. I am having to start from the very bottom, trying to build up strength.

    Don't do this to yourself! I suggest that you exercise to keep up your strength and to build strength. Forget exercising to use up calories. Exercise to prevent the weakness I have to deal with daily!

    Very well said. As we age it is critical to keep our muscles in tune. Otherwise we get frail & weak & what good is that>>>
  • Debster634
    Debster634 Posts: 53 Member
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    mom22dogs wrote: »
    I did it the opposite than most who have posted. I started working out first, to get into the habit of it. I started to feel better, and about 4-5 mos later, I wanted to start losing weight, so I started watching what I ate. To me, it's harder to get into the habit of working out than it is to watch what you eat, so I attacked that first.

    Me too. Just counting calories doesn't work for me. I started by committing to a class that I signed up for, so had to go and then a month later started biking every Sunday with some other ladies (love biking) and put in a walk or a swim when I can and lift weights at home. For me, I fee so much better when I'm exercising, and it helps me control my calories because I don't want to undo the benefits of my exercising. It also seems to reduce my cravings for sweets and salt. Exercising by yourself can be lonely, so I would suggest finding others to do something with and joining a class of some kind. Take measurements every 3 weeks and weigh yourself once a week only.
    I have a ways to go yet, but seeing some results in measurements and clothes fitting better is encouraging. We are all different so find what works for you. You go girl!
  • AJF230
    AJF230 Posts: 81 Member
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    Your best exercise is doing less of a particular motion...bending your arm to your mouth! If your basic burn each day is, say 2000 calories just to stay alive, that's like walking 15-20 miles! For like 3 years I went to a gym near my house, I could walk there, I exercised while I was there, I walked home. I went every 2 days. I didn't lose a dang pound. I also didn't gain any weight. I just didn't want to believe that my most important impact was at the dinner table.
    Now, exercise is really important to do. For all the reasons noted above. But the updated wisdom is that being sedentary all day and then trying to undo that with 30 minutes of exercise is not too effective. Incorporating movement and exercise ALL DAY is key. I bought an old treadmill and keep it under my standing desk, and use it 1-2 miles per day. No faster than 1.2 MPH, usually around 1MPH. I read an article about a woman who used her company's treadmill desk and got all sweaty and tried to do 10 miles in a day. Not the intention. Also, just having a standing desk area keeps you in motion. Sit as little as possible.