Losing Weight Through Diet Alone?

kimlee1807
kimlee1807 Posts: 10 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Is it possible to lose weight through diet alone?

I'm 20 years old and working full time in an office, working quite far from where I live so commuting takes a lot of my time and by the time I get home I'm exhausted.
I used to go to the gym quite regularly before - but I get SO anxious I could only go if it was very late, say gone Midnight, when it was either empty or almost empty - which when I was only working part time with afternoon starts was absolutely ideal, but would be a nightmare now.
I'd love to go back to the gym a couple of days a week, but the way I used to burst into tears when it was busy and not even walk in was awful. I don't know what else I can do.

I also used to be quite an active horse rider, but due to losing my horse and now riding a horse 1/2 times a month just plodding about - no facilities to do any of the faster paced/more difficult work.

I've cut right back on my eating - cutting out puddings, i've recently cut out bread and my day now consists of:

Breakfast - a bowl of cereal, depending what's in the house, but usually just a small bowl.
Lunch - 2x chicken drumsticks, some chopped up tomato and cucumber and a portion of grapes (approx 400 calories usually).
Dinner - Whatever is served on the table. I live with my other halfs family and his mum cooks the family meals; so it really is down to whatever she's serving that day - but usually a variety of healthy meals, and again - small portions.

So my daily calorie intake is restricted to approx 1200 calories a day now.
Before, I was eating a whole lot more for lunch throughout the day and after dinner would go on to have half of a cheesecake or some other type of pudding, with lots of bread and carbs which is probably where I was going on.

I've put on so much weight in the past two years... I was 8 and a half stone at 17 and am now 10st11 at 20... I'm only 5ft2 so this is overweight for my height, i've gone up a clothes size and i'm really not happy with my appearance.
Yet, I get so anxious and upset about being seen out/doing anything and so depressed I lose all motivation to actually get up and do anything. I'm too terrified to go jogging, I don't have a bike and even so the idea of cycling sounds horrific, I just don't know what to do.

I'm so inactive now but I just feel like without any exercise I'm not going to be losing any weight.

Help/advice/motivation, please? What can I do to help me lose the 2 stone I'm desperate to lose?

Thankyou

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Weight loss is all about consuming less calories than you burn - it is more about diet than exercise, so you can definitely change your weight through diet. Exercise is great for health though, so finding some way of incorporating more movement in to your life would be beneficial..

    Have you entered your stats in to MFP? The calorie goal you get for weight loss is based on your general daily activity, without exercise. Adding exercise gives you more calories. As a shorter woman, you may find that your calories to lose are quite low, or weight loss will be slow - exercising would give you some more food.

    Being accurate with your intake and logging would be a great place to start - weigh all solids, measure all liquids and log everything using accurate database entries.
  • meganpettigrew86
    meganpettigrew86 Posts: 349 Member
    There is heaps of exercises you can do from home. Many strength and core exercises only use your body weight i.e simple sit ups, planks, push ups etc. Invest in a swiss ball (can even order online) they give you a bunch more exercises. Wii fit can be addictive and has some low key cardio. If you have the room and or money buy an exercycle or tredmill, if you can get one second hand they are often alot cheaper and sometimes barely used.
    This wont cure your issues with public gyms but will fix the exercise problem!
  • ACanadian22
    ACanadian22 Posts: 377 Member
    Why not walk at lunch?? I will say that you will still lose without exercise. I lost my first 25 pounds that way. BUT, I looked less toned....
  • kelsiestoner
    kelsiestoner Posts: 78 Member
    I sent you a friend request because I am in the exact same place right now! I work all day and after a long commute home I have no energy to do anything. I'm trying to focus more on my diet because even though I have been eating fewer calories the ones I'm eating aren't the most nutritious. lol I am too anxious to go to a gym or to jog as well so I've been trying to just walk around my backyard more or up and down the stairs. Every little bit helps. People don't understand how easy it is to get into this rut at an office job!
  • EatingAndKnitting
    EatingAndKnitting Posts: 531 Member
    I lost 45 doing diet only. I only recently added in exercise, and I'm adding in exercise to increase my cardiovascular health, not to lose weight faster. The fact that it gives me more calories to eat is annoying, because I'm not hungry after I eat three meals of nutrient dense foods, I've not been eating my exercise calories, and underfueling myself. (BAD jesslla, don't do this!)

    Exercise is for health. Weight loss happens in the kitchen.

    I'm sorry for the loss of your horse too. Losing a loved animal is hard.
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
    edited October 2017
    If you couldn't tell from my username lol .... I work a desk job at a small family owned company, so I get the struggle. I got to a point were I kept gaining weight and gaining weight, but I kept convincing myself it was ok. It's only a couple LBS, no big deal. After stepping on the scale one day and realizing that the couple LBS had turned into 20+ LBS..... ughh I had to stop it before it got worse and even harder to do something about.

    Since then I have lost around 12 lbs, with 8 lbs more to go to get to pre office job weight :smile:

    Some of the things I did to lose the weight was:

    My fitbit has helped with reminders to get up as much as I can and just walk around either the cubicle area or if it's nice, I go outside and walk to perimeter of the parking lot.

    I log my calories for breakfast and lunch ahead of time to make sure that I am leaving myself with enough calories for dinner.

    I park further away from places to up my steps walked for the day

    I eat what I want, but just less

    The only real exercise I do is when I walk my little dogs. They get tired and hot pretty quick so it's usually only about a mile.

  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    I have never been a fan of taking time out of my day to workout for n minutes. Every time I would try to lose weight I would start working out and hate every minute of it so I would fail miserably and fall back into the same patterns. As soon as I found MFP I realized it's all about them calories.

    I'm a little over 60lbs down from 230lbs-168lbs and I still don't formally workout. The moment I signed up for MFP I actually cancelled my gym membership lol

    I have asthma as well. It's tough. I don't know if you've ever had a very serious asthma attack before but it's terrifying and I avoid anything that could potentially set one off.

    My plan is that when I get closer to my goal I'll up my calories and focus on toning. But for right now I'm enjoying being lazy and still losing weight. I'm a little flabby but I'll get there.
  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    Like another poster said before me, I think working out at home would fit your needs best. Invest in a few gym necessities for home workouts and start there. While I don’t have high anxiety about working out, I do get anxious when trying a new routine or going back to the gym after a few weeks or months of not going, I understand wanting to go late in the evenings. Please know that most gym goers don’t particularly care how exhausted or how much you sweat as long as you wipe afterwards if that helps at all.

    My recommendations is work on your diet first and start working out at home until your feel more comfortable going to the gym (or not).
  • msmith404040
    msmith404040 Posts: 84 Member
    edited October 2017
    I completely understand how you feel :) I have a touch of agoraphobia and find it hard to leave the house except for work, thank goodness, without anxiety, which is crazy because I'm rather outgoing in a lot of situations. I work an office desk job and a home office desk job 12 to 14 hours a day, so not a lot of spare time to work out.

    I've lost 22 pounds with counting calories, like you, at 1,200 goal since I'm short. Stick with it, it really works.

    I was walking on my treadmill at a reasonably brisk rate and eating back those calories in the beginning, but I'm not doing that anymore and still losing.

    You can do it!!
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    I am 5’1 and started at 152lbs (maybe 10stone 12?) so I totally get it...on a smaller framed person it’s a lot of weight and I would be exhausted when I got off work as well and that’s not with much of a commute either and I only live ~5 miles from work. I have lost slowly taking some breaks here and there with my calories but I’ve lost 20lbs this year and mostly due to calories being lower. I stick to around 1200. I do have an exercise bike and go through spurts of riding it daily while watching a show, but I have an office job and other than that I’m not terribly active. It’s totally doable;) I’ll friend you:)
  • nic_27_grassisgreener
    nic_27_grassisgreener Posts: 193 Member
    I believe that the majority of your effort in losing weight should come from what you're eating! "Abs are made in the kitchen!" :D

    OP, I'm sorry for what you're going through. Are you currently getting mental health treatment of any kind? I have struggled with "bursting into tears" with various activities in life myself, and I only realized recently that it could probably be helped by therapy and/or medication. Feel free to friend me
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    edited October 2017
    I can tell you I'm almost 21. Stay at home mom, and I haven't really had much time for exercise so I rarely exercised I just did diet. I've lost 28 pounds. I'm 5'4 was 158 now I'm 130. It's all about weighing your food and accurate measurements and logging!
    I also got tired of working out after a few minutes, but when your weight drops I feel as if it's a stamina boost! I also was diagnosed with anxiety months ago! You can do this!
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    laurenebargar wrote: »
    rickinnercirclebet wrote: »
    20 YEARS OLD AND EXHAUSTED? REALLY?

    Really? I'm 23 and an accounting manager, while going to school full time, trying to spend time with my husband and keeping up with my household and trying to lose weight. YES 20 years can be exhausted, just like someone in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, etc can be. Age makes literally no difference in how much one person can physically handle.
    I love this! When I worked as a nurse before I had my little one I did 16 hour work days. I don't know what age has to do with being tired lolol. I'm even tired now and I take care of my house, cook, clean, laundry, and take care of a 9 month old and a 6 year old.
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    Just to chime in with encouragement :) I'm 66, and between a severe injury and the flu last year I was almost completely sedentary for four months. I continued to lose weight as expected by eating at my sedentary calorie goal, and honestly I was prepared for a weight gain since that's what always happened pre-calorie counting. You can lose weight just fine without exercise if you are precise and honest in your logging. Hopefully as you get smaller you will feel more energetic and will want to add some more activity into your day, but it's not necessary to lose weight. Best of luck!
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
    kimlee1807 wrote: »
    rickinnercirclebet wrote: »
    20 YEARS OLD AND EXHAUSTED? REALLY?

    You are literally the reason I can't step into a gym without bursting into tears at the sight of other people.

    I've never been physically fit and get tired very quickly, not helped by my asthma which leaves me unable to breathe after small amounts of exercise. Doctors always diagnosed it as 'exercise induced asthma' when I was growing up, which was super fun - but I've always tried. But when I do get to the gym, I'm out of breath and absolutely red in the face sweating like anything after about 5 minutes.
    I walk up the stairs and I'm out of breath. I suffer with severe pain in my knees (long drives each day don't help too much). Not to mention the anxiety and depression.
    So yes, actually, at 20 - I am EXHAUSTED at the end of each day. Not just physically with the joint pain, but mentally absolutely knackered. Cheers for your input though. Much appreciated.

    - To everyone else, thank you! Some super ideas and so many of you do so so well, and all I want from this site is a little bit of motivation and some like minded people to help me to get where I want to be. Have added a few of you and spoken to some lovely people on here already and am desperate to lose this weight. Good luck to you all! xx

    I actually wanted to mention something that came to my mind about the exercise induced asthma. There is a kettlebell athlete I follow on facebook-Lorna Kleinman, who had exercise induced asthma. I can't recall all the details but the skinny of it was that by working out with the bells, she managed to out-exercise her asthma, and she's broken records in kettlebell competition.
    My point is, when you figure out around the anxiety and the stressors from life, don't let the asthma be a reason to hold you down. It's workable. Hang in there :-)
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    kimlee1807, you can absolutely lose weight without exercising. Just eat less than you burn. You made a couple of comments that were very familiar to me. I was exactly like you when I was younger. Kept telling my doc how tired I was. They tested my thyroid and told me it was normal. Some days I just wanted to cry because I was exhausted all the time. The other thing was joint pain, headaches, constipation, dry hair and skin. Does any of this sound familiar? If it does you may have a thyroid condition. What happened to me was that I finally ended up having a test after a trip I took where I thought I had, had a mini stroke because I felt I was struggling to speak. My doctor said he hadn't seen a thyroid that bad in years. I am now on synthroid and all the issues have disappeared. I didn't lose a bunch of weight from the meds just felt better. I may be completely out to lunch and you definately need a doctor to diagnose it but if you haven't been checked might be worth a look. Hope things get better my friend.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    cheryldumais wrote: »
    kimlee1807, you can absolutely lose weight without exercising. Just eat less than you burn. You made a couple of comments that were very familiar to me. I was exactly like you when I was younger. Kept telling my doc how tired I was. They tested my thyroid and told me it was normal. Some days I just wanted to cry because I was exhausted all the time. The other thing was joint pain, headaches, constipation, dry hair and skin. Does any of this sound familiar? If it does you may have a thyroid condition. What happened to me was that I finally ended up having a test after a trip I took where I thought I had, had a mini stroke because I felt I was struggling to speak. My doctor said he hadn't seen a thyroid that bad in years. I am now on synthroid and all the issues have disappeared. I didn't lose a bunch of weight from the meds just felt better. I may be completely out to lunch and you definately need a doctor to diagnose it but if you haven't been checked might be worth a look. Hope things get better my friend.
    I have the same symptoms and I asked for my thyroid to be checked as well they said it came back normal. My sister has hypothyroidism. This helps!
  • JoLightensUp
    JoLightensUp Posts: 140 Member
    kimlee1807 wrote: »
    Is it possible to lose weight through diet alone?

    I'd love to go back to the gym a couple of days a week, but the way I used to burst into tears when it was busy and not even walk in was awful. I don't know what else I can do.

    You've had a lot of great advice, but this part of what you said really jumped out at me. Yes, you don't need to exercise to lose weight and yes, you could workout at home to avoid the gym, BUT...if you love the gym I would suggest maybe trying to find a way to get back into it.

    One suggestion is that you may be able to find a friend or relative who is also looking to get fit that might go with you, at least for a while. You might find it less daunting going with them perhaps. Another suggestion might be to arrange a few personal training sessions at the gym so that you are not alone and also have a structure and purpose when you arrive. Maybe plan to keep the first few sessions short and build from there. Or maybe there is a gym near your workplace that you could go to at lunchtimes or before work with a workplace buddy?

    I'm just brainstorming here but I'm really encouraging you to not give up on the gym if you love it. What I am really talking about is not letting your anxiety boss you around, and finding ways to ease yourself back into it without feeling overwhelmed. I have felt anxious about starting to swim at a new pool. What helped was even just going and getting familiar with the layout, the location of the change-rooms etc and going swimming a few times with someone else as company. Of course this all seems silly to some, but fellow worrywarts - and there are lots of us out there - know what I'm talking about even if the specifics of their challenges are different!


  • katsheare
    katsheare Posts: 1,025 Member
    kimlee1807 wrote: »
    rickinnercirclebet wrote: »
    20 YEARS OLD AND EXHAUSTED? REALLY?

    You are literally the reason I can't step into a gym without bursting into tears at the sight of other people.

    I've never been physically fit and get tired very quickly, not helped by my asthma which leaves me unable to breathe after small amounts of exercise. Doctors always diagnosed it as 'exercise induced asthma' when I was growing up, which was super fun - but I've always tried. But when I do get to the gym, I'm out of breath and absolutely red in the face sweating like anything after about 5 minutes.
    I walk up the stairs and I'm out of breath. I suffer with severe pain in my knees (long drives each day don't help too much). Not to mention the anxiety and depression.
    So yes, actually, at 20 - I am EXHAUSTED at the end of each day. Not just physically with the joint pain, but mentally absolutely knackered. Cheers for your input though. Much appreciated.

    - To everyone else, thank you! Some super ideas and so many of you do so so well, and all I want from this site is a little bit of motivation and some like minded people to help me to get where I want to be. Have added a few of you and spoken to some lovely people on here already and am desperate to lose this weight. Good luck to you all! xx

    @kimlee1807 - I hate exercising in front of other people. May be a hangover from my early childhood days of always being the uncoordinated one in PE who was openly mocked by her classmates, may just be that I don't like attention in general, but I get not wanting to walk into a gym. Even though I KNOW that everyone else who's there will be concentrating on themselves. I'm the one who's always in the back corner at Zumba.

    The NHS in the UK has put together some fantastic 10-minute exercises http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/Tenminuteworkouts.aspx that I have incorporated with MFP and calories in/calories out. You can do them at home, almost all require no equipment except you, and because it's not following a video, my carrot to get myself using them was watching some old favourite programmes that I knew my partner would not be interested in. I am now doing C25K (at 6 in the morning, no one else out there!) but really do enjoy these.

    I will also say that for me, taking control of what I ate, monitoring and manipulating my CICO was incredibly empowering. I started with that, and added the movement in after about 7 kgs of loss, and that was because I wanted to move more, and more easily. Give yourself time on all of this, don't expect swift or miraculous changes, and be kind to yourself.

    Yes, you can lose weight with diet alone.
  • ejg1010
    ejg1010 Posts: 48 Member
    You can definitely lose weight with diet alone as long as you are eating fewer calories than your body needs to be sedentary.
    I do think that exercise is important for health and wellbeing and so, as other people have posted, if you are able to do some online workouts at home or arrange a personal training session, that would be really great. I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry about what other people think when you're out exercising. Most people will be too wrapped up in their own business to worry about what you are doing and I'm sure anyone interested would regard you positively for taking the time to walk/cycle. You could download an audiobook/podcast, put your trainers on and go out for a walk. You'll be amazed at how quickly time passes when you are occupied.

    It might just be me but I feel that exercising, in any form, gives me more energy in the long run. The good feeling I get after exercise, caused by the endorphins that the body releases, makes me feel more positive. No matter how tired you feel from working at the office all day, it might be worth giving some light exercise a go at the very least. For me, it's a different kind of energy that I use and I never regret making the effort to do a workout that my mind sometimes tries to talk me out of if I feel de-motivated that day.

    It's hard to establish a new routine, whether that is being more mindful of what you are eating or adding in exercise. But once you get going with that first step it becomes much easier to stick to it, promise!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    In the past I've been doing weights and 30-40k of running along with cycling.

    This year I've been told to avoid all exercise and managed to lose weight just as well.

    Calories in vs Calories out is all that matter for losing weight.
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