Exercising

Not at all, but you'll likely get there a little bit faster if you work out

So many pros to exercising... it's addictive once you get into the swing of things. Really.

Kimma41 wrote: »

Exercise isn't addictive for me. Hate doing it.

I hate certain forms of exercise as well...for example, cardio. I despise it actually, always have. But I love lifting heavy weights. I have about 50 to 60lbs to lose and I'm lifting, and losing steadily along with eating at a slight calorie deficit.

But if you really hate exercise...don't do it! You'll lose weight by just eating at a deficit.

You don't need to, but I find it's helped me for a few reasons.

1) I seem to be less hungry when I exercise. I eat back half of what MFP tells me I burned. A couple of months ago, I had surgery and had a catheter bag for 5 days. During that time, I couldn't exercise (both because of the surgery and the bag) and even running a smaller deficit than usual, I was hungrier than usual.
2) I tend to eat out of stress and boredom. Exercise takes up some of my time, so I'm not as bored. And it relaxes me, so I'm not as stressed. Tying in with that, since emotions and stress aren't the same...
3) I'm also an emotional eater. But I tend to be a lot less moody and a lot more even-tempered when I exercise.

All that being said, to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. Whether you achieve that deficit by eating less, moving more, or some combination thereof, the weight will drop off.

Need to? Like the others have said, no.

To be honest, I'd still recommend it, even more so if you have arthritis and other issues (under a doctor's guidence of course). It can help in so many ways.

When I decided to get fit again, I'll admit, it sucked. Big time. I HATED going to gym, or outside for a walk. I did it anyways. It sucked for a good 3 months. I did it anyways. You know what happened? After that approximately 3 months mark, it got easier. I started to enjoy it. I started to miss it if I skipped a day. I found classes I enjoyed (and by this point had built up enough to handle going to them) or other forms of exercise I enjoyed. It started to suck a lot less.

Does it still suck? Somewhat, sure. I don't like getting up that early, that's for sure. But I sure like what it does for my body, confidence, flexibility, and overall feeling of "ability" that I otherwise didn't have. A lot of those side effects were things I didn't even realize I was missing until I had them again.

Kimma41 wrote: »

I know what your saying and your right. I just wish I enjoyed exercising. I'm only glad when I'm done. I guess I'm partly lazy and sometimes don't give a damn, which doesn't help the exercise part.
Right now I have a cold, feel run down, struggling with tracking. I feel like I'm dieting not living.

Is there anything physical you enjoy doing? I don't actually do anything high-intensity. I try to walk for 90 minutes to 2 hours daily. If that doesn't happen, I have a GazelleEdge glider in my basement and I do just over an hour on it. I can work up a decent sweat, but my heart rate doesn't get 'up there', no matter how hard I work. And I do some strength training in my basement. No sports, no HIIT, tabata, crossfit, etc. I mean, more power to those who do those; I'm not knocking it. But I'm not very athletic. I have some motor- and hand-eye coordination issues that don't really impact my life unless I do something that spotlights them. Like most sports... The stuff I do may not burn as many calories as some stuff I could be doing, but it works for me and I enjoy it. (Okay, with the strength training, sometimes I just enjoy the feeling when I've finished the workout and I can finally stop! But that is a great feeling! And I'm seeing results I want to keep seeing, so I keep at it...)

Try to find something that works for you.

I'm 51 and have lost over 70 pounds (with another 50+ to go) primarily through diet. I exercised some, but not consistently--it was never a focus. However, as I've lost the weight, it's gotten easier to exercise. I tried Curves for Women about 10 years ago and didn't care for it; my sister has done Curves for Women for years and loves it (she keeps trying to get me to join). I personally prefer walking for cardio and Body Electric for strength training (I want to start lifting heavy, though, and MFP has great information on that in the forum). I have read many veteran MFPers mention that this is a journey and experiment. Start with your calorie deficit and then experiment with exercise. Starting out, simply try to move more. Check out this great forum thread for some ideas: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1