I quit the gym to lose weight

24

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    edited May 2018
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    We are very vocal here that depending on exercise for weight loss can be a bad idea, and that exercise isn't necessary. But this thread kind of made it sound like it's a good idea or tip to stop exercise while losing weight, and I think that's why it's getting the responses it is.

    Reading is fundamental.

    I didn't "hear" the OP assert that anyone "should" give up exercising in order to lose weight.

    All she said that was she felt that it would be personally better for her to give up lifting temporarily so that she would be better able to focus on losing weight w/o feeling hungry.

    Telling her that her hunger would not be a problem if she is she just eats her exercise cals back, logs her food intake better and/or schedules when/what to eat differently is not helpful, even though it is intended to be, because it denies the OP's experience (and what she knows about herself) and presumes whatever she is or has bern doing is wrong.

    There is no proof of that.

    So, I think that she should just do it the way the she thinks will work best for her and I wish her the best in this regard.

    To be fair, there are responses from another poster that "experts" say exercise can be counterproductive for weight loss. My impression is coming from the whole thread, not just the OP. I agree the OP didn't say that and she should happily do whatever works best for her.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    Op just out of curiosity, have you attempted taking a diet break, and lifting at maintenance? If so, how did it work for you?
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Seriously, chill out people. Nobody's here saying exercise is bad for you, but there's a whole bbc documentary, I believe its called the truth about calories, where they talk about this. Most people will eat back more calories than they worked off in the gym. And why does that idea bother you so much you want to waste your time trolling in an Internet argument about it? Once again, everyone just needs to do what works for them and their body, not what works for YOU and YOUR body.

    The idea that people overeat after exercise doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen it happen. The idea that not addressing that issue and learning how to maintain fitness and calories together is the solution bothers me a lot. I don’t think “Most” people eat back more either. Most people I know who train regularly track calories and macros so that they learn how to maintain their fitness. If you just avoid working out when losing because you are afraid you will be too hungry or eat too much back what does that teach you? How do you expect to return to working out without gaining weight later?

    also a lot of people think that if they burn say 600 calories in the gym(not mentioning a lot of gym equipment over estimated burns) that they can eat that amount of calories back and then some. those are usually people who dont watch their calories. my sister was the same way she would go to the gym and burn say 300 calories. she thought it was ok to go eat a big slice of cake that was say 450 calories and the exercise would offset it somehow. she could not understand why she didnt lose any weight but was gaining it.. now when you tell her to lose you have to be in a deficit she correlates that with over exercising and starving yourself.which isnt the case.she thinks exercise alone should work.
  • 1houndgal
    1houndgal Posts: 558 Member
    edited May 2018
    Hey all, glad to read all your input and concerns for me losing my gains! :smile: I completely understand that I will be losing muscle as well as fat right now, but I am only looking at dropping another 10lbs (so not a massive amount and shouldn't take too long) and I have very little wiggle room when it comes to calories as I'm only 5ft3.

    Personally I just find I can adhere to my calorie allowance better and make more informed adjustments when I'm not exercising as it remains constant. As opposed to trying to factor in exercise calories which will differ every day depending on what I do.

    My story is more to highlight to people that they don't have to exercise to lose weight.

    My plan, once I shift these 10lbs is to work with a coach on a lifting programme specifically tailored to my personal physique goals while eating slightly over maintenance for those lean gainz

    Curious here. Are you doing any cardio excercise? You only mention weight/resistance training.

    In the long run, exercising while eating sensibly is what gets you fit and healthy in the end, and can add many good years to your life. Use it or lose it.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Seriously, chill out people. Nobody's here saying exercise is bad for you, but there's a whole bbc documentary, I believe its called the truth about calories, where they talk about this. Most people will eat back more calories than they worked off in the gym. And why does that idea bother you so much you want to waste your time trolling in an Internet argument about it? Once again, everyone just needs to do what works for them and their body, not what works for YOU and YOUR body.

    The idea that people overeat after exercise doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen it happen. The idea that not addressing that issue and learning how to maintain fitness and calories together is the solution bothers me a lot. I don’t think “Most” people eat back more either. Most people I know who train regularly track calories and macros so that they learn how to maintain their fitness. If you just avoid working out when losing because you are afraid you will be too hungry or eat too much back what does that teach you? How do you expect to return to working out without gaining weight later?

    also a lot of people think that if they burn say 600 calories in the gym(not mentioning a lot of gym equipment over estimated burns) that they can eat that amount of calories back and then some. those are usually people who dont watch their calories. my sister was the same way she would go to the gym and burn say 300 calories. she thought it was ok to go eat a big slice of cake that was say 450 calories and the exercise would offset it somehow. she could not understand why she didnt lose any weight but was gaining it.. now when you tell her to lose you have to be in a deficit she correlates that with over exercising and starving yourself.which isnt the case.she thinks exercise alone should work.
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Seriously, chill out people. Nobody's here saying exercise is bad for you, but there's a whole bbc documentary, I believe its called the truth about calories, where they talk about this. Most people will eat back more calories than they worked off in the gym. And why does that idea bother you so much you want to waste your time trolling in an Internet argument about it? Once again, everyone just needs to do what works for them and their body, not what works for YOU and YOUR body.

    The idea that people overeat after exercise doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen it happen. The idea that not addressing that issue and learning how to maintain fitness and calories together is the solution bothers me a lot. I don’t think “Most” people eat back more either. Most people I know who train regularly track calories and macros so that they learn how to maintain their fitness. If you just avoid working out when losing because you are afraid you will be too hungry or eat too much back what does that teach you? How do you expect to return to working out without gaining weight later?

    also a lot of people think that if they burn say 600 calories in the gym(not mentioning a lot of gym equipment over estimated burns) that they can eat that amount of calories back and then some. those are usually people who dont watch their calories. my sister was the same way she would go to the gym and burn say 300 calories. she thought it was ok to go eat a big slice of cake that was say 450 calories and the exercise would offset it somehow. she could not understand why she didnt lose any weight but was gaining it.. now when you tell her to lose you have to be in a deficit she correlates that with over exercising and starving yourself.which isnt the case.she thinks exercise alone should work.

    Exactly! The point should be (in my opinion) to learn how to balance fitness and food. You can lose weight through diet alone but you will never be “fit” if you can’t learn how the two parts work together.
  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
    PokeyBug wrote: »
    Here's my question, and I'm not being critical, just curious. Why do you care about losing 10 lbs? Why is your concern with a number on the scale, rather than how you look, how you perform etc.? What about your body isn't pleasing to you, and why do you think that not working out for a time is going to improve that?

    This is a good point. With only 10 lbs left to go recomp may be a better way to get to her desired physique than losing anyway.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
    edited May 2018
    PokeyBug wrote: »
    Here's my question, and I'm not being critical, just curious. Why do you care about losing 10 lbs? Why is your concern with a number on the scale, rather than how you look, how you perform etc.? What about your body isn't pleasing to you, and why do you think that not working out for a time is going to improve that?

    Great question. But my thought is, where is that 10 lbs on your body? If it’s evenly distributed then yes, why would you bother to lose weight. But what about when that 10 lbs is on one spot on your body? Say your middle section? You can recomp for 2 years before that fat goes away. But if you’ve been 10 lbs lighter and you know that the spare tire goes away when you hit that weight then....
    By the way, I wouldn’t stop exercising to lose weight, because I exercise for ALL kinds of reasons other than losing 10 vanity lbs. Maybe she could shorten her lifting sessions and add some HIIT cardio to “earn” some more calories to eat?
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Seriously, chill out people. Nobody's here saying exercise is bad for you, but there's a whole bbc documentary, I believe its called the truth about calories, where they talk about this. Most people will eat back more calories than they worked off in the gym. And why does that idea bother you so much you want to waste your time trolling in an Internet argument about it? Once again, everyone just needs to do what works for them and their body, not what works for YOU and YOUR body.

    The idea that people overeat after exercise doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen it happen. The idea that not addressing that issue and learning how to maintain fitness and calories together is the solution bothers me a lot. I don’t think “Most” people eat back more either. Most people I know who train regularly track calories and macros so that they learn how to maintain their fitness. If you just avoid working out when losing because you are afraid you will be too hungry or eat too much back what does that teach you? How do you expect to return to working out without gaining weight later?

    also a lot of people think that if they burn say 600 calories in the gym(not mentioning a lot of gym equipment over estimated burns) that they can eat that amount of calories back and then some. those are usually people who dont watch their calories. my sister was the same way she would go to the gym and burn say 300 calories. she thought it was ok to go eat a big slice of cake that was say 450 calories and the exercise would offset it somehow. she could not understand why she didnt lose any weight but was gaining it.. now when you tell her to lose you have to be in a deficit she correlates that with over exercising and starving yourself.which isnt the case.she thinks exercise alone should work.
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    sollyn23l2 wrote: »
    Seriously, chill out people. Nobody's here saying exercise is bad for you, but there's a whole bbc documentary, I believe its called the truth about calories, where they talk about this. Most people will eat back more calories than they worked off in the gym. And why does that idea bother you so much you want to waste your time trolling in an Internet argument about it? Once again, everyone just needs to do what works for them and their body, not what works for YOU and YOUR body.

    The idea that people overeat after exercise doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen it happen. The idea that not addressing that issue and learning how to maintain fitness and calories together is the solution bothers me a lot. I don’t think “Most” people eat back more either. Most people I know who train regularly track calories and macros so that they learn how to maintain their fitness. If you just avoid working out when losing because you are afraid you will be too hungry or eat too much back what does that teach you? How do you expect to return to working out without gaining weight later?

    also a lot of people think that if they burn say 600 calories in the gym(not mentioning a lot of gym equipment over estimated burns) that they can eat that amount of calories back and then some. those are usually people who dont watch their calories. my sister was the same way she would go to the gym and burn say 300 calories. she thought it was ok to go eat a big slice of cake that was say 450 calories and the exercise would offset it somehow. she could not understand why she didnt lose any weight but was gaining it.. now when you tell her to lose you have to be in a deficit she correlates that with over exercising and starving yourself.which isnt the case.she thinks exercise alone should work.

    Exactly! The point should be (in my opinion) to learn how to balance fitness and food. You can lose weight through diet alone but you will never be “fit” if you can’t learn how the two parts work together.

    yep the first time I lost weight I did so without trying as I broke my leg and couldnt get to the kitchen as often. so I ate less and lost weight. the second time around I was trying and working out and lifting weights, the difference is this time I am in a smaller size and have less fat working out, and my body looks better compared to the first scenario where I did NO exercise because I couldnt do much. I am also much stronger and cant lift more and my stamina is 10x better. also I have asthma so even with my meds my breathing this time is better and I use less of my rescue inhaler because I can control my breathing better too as I can get more air in.I have to be on a controller medication for it,but this time around things have improved. even my health markers improved as well