How much weight is it possible to lose with diet alone?

SarahBa89 · July 2019

I want to lose between 50-65lbs.
[165cm F, current weight 179lbs]

I have some medical issues that make exercise too painful to incorporate into my week, (Fibromyalgia, Plantar Fasciitis, Accessory Navicular Syndrome, heart murmur and sharp pains in my left hip and top of shin).

I stand and walk (slowly, because its painful), for at least 8 hours, five days a week at work, by the time it's the weekend I'm pretty much dead, so only walk about 30-60 minutes a day.

My plan is to be mostly vegan on weekdays and eat meat and veggies on the weekend.

How much weight do you think it's possible to lose and how slow do you imagine weight loss will be with no exercise?

spiriteagle99 · July 2019

You don't need to exercise to lose weight. Nor do you need a special diet. All you need to do is make sure that your calories in are less than the calories you burn. Put your stats in MFP, set it to lose one pound a week, and eat the number of calories you are given. Very simple. Exercise is good for your health and allows people to eat a bit more, but it isn't a necessity for weight loss.

TeaBea · July 2019

Absolutely you can lose weight thru diet alone. Many people over estimate the impact of exercise on weight loss.

You burn a certain number of calories 24/7. Simply take in fewer calories than that number on a regular basis and you lose weight.

The foods you eat do not impact weight loss. Eat vegan if you enjoy vegan, eat meat if you enjoy meat. It's still going to be about the calories.

Macros - protein, fat and carbohydrates are choices one makes for satiety, health goals, or fitness goals. I treat the protein goal as a minimum. If you plan to eat vegan, have lots of alternate protein sources ready. Eating too little protein (especially without strength training) can lead to a larger % of lean muscle loss.

Eat 500 calories less than maintenance and lose 1 pound per week. Measure and log all of your food.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

hixa30 · July 2019

Yes it is possible, I've done it myself. As for how much you can lose, that really depends on unknowns such as your living environment, who helps you on your weight loss journey and who, if any, hinders.

A back of an envelope calculation says that you could lose 50 pounds in 20 months, at an easy deficit of 300 calories per day. You probably won't feel particularly hungry at that level of intake. This would be considered "rather slow" by some people but with your health issues, you may want an easy path rather than a quick one.

yirara · July 2019

none, however the lower end of your goal sounds a bit aggressive. Maybe it's a good idea to try and incorporate some proper strength training to maintain muscle mass. If you lose weight you also lose a mix of fat and muscle. Losing muscle is not good as muscle makes you look good while lack of muscle makes you look more flabby.

lbride · July 2019

No need to work out to lose weight, or eat vegan, as others said. But you might feel better if there is a mild/lighter workout that you can do.

texasredreb · July 2019

Weight loss happens in the kitchen not on the tread mill!

maxiem7 · July 2019

I lost 220 lbs and never once did I do an exercise. So yes you can lose without exercising.

glovepuppet · July 2019

Any exercise is better than no exercise. Whatever your body is capable of without causing problems, that's an achievement. But even if you can't do much at all, a healthy diet (taking your medical needs into account) can only make things better. You sound like you're already doing more than a lot of able bodied people!

I know that restricting meat and dairy can help some people with fibromyalgia, so your plan sounds good to me (as someone unqualified), but you should run any drastic change past a medical type who knows your history.

Maxxitt · July 2019

I lost the first 25# with no planned exercise. As I got lighter, I hurt less (arthritis) and began to walk more, which helped with the next 25#. The first 20# came off in 5 months, the second 20# in probably 7 months, and the last 10 in 6 more months. Around 8 months in I started weight training (I had retired by then and had the time and space to do it) so that helped with body composition but I am pretty sure it didn't accelerate my weight loss.

yirara · July 2019

What did I do now? 5 Woos is a bit too much.

psychod787 · July 2019

Weight loss is driven by diet... weight loss maintenance is a combination of both...

wmweeza · July 2019

I've lost 87 pounds...80 of that was lost through diet alone. I still have around 40 to lose but I just added a gym membership to the mix 2 months ago.

bosque1234 · July 2019

You can do it all with calories in and out. I use a wheelchair and have been losing only with a 1200 cal limit per day. At some point I will start using hand weights to strengthen and tone arms but will do from a seated position. I know another person here on MFP who lost about 100 lbs only with diet. You can do this!!

Panini911 · July 2019

yirara wrote: »

What did I do now? 5 Woos is a bit too much.

I think because your post reads as though you are saying we can't lose ANY weight without exercise.

yirara · July 2019

Panini911 wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

What did I do now? 5 Woos is a bit too much.

I think because your post reads as though you are saying we can't lose ANY weight without exercise.

Oh... that's not what I meant to say. Ok, sorry for that. I only tried to say that lifting weights might be a good idea, and that the lower end of TOs target sounds a bit too low.

How much weight is it possible to lose with diet alone?

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