Who on here has lost weight by reducing the portion sizes, counting calories and exercising?
standout00
Posts: 150 Member
in Chit-Chat
At the moment I'm counting calories and trying to reduce the portion sizes. Because several storms in a row are forecast for the area where I live I haven't been able to exercise much... And I also can't exercise much because it either pours down or storms!
If anyone who's experienced in the weight loss department has any ideas on what to do on the days when I can't exercise due to weather your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance.
If anyone who's experienced in the weight loss department has any ideas on what to do on the days when I can't exercise due to weather your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance.
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Replies
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'Let neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays dieters from the swift completion of their appointed rounds'. Let nothing deter you. Use the mail carrier's motto to summon UP visions of bravery. You must find ways to exercise through inclement weather conditions. It takes true grit but you are not alone.
Become the master of your portions. I refuse to limit any food group because it makes me feel completely ripped off. You could always run on the dreadmill but I don't. I only used mine for an expensive clothes hanger.
I dress accordingly and walk out my front door. I ski or snowshoe, swim and lift heavy things around the house. Every time we catapult ourselves off the couch from the speed of zero, we increase our chances of WINNING.
Clean your house like a sonuvagun. There are socks fomenting revolution with underwear in my drawers. Some order out of all of that chaos must be imposed. I can only get so fancy.
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Which reminds me....off to the songs on your mind thread.
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When I started out, my gym sessions remained the same and I just reduced portion sizes. I've tinkered with things over the years and played around with substitutions such that I now don't eat pasta, potatoes or rice very often as I get sufficient carbs (and fuller) from having a plateful of veg instead, but mostly I still eat foods that I like but in smaller quantities than I'd have had before. I found that it was far easier to be on a 'diet' if I liked the food and wasn't depriving myself.
You don't have to exercise to lose weight, you just need to eat less than you are expending. However, exercise gives you more calories to play with (as you should also be eating your exercise cals on top of what MFP gives you). If you have stairs at home, could you run up and down those? Can you skip or do jumps indoors? Could you pace round and round and round for half an hour? Or, instead of doing some cardio, use tins of food / bottles of water as weights and do squats, lunges, arm raises and other strength training exercises.1 -
@washboard12 Pretty sure that motto is way out of date. if we get snow, we don't see our mail carrier for days. Plus they refuse to get out of their vehicles anymore and will pass us by if we didn't shovel up close enough to the mail box.
Sorry, way off topic here.
Days I don't exercise I simply eat less. But I would imagine, even on inside days, there are lots of activities you could still do inside. Check out youtube. Get a resistance band and do exercises with it.2 -
@washboard12 Pretty sure that motto is way out of date. if we get snow, we don't see our mail carrier for days. Plus they refuse to get out of their vehicles anymore and will pass us by if we didn't shovel up close enough to the mail box.
Sorry, way off topic here.
Days I don't exercise I simply eat less. But I would imagine, even on inside days, there are lots of activities you could still do inside. Check out youtube. Get a resistance band and do exercises with it.
Again OT, but here in the UK our postman (not mailman) may use a vehicle but only to get to the start of his/her round and then they walk - to the house, not a 'remote' mail box at the end of a driveway!!! Come rain or shine, they're out walking their deliveries door to door. Even if there's frost/ice/snow (I know that comparatively we get little snow and it's not quite as cold as some parts of the USA) they walk. Often in shorts!
Back on topic now. I've lost 10Kg (22 pounds) in the past 9 months. By portion control and food choice. I can't name the diet programme I followed as last time I did the post was deleted by mods. Many have reported greater losses, some over 70+ pounds in a similar timescale, on the same programme (which is well supported by science here in the UK, US and Australia - it's not a hokum diet!).
Exercise alone will not result in weight loss. Calorie counting can.1 -
It's good that you are counting calories. My experience over the years has taught me that you can adapt your diet any way that pleases you, and you can exercise as little or as much as you want, but the weight loss is ultimately about net calories. I have an intense appetite, and to make matters worse, I am a chef, so I touch, smell and taste food all day. Abstinence during work hours is impossible. As a result, I often end up on the wrong side of the calorie count. So, I face the option of not meeting my goal for the day or exercising a lot. And that is the decision we all face in one way or another. Eat less, exercise more, or don't lose weight. It's really a matter of choosing your poison.
I just reactivated my gym membership after two years of gym closings and mask mandates. I refused to wear a mask while exercising, so I took to the streets. I live in upstate New York, and the weather is not friendly to runners this time of year. Nonetheless, I went out in the single digit temperatures, the snow storms, and the cold rain. People tell me I am to be commended, but really, I'm just making the choices that serve me the best and make my life better. I combine strength training and cardio because they both contribute to general health, physical fitness, and weight loss in very different ways. I had to drag out the old dumbbells from the garage and use a wooden bench with a pillow as a weight bench so I could continue my strength training through the pandemic. And I would never have met my calorie budget without my long winter runs. Truth is, once your our there is isn't so bad.
So the point that I am making here is that you have to make a hard choice. If you are serious about weight loss, then you can rule out not making your goal, So that narrows your decision to hunger pangs or finding a way to exercise, or some of both. I choose the latter because I love to eat and there are so many additional advantages to exercise. One hour of discipline a day can make the other 23 so much better. And remember, if weight loss was easy, everyone would be thin.1 -
Isn't counting calories and exercising how one loses weight? If I want to post quickly I track calories and exercise like a crazy person. Luckily I like exercising. I tend to not track calories though anymore because I get a bit too obsessive1
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Not sure why you couldn’t do your own exercises in the house. Push ups, crunches, planks, jumping jacks etc1
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Alinouveau2 wrote: »Isn't counting calories and exercising how one loses weight? If I want to post quickly I track calories and exercise like a crazy person. Luckily I like exercising. I tend to not track calories though anymore because I get a bit too obsessive
I have been tracking calories and exercising since 2020. I think that's working for me!0 -
What about a punching bag in your house? Pretty inexpensive for what you get as far as "cardio machines" go. And fun.0
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I lost from obese to very lean through pretty much diet alone, and I didn't track calories. I did almost no strenuous exercise due to severe injuries (I'm disabled). What kind of info are you looking for?0
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___Soundwave___ wrote: »What about a punching bag in your house? Pretty inexpensive for what you get as far as "cardio machines" go. And fun.
The house where I live is old! I don't wanna break anything as it's a government rental property...0 -
I lost from obese to very lean through pretty much diet alone, and I didn't track calories. I did almost no strenuous exercise due to severe injuries (I'm disabled). What kind of info are you looking for?
I'm interested to find out what type of exercise you did to lose that weight and how much you've actually lost.0 -
standout00 wrote: »I lost from obese to very lean through pretty much diet alone, and I didn't track calories. I did almost no strenuous exercise due to severe injuries (I'm disabled). What kind of info are you looking for?
I'm interested to find out what type of exercise you did to lose that weight and how much you've actually lost.
I already told you, my exercise didn't contribute to my weight loss. I'm very disabled and can't do strenuous enough exercise to burn many calories. Most of the exercise I do is very slow, very gentle exercise to strengthen small supporting muscles.
It made no difference to my weight. I doubt I burn more than 100 calories during an entire exercise routine, as half of my "exercises" consist of me lying down for several minutes and gently flexing tiny little supporting back muscles. I think taking a nap might burn more calories than I do when I do my exercises.
I'm a 5'7" female and lost ~80lbs through portion control and focusing on eating mostly vegetables.
You don't need exercise to lose weight. You need exercise to be healthy, but you don't actually need it to lose weight.3 -
standout00 wrote: »
Well yes BUT wasn't one of your questions this.....
"If anyone who's experienced in the weight loss department has any ideas on what to do on the days when I can't exercise due to weather your suggestions would be greatly appreciated!" 0 -
🙋🏻♂️ yessir, right here. At my heaviest I was 215 ~ 217 pounds, came down to ~164 pounds.
In my late teens to early 20's I tried to let almost nothing deter me. I'd go running at the nearby school track in the rain or even after it had snowed.
Let's talk solutions instead of hindrances 🙂
There are many exercises that can be done for strength and also to elevate your heart rate for some cardio, in the comfort of your own home without gym machines.
You can do push-ups at home. Take the cushions off your couch and do dips to target your triceps. Get a pull-up bar that inserts into the doorway of your bedroom and do some pull-ups. Do crunches and/or planks. Burpees. Etc.
I've noticed the price of dumbbells has skyrocketed 😬. Fortunately, they can be had for a cheaper price from the flea market or any local store that sells used gym equipment. Do some dumbell lunges, curls, and any other exercises involving dumbbells. More ideas can be found on google.
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I never stop exercising when I gain weight typically. The way I lose weight (since I've been an adult) is through logging my food and counting calories. I only rarely eat back my exercise calories.
On days when you can't get to the gym for any reason and still want to exercise, do YouTube workouts.0
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