Can I lose weight with no exercise?

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nargus_786
nargus_786 Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
I’m trying to up my walking and do some home exercise workout videos not every day. Will I still be able to lose weight?

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  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,081 Member
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    To lose weight, burn more calories than you consume. If you do nothing but lie in bed and breathe, you burn calories, let's say 2,000 for example. If you eat less than 2,000 you will lose weight, even without lifting a finger, simply because your body needs calories to breathe, heart beat, brain thoughts, stomach digestion, etc.

    Some people use exercise to lose weight faster by increasing the burn side of the equation, but ultimately yes, you can lose weight with zero exercise. Just eat less than you need to survive while idle.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    nargus_786 wrote: »
    I’m trying to up my walking and do some home exercise workout videos not every day. Will I still be able to lose weight?

    Yes...I would recommend regular exercise for overall health, but exercise really doesn't burn the kind of calories that people tend think. For most people, merely existing and going about their day to day is the majority of their daily calorie expenditure...exercise is generally a pretty small piece of that pie. Weight management is largely about diet and calorie balance.
  • instiG8n
    instiG8n Posts: 2 Member
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    I met with a nutritionist at LA fitness last month and he taught me this. Although I was losing weight for the last several months I had sacrificed muscles due to a lack of enough food. I was starving myself.
  • pony4us
    pony4us Posts: 124 Member
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    Walking is exercise.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,461 Member
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    instiG8n wrote: »
    I met with a nutritionist at LA fitness last month and he taught me this. Although I was losing weight for the last several months I had sacrificed muscles due to a lack of enough food. I was starving myself.

    This was me. Although I was exercising and weight training regularly, I was so focused on what I later realized was a ridiculous goal, I lost a lot of muscle due to undereating for the amount of activity I was doing.

    Happy you got good advice in time and heeded it. I had it, but ignored it til my trainer gave me a final warning about dropping me. 😬
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,461 Member
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    @nargus_786 walking is exercise. That was my foundation for beginning. I didn’t expand to other activities til later. I lost enough weight simply walking that I began to feel better and have enough energy for other pursuits.

    Highly recommend being fitted for good walking shoes. That made an unbelievable difference in my comfort, and ability to continue walking, as well as add distance. No more sore feet and bruised toenails. 😬
  • Lark13
    Lark13 Posts: 21 Member
    edited November 2023
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    I agree with the above responses, that many people over estimate the effect of exercise specifically on weight loss. That said, it is also possible to underestimate it. An hour long walk every day will burn around 200 cal. If you are already eating at maintenance, i.e., not gaining, that is almost a half a pound loss per week, which is a perfectly sensible rate of loss for many people. So yes, it can make a meaningful difference. I think the difficulty is that many people interested in losing weight are *not* currently eating at maintenance (or don’t know whether they are) or are unsatisfied with that rate of loss.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    Short answer yes. With no resistance exercise, you can lose muscle along with fat. Also, you can lose strength.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • collinsje1
    collinsje1 Posts: 54 Member
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    I lost 80 lbs through diet (weighing and logging every bit of food) and walking almost everyday. So yes it can be done. Walking is a very underrated form of cardio.

    However, what @ninerbuff said is very true as well.

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