Can u lose without working out?

yoashisme
yoashisme Posts: 48 Member
in Food and Nutrition
ok so I know working out is best for me but is is possible to lose weight just by cutting out calories? I have been eating around 1250-1300 a day. It's not with the best foods but some are good. Is it still possible to lose?
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Replies

  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    Not if you want to be healthy. Good food in and exercise are essential to health.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    Yes. A calorie deficit = weight loss.
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.
    Incorrect. You WILL lose body fat. When you lose weight a certain portion of that will be muscle as well...but you can minimize that through eating high protein levels, exercise will also help to counter that effect. I think the poster above is trying to point out that you might not retain as much of your lean muscle without exercise, but losing fat and weight is completely possible with adjusting your eating intake only.
  • Justforthebacon
    Justforthebacon Posts: 61 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.

    What is it that you lose if not body fat??? Of course you can lose weight (fat) without working out.
  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    yes you will loose....however if you do it solely on calories it will not work for the long term...

    best thing to do - is read about nutrients your body needs....and eat good clean healthy foods so your body is getting the nutrients it needs to function correctly - not the the calories it needs to do it's job...there is a difference...

    Weight loss and a healthy body is 80% diet and 20 % exercise...by adding in exercise you can build muscle and lower body fat%...muscle does a better job at burning calories...so if you can utilize your muscles and bulk them up a bit and burn body fat you have a greater chance at maintaining weight loss...

    I lost about 40 lbs 6 years ago by dieting alone via weight watchers...about 30 of that crept back on over time....now I am doing it the right way - eating healthy clean foods to fuel my body and encorporating strength training and some minimal cardio workouts - the weight has come off slowly but the definition and tone my body has is far greater than when I simply "lost weight"
  • neekz0r
    neekz0r Posts: 41 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.


    I disagree, it's not non-sense. Evolutionary speaking, our body is very intelligent and keeping unneeded muscle around isn't beneficial to survival. Keeping stores of energy that cost nearly nothing is good. Those stores of energy would be fat.

    If you don't exercise, you'll lose some bodyfat and a lot of muscle. In addition this, the flip side is true. If you have a higher muscle mass and use said muscle mass often, your body has no choice but to burn fat and not muscle. This and hormones is why guys generally find it "easier" to lose weight than girls.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Absolutely. Weight loss is actually more about nutrition than it is about exercise.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    You will lose weight, but you won't feel many of the benefits doing it without good food and exercise. Also from past experience (from when I was at college and broke), its so much harder to keep the weight off unless you eat good food, mainly because you can't eat as much of the convenience foods for the calories. Good luck
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
    i didn't mean you won't lose any body fat...but your body is going to get rid of more muscle than fat giving you the soft/skinny-fat look
  • Magenta15
    Magenta15 Posts: 850 Member
    yes and no for the basic reasons as what everyone is saying... basically that you don't wanna be skinny fat --- aka skinny but unhealthy/no muscle, flabby not firm, and muscle burns more cals.... however as the saying goes. "abs are made in the kitchen" and/or 80% diet 20% gym

    so the most common answer will likely be both is best :)
  • Danny_Boy13
    Danny_Boy13 Posts: 2,094 Member
    You sure can loss weight without exercise by just dieting alone but results will be slower coming or not as much as you might like, but still you can loss the weight.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.


    I disagree, it's not non-sense. Evolutionary speaking, our body is very intelligent and keeping unneeded muscle around isn't beneficial to survival. Keeping stores of energy that cost nearly nothing is good. Those stores of energy would be fat.

    If you don't exercise, you'll lose some bodyfat and a lot of muscle. In addition this, the flip side is true. If you have a higher muscle mass and use said muscle mass often, your body has no choice but to burn fat and not muscle. This and hormones is why guys generally find it "easier" to lose weight than girls.

    so, your disagreeing with yourself???
  • Rosiered2
    Rosiered2 Posts: 87 Member
    I quit looking at the "journey" as for just losing weight....I look at it now as being healthy....skinny people can be very unhealthy. I want to be healthy....that includes working my heart, my muscles and in heating good healthy foods that fuel my body. I think the key to good weight loss and keeping it off is doing it for the right reason. Long term goal of being a healthy happy person who lives in moderation is the best reason of all. I can honestly say now that I am more excited about running up the stairs without being winded than having lost 4 pounds this week. Really sit down and think about what you want and what is good for this ONE body that you've been given to live your life with.....exercise is good for you physically and mentally. I used to hate it but it is so addictive....the more I do it, the more I want to do it............and I am the SUPREME exercise hater of the world.......but I'm starting to crave it. Start out slow, give yourself some incentives for doing it, you may be surprised that you like it.......AND you will lose weight faster while your heart gets healthier.....ok, off my soapbox!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    ok so I know working out is best for me but is is possible to lose weight just by cutting out calories? I have been eating around 1250-1300 a day. It's not with the best foods but some are good. Is it still possible to lose?

    Yes, you will lose the same amount whether you workout or not if you follow MFP's plan. That being said if you don't workout you will not be nearly as healthy or athletic and will probably end up "skinny fat" Thin with a high bf%.
  • Justforthebacon
    Justforthebacon Posts: 61 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.


    I disagree, it's not non-sense. Evolutionary speaking, our body is very intelligent and keeping unneeded muscle around isn't beneficial to survival. Keeping stores of energy that cost nearly nothing is good. Those stores of energy would be fat.

    If you don't exercise, you'll lose some bodyfat and a lot of muscle. In addition this, the flip side is true. If you have a higher muscle mass and use said muscle mass often, your body has no choice but to burn fat and not muscle. This and hormones is why guys generally find it "easier" to lose weight than girls.

    You can disagree but that doesn't change the fact that you can lose weight (FAT) without exercising. Change in your diet is all one needs for weight loss. I wasn't going into what is BEST for the body or why one should exercise. I agree it is great and I do it but not for weight loss.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.


    I disagree, it's not non-sense. Evolutionary speaking, our body is very intelligent and keeping unneeded muscle around isn't beneficial to survival. Keeping stores of energy that cost nearly nothing is good. Those stores of energy would be fat.

    If you don't exercise, you'll lose some bodyfat and a lot of muscle. In addition this, the flip side is true. If you have a higher muscle mass and use said muscle mass often, your body has no choice but to burn fat and not muscle. This and hormones is why guys generally find it "easier" to lose weight than girls.
    You disagree then go on to state that without exercise you will lose some body fat and a lot of muscle. That would mean...you CAN lose body fat without exercise. I think you might be a bit confused.
  • EpiGaiaRepens
    EpiGaiaRepens Posts: 824 Member
    i see you're shooting to lose 50 lbs.

    That's exaclty what I have done.

    I'll say this: YES you can lose weight just by cutting calories. And in fact, that's pretty much all I did to lose the first 30 lbs. (i ran here and there, but I have always run here and there, even when I was overweight...in fact I worked out LESS when I started counting calories because I got a full time job at the same time).... But what happened to me (and may happen to you) is that the closer you get to where you want to be, the less cutting calories alone is gonna get you there.

    I lost the first 30 lbs in about 6 months. I lost the last twenty in an entire YEAR of HARD WORK including increasing and fidgetting with my exercise, watching what KIND of FOOD i'm eating, and paying attention to the macro-nutrient content of my foods.

    I think it'd be great if we could all jump into a perfectly healthy lifestyle, but I support people in taking baby steps too. It worked for me and I have experienced NO REBOUND or serious "Falling off the wagon" at all. Every change I added into my life was done one at a time and took a few months to really sink in. Now eating 1200 cals isn't something I really think about. Nor is all the ways I add in extra exercise into my daily life....

    [i had to edit cuz it actually only took me one year to lose the last twenty....um...wow. i didn't realize I lost that much last year!]
  • Saruman_w
    Saruman_w Posts: 1,531 Member
    Well yea, you can. But if you're still going to sit about all the time that won't do your cardiovascular system any favors.
  • KateCon912
    KateCon912 Posts: 200 Member
    I lost 50 lbs without exercising at all. Now that i reached my goal, I am exercising because I did lose a LOT of muscle AND fat. I lost my first 40 lbs in 4 months so yes, it still comes off fast.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
    People have lost weight through "dieting" for years.
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    Maybe if you drop down below 1200 calories a day. I can't lose weight at 1200 (or more) unless I exercise.

    Of course, if you're morbidly obese you can lose weight easily without much work, so diet alone might work in that scenario.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    <---wonders if the op is opposed to exercise for some reason?
  • VincyT
    VincyT Posts: 1
    Yes, it is possible to lose weight without exercise. It just won't be as healthy or as a quick a weight loss. However, even though I am not a good example because I'm just beginning an exercise program, I know that when I excercised before I felt better and more energetic. Anyway, good luck with your diet!
  • gp79
    gp79 Posts: 1,799 Member
    A deficit of calories is all that is needed to lose weight.

    Create your deficit however you wish, but that is the ONLY thing that is necessary.
  • rcc1988
    rcc1988 Posts: 125 Member
    Yes, there are people who lose loads of weight without incorporating exercise into their new lifestyle. Personally, however, I could never stick to any meal/calorie plans until I started exercising. For me, at least, they go hand-in-hand.
  • NeshBeMe
    NeshBeMe Posts: 148 Member
    I lose 20 lbs w/out working out. Just stayed under my daily calories. But I wasn't toning up so I started working out.
  • JustBreathe418
    JustBreathe418 Posts: 355 Member
    Yes, it's definitely possible to lose weight without working out. I had to stop working out for a few weeks after I pulled a muscle but I was still eating healthy and ended up still losing. As long as you create a calorie deficit, you will still lose weight. That being said, as others have mentioned, it's really important to eat healthy so that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs. And you should exercise if you can to get all the health benefits from that as well. It's not just about losing weight, it's about being healthy!
  • Bencribb
    Bencribb Posts: 21 Member
    you will lose weight, but not body fat. the scale will tell you a smaller number but you won't have the ideal "skinny" body.


    Huh? "You will lose weight but not body fat?" Nonsense!

    You could do NO exercise and lose weight. That being said, it is good to exercise but not at all necessary to lose weight.


    I disagree, it's not non-sense. Evolutionary speaking, our body is very intelligent and keeping unneeded muscle around isn't beneficial to survival. Keeping stores of energy that cost nearly nothing is good. Those stores of energy would be fat.

    If you don't exercise, you'll lose some bodyfat and a lot of muscle. In addition this, the flip side is true. If you have a higher muscle mass and use said muscle mass often, your body has no choice but to burn fat and not muscle. This and hormones is why guys generally find it "easier" to lose weight than girls.

    The ratio is something like 70% body fat 30% lean muscle mass lost due to weight loss strictly from calorie deficit. Those ratios are most significantly modified by the amount of protein vs other stuff in your diet as well. It goes from about 40% body fat loss 60% lean muscle in a protein deprived diet, to 80% body fat, 20% muscle in a protein rich diet.

    Exercise doesn't really "prevent" muscle loss, what it does it causes muscle growth. And you can grow your muscles faster than you are losing them if your diet has enough of the nutrients needed for lean muscle growth. While losing weight you will increase in muscle mass at the same rate you would while gaining weight, because of that net muscle loss.

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