anyone else just reduce cals and not excercize that much???

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dme1977
dme1977 Posts: 537 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Look, I know and understand this site is for those of us who are trying to change our lifestyles and be healthier and lose weight in the process BUT is anyone else out there like me doing more of a food portion change and less of an excercize change?
Dont get me wrong, I ride bike everyday with my son, we go to the park, we take walks, and the regular stuff you do around the house/yard
but I am not all out on the excercizing...
maybe once I lose the weight I'll want it to be more toned but for right now I guess you can call me "lazy" because Im OK with what Im doing.
I look at what other people do everyday and Im like DANG... WOW...and sometimes HOLY MOLY!!!
IM PROUD OF YOU ALL FOR GIVING IT YOUR 1000%
but its taking ALL 100% of me to eat portion sizes, eat when Im hungry, and to not get obsessed with my food diary and spend every waking moment being food crazy on the computer. .

AM I ALONE IN THIS PART OF MY JOURNEY???
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Replies

  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
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    Nope, I don't really exercise aside from walking the dog, which isn't really exercise. Definitely exercise helps in being healthy but in weight loss it's (mostly) about the calories. I don't see anything wrong with it!
  • bigredhearts
    bigredhearts Posts: 428
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    do what works for you. it sounds like you are pretty active and being active and eating better is what will make you healthier.
  • MissKell4201
    MissKell4201 Posts: 1 Member
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    No exercise here really either. I just clean the house here and there which burns a few cals and sometimes go for a short walk on my lunch break. I don't really have time for exercise. Full time job + 3 kids!!
  • Super_mom
    Super_mom Posts: 185
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    Sometimes I feel the same way. I have been at this weight thing for about 2wks. I workout when I can but my main focus right now is getting in enough calories. Its really hard since I have been skipping meals for years, eating what I want and sometimes only once a day along with drinking. It's been tough and I still have not met my 1260cals per day but I'm trying really hard to get there. I dont know how long it will take but hopefully it will happen soon.
  • lindamac101
    lindamac101 Posts: 22
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    I had back surgery and could not exercise and still lost weight but I had to eat just 1200 calories a day and that is tough. I just started back riding my bike at a very slow pace, but I get to eat an extra 183 calories yeah!
  • TheUnwritten
    TheUnwritten Posts: 158 Member
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    As long as you in a calorie deficit then it shouldn't matter.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    lots of people do. We call those people "skinnyfat" eventually :(

    If you reduce cals and make them GOOD calories, then it can have an overall health benefit for sure. But honestly, people need exercise to be healthy. If you just reduce calories and don't exercise, you lose valuable muscle along with fat, which has a whole other host of health issues associated with it.
  • bander21
    bander21 Posts: 40 Member
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    I'm a nursing student, studying for my clinicals, right now exercising has kind of been put on the back burner. You can do it! Friend request sent!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    No I don't think you're alone. You're making positive changes, so it's absolutely a good thing. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    I think that it's likely that many of us started of just watching our calories and idly working out. I know for me, it took me about a year into watching my food intake to really start working out. I used to walk the dogs 2 miles 5 days a week and work out for 20-25 minutes at the gym 3 days a week. Then I started to see results. Muscles building, weight coming off faster and moving down sizes and I kicked it up another notch.

    Now I work out at the gym 7 days a week most weeks, for an hour to an hour and 20 minutes each time. Still walk the dogs 4 days a week and I love every single minute of it! I have muscle definition, I can buy clothes off the rack and look good in them and I feel great.

    So yes, it can be done without exercise, but exercise will make you look and feel even better.
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
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    Absolutely can be done. Its 80% diet 20% exercise. I did most of my work with both but for a few months I hurt my foot and couldnt do anything and the lbs still came off!
  • roselover58
    roselover58 Posts: 96 Member
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    I TRY to excerise, i really do, but the time I get home, I'm done. I do walk at lunch (about 20 minutes worth), and I plan on doing that more, but I am just doing the healthy choices. Slower, but doable.
  • SeaStar
    SeaStar Posts: 113
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    From personal experience I found the few times when I wasn't exercising and just watching calories, it was much easier for me to lose weight and eat less. However I don't ever want to be stuck in skinny fat mode, so I try to stay away from that game plan. I eat 3-400 calories more each day when I workout regularly (Which is normally what I do... 3-5 times a week for 1.5 hours at the gym), but I feel so much better about myself because I am toned :)
  • anfmusicgrl
    anfmusicgrl Posts: 63 Member
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    I started my weight loss by changing the quality of food I ate, cutting out sodas & artificial sweetners/sugars, and cutting back on portions. So, yes....

    HOWEVER, Out of the 58 lbs I've lost, 37 were before I began working out. 21 have been since. I notice 100x more difference in inches shrinking, firming up, and just general body transformation from those 20 lbs than the first 37! I do lots of strength (heavy weights) training, and now, I feel pretty sure I'm not losing muscle, and this is really helping my body look better. I am losing pure fat...where as that first 37 lbs I lost from just diet/calorie deficit would have been both fat & muscle.

    If you don't like to do cardio...I would say controlling your calories by diet is ok...however, if nothing else, perhaps you could do strength training? To help your body preserve muscle..
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
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    my "exercise" is a daily walk.......thats all and i weigh my food as accurately as possible and so far It WORKS!!
  • DorothyR87
    DorothyR87 Posts: 113
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    I personally don't exercise. I actually hate working out and will avoid the gym if possible. I am sure at some point I will plateau or want to tone up and in that case I will start working out.
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
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    I exercise because it relieves stress and it creates a bigger calorie deficit so I can eat more. It by no means sounds like you are lazy....I think all the activity and playing with the kids really adds up. It's all about changes you can stick with in the long run!
  • hallensd
    hallensd Posts: 16 Member
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    I am not really focusing on working out, either. I have been closely watching what I eat, but exercise isn't easy for me being that I am about 100lbs overweight. I do plan to start exercising more when I lose a bit more so it isn't such a strain. I have tried to exercise when I first started but it just is crazy right now. I have 5 young kids and my youngest is 3 months old, so my hands are often full and my days hectic!
  • rudzud
    rudzud Posts: 24
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    I'm doing that as well. Mostly just calory counting. My line of work (corrections) does have its physically strenous days.
  • Happymom12
    Happymom12 Posts: 114 Member
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    lots of people do. We call those people "skinnyfat" eventually :(

    If you reduce cals and make them GOOD calories, then it can have an overall health benefit for sure. But honestly, people need exercise to be healthy. If you just reduce calories and don't exercise, you lose valuable muscle along with fat, which has a whole other host of health issues associated with it.



    I understand the "skinnyfat" thing. I have been toned in the past but recently the last few years I fell into the "skinnyfat" I would say that I looked like I was in better shape than most but look is the thing honestly I wasn't and was probably in worse shape than some overweight people so I made my mind up to start watching what I was taking in my body and also focus on being healthier with working out as well.

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