Weight-Loss Weight loss without exercise.

Weight-Loss
B

Beta1

New member
Simple quesiton, Easy one too, I just want to make sure.

I can't run thanks to shin splints so I haven't been exercising (waiting for my new bike :D) So I was wondering if the 230lb person that I am can loose weight on good diet alone.

All the sites I go to that say they will tell me how many calories my body needs to maintain its current weight tell me something different... But I think its around 2600 calories a day.

I'm eating 1800 calories a day, Will I loose weight without exercise

(I in no way am trying to get out of exercise, I'm doing what I can untill I get my new bike :cool: )

Extra info -
height - 5'11
age - 17
male
 
A good reference for you:
 
Well I hear that having a calorie deficit will make you loose weight..

I dont plant on taking any supliments to help me, Just good diet right now.
 
Beta said:
Well I hear that having a calorie deficit will make you loose weight.
Click to expand...

Not wholly true, when you lower your calorie intake without exercising effectively, you can throw your body into starvation mode which could make you gain weight because your body is preparing for famine.

This is a very rudimentary analogy so bare with me. Think of your metabolism as a furnace, if you stick coal(calories) into a cold furnace, it doesn't burn so well.

Granted you could lose some weight in the short term, but if you have shin splints and have access to a gym or community pool, then try swimming as a low impact alternative until your bike comes.
 
I used to believe in the myth that exercise is the only way to lose weight but if anything, my personal training regimen triggered off a 20kg weight gain in 1 year.

However,l I've been on a program since 28th sept 2006 (with a 3 week break in the middle) and I've dropped from 124kg to 89.5kg as of today 7th feb 2007.

The diet reccomends that you do NO strenuous exercise and i have found no difference in the rate of weight loss when i do exercise and when i dont.

I dont take any pills beyond vitamins and minerals and my blood cholesterol and triglycerides have dropped back to normal along with my insulin levels. Fatty liver is history too. No surgery either if thats what you're thinking. The only thing I have changed is what I eat.

Exercise alone does not make you lose weight. I dont know if what im eating is in calorie deficit though but what i eat in a day is:

breakfast
omlette with vegetables

lunch
tuna steak with salad or beef steak with salad

dinner
chicken or steak with salad

In between im eating fruit and Vita wheat biscuits. My body is not in starvation mode. I dont look like im wearing a loose skin bag like those poor souls from the biggest loser or Oprah.

No im not on an atkins diet and im healthier than i have ever been. Bear in mind, the program wont give me a six pack or improve my fitness and stamina. I'll have to hit the gym again for that and I plan to hit the gym and bulk up when i reach my goal weight of 79kg mid march.

Im a stockbroker and i sit on my butt all day but yet I'm losing weight. I took a before shot on a digital camera for evidence if you think Im lying. I've lost track of the number of holes i've had to drill in my belt to make it fit but the distance between the hole i was using in october last year and now is about 9 inches.

Stats
Male 28yo 176cm tall
starting weight 28 september 2006 = 123.8kg
current weight 7 february 2007 = 89.5kg
goal weight mid march 79kg
Cost $680 australian. Worth every damned cent
 
Last edited:
My personal experience is that food consumption is 90% of the equation. But , excercise helps "clean up" the mistakes that you make when trying to eat clean. If you can lift weights , do it.
 
I agree, even if you are skinny, doesnt mean you are fit. You still need exercise to stay healthy. I just object to the promotion of a misconception that exercise is the only way to lose weight.

For shin splints, I've heard a safe way to exercise is to swimming.
 
A caloric deficit will ALWAYS lead to weight loss. Plain and simply. Basic thermodynamics.

With that said, of course exercise leads to optimal recomposition of physique.

Also, of course, there is an optimal caloric intake for each person individually in order to trigger the right kind of weight loss.

15 calories per pound of body weight is a good guesstimate for figuring out one's maintenance caloric intake. From there, slash about 15% of calories and start with that as your deficit. Very general tips here, I might add. Nothing specific to the OP.
 
Here's the problem with the whole idea of losing weight without exercise.

Yes, it is true that you can certainly do it. As Steve points out, a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit, whether it comes from less input (food) or greater output (exercise).

But the real problem, and where most of us fail, is in keeping the weight off. And here's where exercise plays a huge role. As you get closer and closer to your ideal weight, what was once a caloric deficit now is simply maintenance. In other words, the 2,500 calories that represented a 500 calorie a day deficit for the 260 lb. person is simply maintenance for the 200 lb. person [I'm not sure on the exact figures, but you get the idea].

OK, you say, so I'll just keep at maintenance. Well, take it from me, the other factor in the equation is time. You age, and as you age, if you're like the vast majority of people, you become more sedentary. It happens little by little. You stop playing racquetball on the weekends because you've got to take the kids to a soccer game. You park as close as you can to the entrance of the store because Sarah's got to get to school. Ten years later, you've put on 50 lbs. or so, and yet your maintenance diet hasn't changed one bit. Why? Because you've cut your output as you aged by just a tiny bit, by a measly 50 calories a day, but this adds up to 18,250 calories a year, or 50 lbs. per decade.

Incredible but true -- a mere surplus of 25 calories a day will lead to a weight gain of 26 pounds in 10 years! Conversely, walking just 30 minutes a day would easily erase that surplus, and then some, allowing you to "cheat" occasionally.

If you think you can maintain your weight loss without exercise, ask yourself this: how often over the past 6 months have you cheated? In other words, how many times have you just fallen off the wagon and eaten 1,000 calories more than you know you should have?

If the truthful answer is NEVER, then yes, maybe you can maintain with no exercise. If it's not, then don't build failure into your plan.

It's much healthier to incorporate exercise from the start in your mental picture of weight loss -- and this doesn't even address all the other healthy things that happen to you with exercise, like stronger bones, fewer injuries, etc.

ps. Beta - I know you're injured and are going to return to working out, but there are lots of other people who are looking for ways to do this without exercising.
 
Last edited:
Thank you all for the answers :)

If the truthful answer is NEVER, then yes, maybe you can maintain with no exercise. If it's not, then don't build failure into your plan.
Click to expand...

:eek: I've never gone over, Pretty proud of myself for that... Anyways, I wont be getting my bike for a while now, and I think my feet are heeled, So I plan on returning to jogging

Jogging is a nice way to get in shape, Its fun and you end up feeling great afterwards, so I almost look forward to getting back to it.

I'm sure this thread is helping alot more peope than just me, so thanks again for everyones answers.
 
Yes, of course it is possible to lose weight without excersise. I'm not saying it's a good way to do it, but it is very much possible. People who have been sick for a while are a good example. They dont eat much, yet they lie in bed not moving around much all day long (no excersise).Often they lose about 5-10lbs. I think you really need to excersice if you want to lose weight properly, but it is possible to do it without excersise.:)
 
101kat101 said:
Yes, of course it is possible to lose weight without excersise. I'm not saying it's a good way to do it, but it is very much possible. People who have been sick for a while are a good example. They dont eat much, yet they lie in bed not moving around much all day long (no excersise).Often they lose about 5-10lbs. I think you really need to excersice if you want to lose weight properly, but it is possible to do it without excersise.:)
Click to expand...

:confused:

Didn't we discuss this already in this thread a few times, a couple of months ago?
 
Steve said:
15 calories per pound of body weight is a good guesstimate for figuring out one's maintenance caloric intake. From there, slash about 15% of calories and start with that as your deficit.
Click to expand...

Hi, I've seen this formula a couple of times on this site...I have some questions about this idea.

My current weight is 165 (5'9" medium level of activity).

That would make my maitenance number 2475. Subtract the 15% and I'm still at 2100 calories.

Does that mean I'm starvind myself by eating 1200-1600 calories a day?

Also with only a 317 calorie defecit won't it take almost 2 weeks to lose just one pound...:( Am I understanding this correctly? I'm quite surprised by these numbers. Is this a formula more geared towards people who plan to burn lots of extra calories with exercise? I've only been making the time to walk/jog on the treadmill for 20 minutes a few times a week.
 
Doomed Lenore said:
Hi, I've seen this formula a couple of times on this site...I have some questions about this idea.

My current weight is 165 (5'9" medium level of activity).

That would make my maitenance number 2475. Subtract the 15% and I'm still at 2100 calories.

Does that mean I'm starvind myself by eating 1200-1600 calories a day?

Also with only a 317 calorie defecit won't it take almost 2 weeks to lose just one pound...:( Am I understanding this correctly? I'm quite surprised by these numbers. Is this a formula more geared towards people who plan to burn lots of extra calories with exercise? I've only been making the time to walk/jog on the treadmill for 20 minutes a few times a week.
Click to expand...

It's an estimate, that is all. And at your weight, it is an accurate estimate for the average person.

If you've been eating such a low amount of calories for an appreciable length of time though, your metabolism has certainly down-regulated, thus, leading to a lower maintenance level.

And mind you, when you don't have a lot of weight to lose, losing weight quickly (as in 2 lbs per week) is not the wisest idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top