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Yes, if you eat more than you burn than you will not lose weight. If you eat less than you burn whether you exercise or not you will lose weight. Exercise WILL expedite weight loss as long as you keep the burn level less than the intake level. Its called thermodynamics. To say that it does not help at all is just ridiculous. You do not need to exercise to lose weight, but it will help. Not to mention do wonders for your overall health.
And more specifically you were complaining about not being able to keep the weight off, not lose it per se. Exercise is an excellent way to maintain ones weight once they have reached their goal weight.
It is obvious you do not like to exercise so you are finding whatever ammo you can to back up your preference. I do not care if you like to exercise or not. I was just offering a suggestion. But after reading your multiple posts here and on another thread is has become clear you want to try some new invasive weight loss gimmick and I guess you want validation.. Whatever floats yer boat.
Amen.
I think people also misunderstand "exercise". It doesn't have to be in a gym. Walk (at a challenging pace) with your iPod. Run on the beach at your own pace. Hike in the mountains, at a park, etc.
If you are a homebody, find a program that you enjoy and workout in your living room. Our library carries tons of dvds.
Make it fun. Get creative. MOVE. Part of the fun of exercise for me is finding new ways to keep it interesting.
I guess I must be a mutant, like most of the people in my gym who I see every couple of days when I go to work out. Or maybe it's something in the water.
But we've all found that we feel healthier after a good workout and yes, we do work up an appetite. That's why we do this amazing, miraculous, genius thing:
We eat only a little bit of food, a half hour BEFORE working out..and THEN....
(here's the miracle..wait for it)..
We eat AFTER we work out, enough so that our pre-workout food, and our post-workout food, equals one normal meal's worth of food.
And then we don't feel hungry again til supper time!
I don't know how this is happening- it must be something in the water. Or maybe...
just maybe..
it's common sense, thermodynamics, eating nutrient-dense foods and starting out with a -small- portion of carbs to get us started - and when we've burned the carbs off, we replace that empty spot with food.
Four months of effort and then quit? Quit what? Exercise? Are you going to decrease your caloric intake to compensate? How are you going to keep the weight off for good?
Maybe I'm wrong, but that sounds like the wrong mentality for lasting weight loss.
Yeah, I'll quit routine exercise after 4 months. Will only get exercise from biking for transportation. I'm really a BURNOUT from exercise but I need exercise because my B.P. is slowly creeping up, last got 142 / 91. I keep from gaining weight by watching what I eat. Nov 2010 I was 158, last month I was 161 lbs. Not much weight gain and I had an 11 week vacation to splurge on good Philippine food.
Last week has somehow been a metabolic disaster as I went from 162 to 164.4 lbs. I blame a little snacking after 7:30 pm.
I guess I must be a mutant, like most of the people in my gym who I see every couple of days when I go to work out. Or maybe it's something in the water.
But we've all found that we feel healthier after a good workout and yes, we do work up an appetite. That's why we do this amazing, miraculous, genius thing:
We eat only a little bit of food, a half hour BEFORE working out..and THEN....
(here's the miracle..wait for it)..
We eat AFTER we work out, enough so that our pre-workout food, and our post-workout food, equals one normal meal's worth of food.
And then we don't feel hungry again til supper time!
I don't know how this is happening- it must be something in the water. Or maybe...
just maybe..
it's common sense, thermodynamics, eating nutrient-dense foods and starting out with a -small- portion of carbs to get us started - and when we've burned the carbs off, we replace that empty spot with food.
In looking around me, I can't point out a single person I know who has lost weight and kept it off for more than a short period of time. Can it be done????? HOW?
Yes....it can be done. But you're going to have to focus on why you're overweight: the junk you're putting down your throat. The only thing that is going to make you lose weight, and keep it off, is a major shift in your dietary behavior. Not exercise, not surgery, not medicine....just your diet.
Anyhow, you need to change your bad dietary habits. The goal should be a diet that is relatively low in fat and as close to natural foods as possible. Your body understands natural foods, it has trouble with processed junk, artificial chemicals, etc. Most people underestimate how much junk they eat, so the first thing you should do is start counting your calories and determine what are your worst behaviors, that is what eating behaviors result in the most empty calories. You're probably going to have numerous bad habits, start with the worse ones and every few weeks try to eliminate a new one. It usually takes 3~4 weeks for something to become habitual.
So, as an example, suppose that you currently drink a soda with your lunch. Replace the soda with water or unsweetened tea. After a few weeks this will become habitual....you won't even think about it anymore.
It is the slow modification of your dietary habits that will result in long-term weight-loss, at the end of the tunnel your new good habits will be unconscious...but it will take a good year of diligence to achieve it.
I'm 60+ years old and have been around the block a few times in learning how to maintain a healthy weight. I've done so successfully for several years now. You've received a lot of good advice here, and what I have to say is really nothing different from what others have posted.
Here's what works for me:
1) Lose the weight through diet, keep it off by maintaining that diet and by exercising.
2) "Diet" really means "way of eating". As many have said, you've got to quit thinking in terms of a reducing diet. Find a healthy way of eating that works for you. If you need to lose some pounds, practice calorie restriction within that diet, for several weeks or however long it takes. By this, I mean you eat the same foods but you eat less of them.
When you've reached your target weight, gradually up your allowed calories until you find a nice maintenance level. The only way to do this, really, is to track the calories. But only until you're at your desired weight.
After you've reached your desired weight, you'll still have to be vigilant. For instance, I know I'm going to eat more over the holiday season. They're "feast days" for a reason. Knowing that, I cut back on calories for a few weeks before and a few weeks after holiday season.
3) "Exercise" really means "moving". Just like your "way of eating" you have to work at finding ways to move that fit your lifestyle. The good news is that exercise/moving becomes addictive, once you've found some that work for you. I love running, rowing, yoga, and free weights, and I prefer solitary rather than group exercise. It took me the better part of a decade and lots of experimenting to figure that out. I kissed a lot of "exercise frogs" before I found any princes. I'd always considered myself a couch potato, now I've unleashed my inner athlete.
Also daily activities count - for instance: weather permitting, I park as far as possible from the supermarket, and I plan my home activities so that I *have* to make extra trips up-and-down the stairs. At home and work, look for excuses to stand up, walk, move around. These add up!
It's a journey, and a process. Best of all, healthy lifestyle changes affect way more than weight - energy, cognition, mood, will all improve.
p.s. re exercise, here's 2 specific, concrete suggestions to try:
1) Leslie Sansone has many marvelous dvd's, widely available from Target, Walmart, Amazon, B&N, etc. Her workouts are low-impact, can be adapted for age/ability and can be done inside, at home.
2) Mirabai Holland's "Skeletal Fitness" dvd is imo the go-to beginning strength-training workout for women ages 40-100+. It's got several sections but I only ever did the free-weight part. The free-weights part takes only 15-20 minutes and you'll see/feel benefits from 2x a week workouts.
I lost 80lb in 8 months...that was 7yrs ago and have kept it off. I did have one slide and put 20lbs back on about 2yrs ago but that was right before I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and once I was on meds, that weight came off without any effort or changes to my lifestyle.
Diet and exercise. Moreso diet for me. I changed the way I eat and I haven't gone back to my old habits. It wasn't all too hard because I was determined. I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy (he's now 7) and didn't want to deal with that the rest of my life. That was my my wake-up call to be diligent and my second chance.
I cut out most processed foods, don't drink soda anymore (diet or regular) and because of food allergies I don't eat pork or beef and dairy and wheat are limited. I eat when I'm hungry, not based on a clock and I eat until I'm satisfied, not stuffed. When I want a treat, I induldge but I'm not gluttonous about it, a small serving is all it takes to satisfy the craving.
I think what it really boils down to is motivation...my motivation was my health which made it really easy to stick to it. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don't even think about diet anymore, it has become second nature.
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