Is exercise mandatory to lose and maintain weight? (program, workouts, women)

[td333]

Fat Loss & Weight Training Myths

[Tiickled]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. But I cannot swim either. I swear I see skinny people eating fast foods and never gain weight, they say that they apparently do not exercise. I also realized that a lot of thin people which are usually men be the 1st one to point out that they love to eat...?

[td333]

i just ate an entire plate of cookies

[Tiickled]

and of course i am the one who gains weight and you do not. I think it has a lot to do with genetics as well

[Brian.Pearson]

While I don't get skinny, eating anything, I still think diet can bite you. That's why I'm eating healthier.

[td333]

I can eat whatever I want. I have a high metabolism, on 'high activity' days, I burn approx. 3400 calories, sedentary (sitting for 24 hrs), I still burn 1200 (tested using bodpod).

I do minimal cardio/conditioning (sprints every now and then)...but mostly strength training (high volume, intensity and frequency).

I'm 26.

[Oberleutnant]

You can not lift a finger and still lose weight, provided you are consuming less calories than what your body needs to maintain it's weight. But I would still try to do at least some cardio and eat healthy.

[JohnPaul]

Originally Posted by CaptainNJ

i bet most obese people who exercise end up gaining weight. they will reward themselves for exercising with additional food. how many fat people in the gym do you see not being fat over time? ive been going to the same gym for 8 years and the same fat people 8 years ago are still fat.

Delusions of grandeur much?

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by Tiickled

Thanks for the suggestions guys. But I cannot swim either. I swear I see skinny people eating fast foods and never gain weight, they say that they apparently do not exercise. I also realized that a lot of thin people which are usually men be the 1st one to point out that they love to eat...?

Everyone has different metabolisms. It's just natural fact. But 90% of it is what you do.

Take olympic gold winner in men's swimming Michael Phelps. Here's what he ate normally (note: he upped his calorie intake by 20% during the Olympics because he was competing so much, which means he ate MORE than this in 2008!!!)

— three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayo
— one five-egg omelets
— a bowl of grits
— three slices of French toast with powdered sugar
— three chocolate chip pancakes
— two cups of coffee

For lunch, Phelps drinks 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks, one pound of pasta with tomato sauce and two large ham and cheese sandwiches (with mayo) on white bread.

For dinner, Phelps’ meal consists of six to eight slices of pizza, another pound of pasta with tomato sauce, and 1,000 calories of energy drinks.

And he's ripped. So he's obviously burning the calories.

So there's a few things going on here. First off, he's been competing his entire life. His life is working out.

Obese peoples' lives (and sadly most Americans') is sitting at computers and doing even more sitting when they should be walking or doing SOMETHING.

So you have the exponential result of a lifetime of working out and a body that is used to burning all the calories that come in versus a body that is used to storing it away.

The other thing going on here is he's eating foods that are packed with immediate energy. Most americans eat sugary foods packed with "other" stuff.

So while you may claim you have friends who say they can eat fast food and never gain weight, take a close look at that they do during the day. They may not realize it but their moments of physical activity do wonders. And their portions of meals otherwise are probably smaller and they probably don't eat consistently through the day. BIG differences!

The other 10% is genetics.

Look at it another way; if humans had wide varieties in how effective they are in breaking down foods for energy, you'd see a variety of diets and habits in Olympic atheletes. But you don't. They ALL eat this much. But they also ALL work out that much.

Keep at it, don't get discouraged. Your body needs 6 months to remember what working out is like and it will SUCK. But power through it. I lost 40 lb this way.

[Marlow]

Originally Posted by Tiickled

Thanks for the suggestions guys. But I cannot swim either. I swear I see skinny people eating fast foods and never gain weight, they say that they apparently do not exercise. I also realized that a lot of thin people which are usually men be the 1st one to point out that they love to eat...?

But what you may not realize is it's possible that the skinny people haven't eaten anything else all day, or won't eat anything else later. I'm thin and yesterday I ate a substantial Easter brunch around noon. During the afternoon I had a cookie and about 4 little chocolate eggs. I wasn't hungry at dinner so I had two small tomatoes. That's not a particularly healthy way to eat and I don't do it every day, but I don't think my calorie intake was extreme.

You have no idea how much you're eating til you log it all for at least a week and total up the calories. There are lots of websites that will help you do this. You can't escape reality when it's staring you in the face.