During Covid I lost about 15 pounds through 1200 calories and exercise. Then due to work, life, family stress - I gained it all back in the last 6 months and I feel disgusted and disappointed with myself. But I’m having the hardest time getting back into it. I semi enjoy walking/running outside for exercise but the weathers always gross in the east coast right now - it’s either super cold or rainy/snowy. I live in a 3rd floor apartment so working out in the apartment is also not a good idea. Have any of you successfully lost weight without exercise and if so, how many calories did you eat? What are your weight and height stats and how long did it take? I’m curious if it’s even possible. Thanks in advance!
@chelsey423 I’m a bit opposite - I love exercising but my experience is that regardless of how much I exercise (to achieve fitness goals) I’ve never lost any weight from it - I’ve only ever lost weight if I am stringent with calorie counting (after having my second kiddo for example, I set a personal goal to go half-Ironman distance and I lost zero of the 50 pounds I’d gained during pregnancy since I ate whatever I wanted). I’ve gained weight if I’m injured and can’t exercise, and again I think that’s because I ate whatever I wanted. I think general calorie counting matters more than exercise for weight loss itself. But exercise is great for general physical and mental health - even a little bit of exercise - so if you can find something you enjoy it’s worth it.
Your value as a human being definitely doesn’t depend on your weight - I know this might sound a bit cliche but all of us struggle with different things and there’s definitely no reason to be disgusted with yourself for gaining weight or not exercising. Most important is to take care of yourself as best you can especially if you are stressed out
@chelsey423 Yes, but only if I restricted to 1200-1300, which is unsustainable for me. Since I want to keep the weight off, I’ve opted for more movement + 1500-1600 calories. My total daily burn is around 1800-2200 with this method.
If you have room, you might consider a desk treadmill — that’s made a big difference for me in being able to get enough movement in, even with poor weather. Plus, the one I got (SuperFit brand) can fold down and be slid under a couch or bed for storage.
@cryogenic Same, I never want to go back to eating 1200 again. Sure I got down to my goal weight, but I love food/eating and it wasn't sustainable for the longterm. Plus, it gets reeaaaally hard to stick to a low calorie diet when the pounds take longer and longer to drop off as you get closer to your goal.
These days my maintenance is 2000 calories thanks to exercise (10k steps a day, lifting 4 times a week).
@cryogenic May I ask how long you did on the treadmill daily? Looking to try losing weight again, and really want to avoid the strict 1,200 calorie diet, because I completely failed when I tried that last year.
@bluescityleon I aim for 10k steps a day, so I use the treadmill to close the gap between that goal and how active I’ve been that day. For my less active days, I usually end up walking 5-7k steps (around 45-60 mins at 2.5-3 mph).
@chelsey423 Yeah I don't lose weight from exercise. Only walking. If I aim about 14000 a day the weight falls off pretty quick. It's time consuming but it always works for me. And I have PCOS so weightloss should be more difficult fore but I can lose 2lbs a week doing that. I try to make one of my three meals pretty low in cals then too. Like a light salad or soup or egg on veg or something
@asinus1223 I walk at a brink pace and usually mix up the walk so there's some incline often but really I just get out and listen to podcasts and go wherever!
@postios Petite & PCOS here, similar experience! I strength train and intermittent fast but the thing that really helps me lose the weight is walking ~15,000 steps a day.
@curlykeith I'd walk a route of an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Plus the steps I get just living during the day. I don't do this every day of my life. I try to get about 3 long walks in during the week for maintenance, so personally, I walk home from work on those days. But if I want to lose weight, I'll ramp up the walks for a week or two. I've my wedding coming up in the summer so my walking shoes will be bald!
@chelsey423 For me, I just cant eat enough to feel content without exercise. If I snack, like eat hot cheetos or something, I will hose myself for the day. The extra even 100 cals from a low intensity workout helps me be able to have some sort of leeway. Its really hard otherwise.
@chelsey423 I did it, but plan to do the opposite this time around. I was 31/32 and went from 140lbs to 115lbs in about 14 months. I'm 5'1. It was slow, I lost muscle, and ended up "skinny fat". Gained everything back and then some within 2 years.
Edit to add: I ate around 1300-1400. Had to keep eating less the more I lost. By the end I wanted to keep losing because I still wasn't happy with my results but my TDEE was 1400 and I couldn't keep up with 1200 calories a day.
@chelsey423 I lost 35 pounds in my 30s without exercising. I wish I had exercised though. Now I am in my 50s and have lost weight without exercise and then re-comped with cutting and exercise.
I belong to a whole online running group who live all across the US and Canada. People run and exercise outside even when the weather is gross. You just have to dress for success.
