I really agree with this. My grandmother, who is approaching 80, is a tiny little thing who for her entire life has watched her food intake and kept active her entire life. Even now she still cooks for the entire family if she feels like it, takes the stairs 5 or 6 times a day, walks 1 to 1 1/2 hour every day after lunch, can sit down and get up off the floor without assistance. Even now the only medication she takes is for her thyroid. Compared with her two sisters who married relatively wealthy and therefore had less reason to move around (both are diabetic, have advanced kidney problems, are close to being blind and one has had a stroke already and they are both in their normal weight ranges) she's doing really well because her lifestyle forced her to remain active (no car so walk everywhere, for extra money she would churn and sell butter, etc).

I promise I'm not trying to cause guilt here. I'm very anti-exercise, too. Right now all I'm doing is watching my calorie intake and so far it is working great for me. Working out makes me hungry. And doing it now hurts my knees. But I know once I'm close to goal or have reached it, I will have to incorporate some exercise because I want to stay as strong and mobile as my grandmother in my old age. In the meantime I try to do small things like taking the stairs, or parking my car further away.

Dawn and Jen both make good points; I have a coworker who's thin as a rail and always has been, in her mid-40s and already battling osteoporosis because she wasn't active enough and didn't get proper nutrition in early age. It's amazing the damage we can do without realizing it.

I'm one of those people who can't lose weight without exercise, alas, but in the long run I know it makes me look a lot better when I'm losing if I work out at the same time, so I'm committed to doing it.

I'm definitely a big fan of throwing out guilt and moving past it. If you're losing weight right now that is AWESOME, keep up the good work!

I do want to point out, though, that when you mention walking to the store etc that you're probably doing a lot more exercise than others. There's a cool video going around right now about this very thing: http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea...5-hrs-per-day/ Basically the idea is not so much that superduper exercise is needed but movement, any movement makes a huge difference in terms of health. So you walking to the store (and I'm assuming you don't have a car from your comments...) makes a difference. I have relatives who live in the states, have cars, have sedentary jobs and also mobility issues. Taking public transportation every day would actually be a huge increase in the amount of movement that they do.

It's a tricky subject and I think one of the problems is what we have such a limited definition of what constitutes exercise. I've mentioned this before on here but there are a lot of little things you can do throughout the day that help tremendously. Sure it might not be the same as going to a gym but playing with your kids (if you have any), vigorously cleaning your house, dancing to music, etc help in terms of health. It might not be racking up the big calorie numbers but it still is doing something for you.

I'm someone who has found exercise absolutely crucial for me. Unfortunately, I've had to veer off of my favorite routines due to injuries and physical limitations but I'll admit that I still enjoy it. That being said, I certainly enjoy it MORE now that I don't have as much extra weight to carry on (and I suspect if you give a few things a chance you will too ). I think the key is to keep an open mind and take at the pace YOU need (not someone else!).

Yeah, I'm with you. Heck, even staying awake at my highest weight was challenging.

I don't exercise, but I'd like to. The desire isn't strong enough yet to take me there though. I'm hoping that as I get smaller the desire builds, as I know it's good for me in the long run.

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Hey good for you for speaking out!! I lost about 50 pounds without exercise at all, and STILL HATE IT MORE THAN ANYTHING The ONLY reason I do it is for my heart, and to help with the jiggly bits - it does nothing 'zen' for me, I get absolutely nothing from it LOL other than a ridiculously clean house (i power clean!) and yard and driveway and all my neighbours get free snow-shovelling!

I just found as i got smaller and small my energy went up up UP and I had to have something to do LOL

I'm not a big fan of exercise in the sense many use it on this forum... But an active life with kids and cleaning and cooking? I'm standing or moving all but a few waking hours of the day! That's great for fitness, as is strength training. But the purpose of hese things isn't weight loss, it is overall health. I like strength training not because I enjoy pumping resistance bands, but because my muscles, skeletons, heart, lymphatic system, etc etc, all need the benefits the activity gives. Walking, lifting heavy things, the occasional sprint, that's about what I adhere to, ideally. And it hadn't helped me lose a pound. But the benefits beyond that are incredible.

In response to the discussion on the benefits of exercise on mobility and overall health and well-being...

I completely agree that exercise is important and good for all sorts of reasons. That's never been in question for me. Perhaps a different way of looking at the issue is asking is exercise the best way of increasing my overall well-being given where I'm at emotionally, mentally, and physically right now?

For me the answer today is no. If I were on one of those weight loss competition shows where I was being screamed at to roll a barrel of sand up a hill, I'd give the finger to the person screaming at me, walk off the show, feel like a failure for not sticking with it, and eat a cheesecake. If I were to enroll in yet another gym membership, I'd go for a week or two, keep on paying for another couple months while daily telling myself I'll go tomorrow, waste my money on a fantasy version of myself as an über-athlete, not stick with any of it, and eat a cheesecake.

All of these exercise scenarios end with me eating a cheesecake.

I understand that mobility issues become more important with age. Mobility issues are also pretty significant with weight. To some degree it's a trade off for me at the moment. My mobility is vastly improved and the difference in ease of movement between 248 and 343 is enormous. If I guilt myself into exercising and end up gaining weight because I'm motivated by shame rather than enjoying my body, whatever mobility benefits that come from exercise are completely lost by regaining weight.

I'm not against exercise. I'm against anything that makes anyone - even for a split second - feel like they are less than or worthless or have anything at all to be ashamed of. No amount of flexibility or physical strength is, for me, worth the loss of dignity and that sense of shame that comes from believing that whatever it is you're doing, it's wrong.

They get to me sometimes as well.

Argh! Hearing that is so frustrating because it reflects perfectly that instilled sense of shame for being fat and not exercising that I have such a visceral reaction against. I am so glad that you have the self-respect to say 'hey, that guy is way off base' instead of internalizing that sense of failure.

I so agree with you about those trainers that yell and scream and go on and on. I don't know how that is motivating anyone! I'd head to the nearest McDonald's after a tirade. There are some though who I guess that is what they respond to and of course the folks on the reality shows have to put up with it, they knew what they were getting into to begin with.

My goal now is to be a trainer and I'd like to specialize in children with weight problems so learning how to motivate and make exercise fun and interesting is something I'm looking at so this is a really interesting post for me.

OP....

I understand the idea of not being guilted into exercise. Question: Have you had positive experiences with exercise? If so, do I understand that you don't mind exercising, you just don't believe in looking down on someone because they choose not to or being guilted into feeling less than because you're not in pain and panting?

It appears you are advocating the latter. I think most people would agree on that point. I mistakenly read your original message to indicate that you don't like or want to exercise ever.

I exercise not just for weight loss. I exercise for flexibility (I have 3 kiddos to catch), toning and conditioning. I have an office job but when I am working on legislation, I sometimes have to run from one end of the Capitol to the other in 0.5 seconds. The steps and hills are a killer. Sometimes, I am negotiating while walking....in heels...and it's embarrassing to be huffing and puffing the entire way. When i wasn't exercising, my joints felt stiff and I felt....old, really old. But I exercise by choice. I agree that no one should be viewed any lesser because of a different choice....

I have to say that from everything I have learned about weight loss, exercise is a "catalyst" for weight loss... but it is all about eating at the end of the day.
Sure exercise has great benefits, can make one feel good, can tone, and also can be helpful in kick starting the body to lose those last few pounds or whatever.
But I have heard it said "you cannot outrun what you eat".
its all about calories at the end of the day...

and I'm not doing super great on calories today so I had better watch it!

OP - You've mentioned the gym, but have you tried any home exercise dvds? There are tons of fun ones, and if you owned even just a small collection of them you could exercise when and if you felt like it, but it would be an easy and hopefully fun option always there for you, not an "I have to go to the gym because I'm paying for the membership now" etc.

Yes, I have had positive experiences with exercise. I do not exercise now and I do not plan to begin exercising in the near future.

I believe the choice to exercise or not to exercise is, like the choice of a weight loss plan, a completely personal decision. I'm not going to judge anyone for their choice.

I do not believe that exercise has to entail pain and panting.

I've tried a bunch of home exercise dvds!

I agree...exercise doesn't have to involve pain and panting. I think this is the tragedy of shows like the Biggest Loser. I have finally found an exercise that I enjoy....and actually look forward too. It may not be as strenous as some, but it works for me. When I first started, I thought the goal was to exercise until I dropped. How wrong...With 3 kids and a busy life, it has become my relief. I remember in a previous post on 1/17 you remarked that you didn't find exercise fun because it completely exhausts you which is why I asked

It really is a personal decision...For my lifestyle, job....I realized I had too. But, if you choose not to....I agree it's okay if it works for you. Hope I didn't offend....

WOW I am so taken back by this Thank you so much for posting this! I thought I was the only one who thought like this. I would not say I don't hate exercise but honestly from experience for me just watching what I eat is what helps me lose weight.

I lost about 30lbs alone just by cutting back and watching what I ate. I teeter toddered about 10lbs for a couple of yours but now I ended up gaining those back+10lbs...ugh, but it wasn't because I did not exercise, it's because I really stopped watching what I ate! If I eat too much of the wring food I pack on the pounds. I've mentioned to my BF that I want to lose weight and his immediate reaction is "WELL YOU HAVE TO EXERCISE!" I've tried explaining to him that for my body weight loss happens better with my food intake but he is stubborn and believes that's the ONLY way to achieve weight loss. Men....

I hope to try to lose as much weight as my body can without exercise since I live in a snowy area almost all year and I don't have much money to spend on a Gym membership. But if/when I plateu I know that's when my body will need the assistance of exercise.

I'm ok with no exercise but my body isn't. I wish that I could lose weight by not exercising but I'm not that lucky. My first time doing Weight Watchers a few years ago, I remember following the plan perfectly and I only saw a loss of 1 or 3 pounds a week (which was ok) but I wasn't happy with that because I knew that I could lose more. The first week I started the Couch To 5K program and weighed in at Weight Watchers, I had a weight loss of 6 lbs. I could never have lost that much weight just by watching what I eat. So, the exercise helped me tremendously.

Every person will be different. I am soooooo jealous of those who can lose weight without exercising. I wanna be like that soooo bad.