Can you lose weight w/o a daily workout? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

CrazedLedZepFan · 05-08-2008, 11:05 AM

I know, probably a dumb question. I'm not talking about sitting on the couch all day. I do move around. I walk everywhere I go in town (which is pretty much to the post office and back), Play with my daughter, and try to walk laps at work when there is no-one in the store.

Basically, I can't fit a exercise regimin into my day. I have a 1 year old who I pretty much raise on my own. I can carry her places but she will not sit in a stroller for an extended amount of time. If I'm trying to do something that doesn't involve her she is constantly at my feet hugging my legs.

ccindy · 05-08-2008, 11:11 AM

yes, you can still lose weight without a regular exercise ritual, im in the same boat with not having time to exercise i have 2 four old twins a 5 yr old and 22 month old, ive lost weight without exercise, but you have to be more strict with your calorie intake, because if your not keeping the calories and fat grams way way down and not exercising well, it will take forever to lose weight. if i know im not going to exercise on a day, i will have, say 200 calories for breakfast and raw fruit for lunch, with maybe a few rolled up slices of turkey lunch meat, no bread.

JerseyGyrl · 05-08-2008, 11:39 AM

Yes, it is certainly possible to lose weight without working out daily but, I'll give you some advice someone on another board gave me several years ago. "Losing weight without exercising = looking good in clothes...Losing weight & working out = looking good naked" It was very good, very true advice.

KforKitty · 05-08-2008, 11:44 AM

I've lost 80lb without doing anything other than light exercise like walking, general day-to day activity and occasional swimming. I have done significantly more exercise in the past but I found it got hungrier and needed to eat more and had difficulty getting the balance right.

Kitty

Marathon Mom · 05-08-2008, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerseyGyrl

Yes, it is certainly possible to lose weight without working out daily but, I'll give you some advice someone on another board gave me several years ago. "Losing weight without exercising = looking good in clothes...Losing weight & working out = looking good naked" It was very good, very true advice.

Sooo true!!!!

This sounds a little to simple - however for every 3400 calorie deficit, you will lose 1lb.

(ie if you burn an average of 2500 calories a day living/breathing/working out - and eat 1500 calories a day - you will lose 1lb ev 3.5 days)

CrazedLedZepFan · 05-08-2008, 11:57 AM

I don't really have to look good naked though. I don't have anyone to impress, lol.

I don't know, I really want to work out but I just don't have the option.

QuilterInVA · 05-08-2008, 02:50 PM

Yes, you can lose weight without exercising but you will lost muscle as well as fat and that is not acceptable if you want to be healthy. It also takes more calories to maintain muscle so you can eat more when you are on maintenance. Muscle also takes up less volume than fat so you looked toned and trimmer than someone who doesn't exercise but weighs the same.

PhotoChick · 05-08-2008, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Yes, you can lose weight without exercising but you will lost muscle as well as fat and that is not acceptable if you want to be healthy. It also takes more calories to maintain muscle so you can eat more when you are on maintenance. Muscle also takes up less volume than fat so you looked toned and trimmer than someone who doesn't exercise but weighs the same.

Sign my name to this.

I know it seems like you don't have time to exercise, but I'll bet you really do. I own 2 businesses, plus work as a data contractor. I work 70+ hours a week. I used to use the "I'm too busy" excuse as well ... and please know that I'm not beating up on you here, I'm just stating something that I know to be true.

Someone once told me that we don't "find" time for things we want to do. If you really WANT to do it, you'll MAKE time for it.

If your daughter wants your attention and is constantly at your side, then MAKE an exercise routine that includes her. Goodness, think about weight lifting a 1year old!

Pick her up and raise her above your head 10 times. She'll giggle and love it and you'll just have done 10 reps of a set of weights (and darned heavy ones, too).

Make her laugh by running in circles around her. Run really fast for 1 mins and then slow for 1 min. Do that 5 times. You've just done a short session of high intensity intervals. Make faces and funny noises at her as you do it.

Lie on your back, set her on your tummy, and raise your hips .. bouncing her and playing "horsey". You've just exercised your core muscles.

See, there are a lot of ways to incorporate exercise into your routeine while playing with your daughter. Yes, it would be nice to have the luxury of time to go to the gym and work out for an hour, but if you can't ... MAKE the best of what you have.

And my goodness, keeping up with a busy 1 year old can be turned into quite the workout!

.

CrazedLedZepFan · 05-08-2008, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhotoChick

Sign my name to this.

I know it seems like you don't have time to exercise, but I'll bet you really do. I own 2 businesses, plus work as a data contractor. I work 70+ hours a week. I used to use the "I'm too busy" excuse as well ... and please know that I'm not beating up on you here, I'm just stating something that I know to be true.

Someone once told me that we don't "find" time for things we want to do. If you really WANT to do it, you'll MAKE time for it.

If your daughter wants your attention and is constantly at your side, then MAKE an exercise routine that includes her. Goodness, think about weight lifting a 1year old!

Pick her up and raise her above your head 10 times. She'll giggle and love it and you'll just have done 10 reps of a set of weights (and darned heavy ones, too).

Make her laugh by running in circles around her. Run really fast for 1 mins and then slow for 1 min. Do that 5 times. You've just done a short session of high intensity intervals. Make faces and funny noises at her as you do it.

Lie on your back, set her on your tummy, and raise your hips .. bouncing her and playing "horsey". You've just exercised your core muscles.

See, there are a lot of ways to incorporate exercise into your routeine while playing with your daughter. Yes, it would be nice to have the luxury of time to go to the gym and work out for an hour, but if you can't ... MAKE the best of what you have.

And my goodness, keeping up with a busy 1 year old can be turned into quite the workout!

.

Those are a lot of good suggestions I will use, thanks. I've been wanting to get her a bike helmet so we can go on bike rides (I have a bikeseat) but I can't find one small enough for her. At least I'll have than when she get's 2-ish. I'm really weary of taking her on a ride w/o one.

I've also been looking up "fit flops" today and wonder if maybe it will help give me a "workout" on our short walks (I have to carry her part-way and she's getting heavy so they are short). I've also considered a "dance workout" dvd because she loves to dance and maybe she'll just think we're playing.

aviary20 · 05-08-2008, 05:10 PM

Hi. I lost 30 pounds in about 3 months without an exercise routine. I stuck to a 1200-1500 cal/day diet. I walked around and whatnot, but I had no purposeful exercise routine. You can definitely do it. Good luck!

rockstar87 · 05-08-2008, 08:45 PM

You certainly can...but I think losing muscle mass is something to concern yourself with. Restricting calories causes you to lose muscle mass and that slows down your metabolism...so after a while you'd likely have to restrict your calories some more...and then some more later As a result you could find yourself facing a plateau that's hard to break out of. You'd also probably be starving

. What if you got two or three sets of dumbells and worked in half an hour right before bed three times a week? Weight training is fantastic for weight loss and maintaing muscle mass. You can accomplish a lot in a small timeslot if you move quickly between exercises and aim to keep your heart rate up. You can flip on a sitcom and take some time for yourself after what I'm sure are very hectic days.

I know it's hard to find time to exercise (I certainly have my days) but you just have to make it a priority. I recall stumbling to the gym on four hours of sleep when all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. I think once you get into a routine (remember, it takes 21 days to form a habit) you'll find you make time for it naturally and you actually miss it when you don't get a chance to work out!

I also think playing with your daughter would be great! Even if you went for a walk to the park on a Saturday or something. I'm sure she'd love that and you'd get some extra cardio in as well.

You can lose weight without exercise but, as a few others have suggested, you might not get the best results possible. Good luck!

ddc · 05-09-2008, 09:15 AM

Have a set of dumbbells lying around and just pick them up and do something when you can.
Leslie Sansone walking dvds are great workouts for at home.
Does your child take a nap? Perfect time to exercise.
Do pushups against the counter top when you're fixing lunch or dinner. Knock out a set of 10 squats here and there. There are alot of ways to exercise around your house. You don't need to go to the gym

bargoo · 05-09-2008, 11:10 AM

Yes, you can . I was exercising regularly and then broke my shoulder ( not because of the exercise ).Since I broke my shoulder I can do very little exercise, as I have limited use of one arm. My exercise is limited to walking but that is all. I was still able to lose weight. I do think you will be more successful at losing weight if you exercise, but you do what you can.

Hat Trick · 05-09-2008, 02:19 PM

When my kids were little I used their nap time for exercising. Did I feel like exercising when they napped? **** no!

But it was the only time I had so I made the best of it. It was hit or miss alot of days but I did what I could. Do you belong to any type of 'mommy and me' group? You could 'time swap' w/other moms -- they watch your kid xx times per wk and you return the favor xx times per wk type of thing. If you got 1 hr/3 days per wk you could get some butt kicking cardio done. You could do strength training -- break it up into small amounts through out the day like ddc suggests -- on the other two days. Just wait a bit, when your little one gets really steady on her feet you absolutely can get a great workout running around after her!

Yikes, just cleaning up the messes has gotta count for something, right?

You will never find the time; you have to make the time and take the time. It's there -- you just need to tweak it out. Good luck!