to those who count calories but don't exersize

i stay around 1200 cals. a day but i just don't have the time (or motivation) to exersize..  are you losing and how much how often?

I think I'm the only one on here that doesn't exercise regularly.  I'm really busy and can't seem to find the time.  I eat about 1200 calories a day and I have been losing 1 pound a week. 

I didn't exercise regularly, maybe once every two weeks, and that once couldn't really be called exercise lol I was eating 1300-1400 calories a day and losing about 1 pound a week or 2 weeks.

I do have to say though that by the time I got to my goal weight having not exercised much, I was and still am pretty flabby. I'm definitely feeling firmer after incorporating weights and occasional cardio.

You are young now but you won't always be.  Do yourself a favor and find something physical that you do like.  I see so many elderly people especially women who are hunched back and weak because they didn't like to exercise or they didn't think it was "lady-like"  back in the day.  It's easy to think that you won't ever change how you look now, but you will.  We all do. 

Original Post by betzc:

You are young now but you won't always be.  Do yourself a favor and find something physical that you do like.  I see so many elderly people especially women who are hunched back and weak because they didn't like to exercise or they didn't think it was "lady-like"  back in the day.  It's easy to think that you won't ever change how you look now, but you will.  We all do. 

 Perhaps they needed calcium and good posture and not muscles...

I eat around 1350 calories a day. Have lost 14 pounds in 5.5 weeks with no exercise (went to gym maybe 3 times during this period). It can be done, but I plan to work exercise back into my life. It will speed up metabolism and help with toning and strength--not to mention I will feel better. But right now, like you, timeand motivation are holding me up.

Original Post by moon_doggie:

Original Post by betzc:

You are young now but you won't always be.  Do yourself a favor and find something physical that you do like.  I see so many elderly people especially women who are hunched back and weak because they didn't like to exercise or they didn't think it was "lady-like"  back in the day.  It's easy to think that you won't ever change how you look now, but you will.  We all do. 

 Perhaps they needed calcium and good posture and not muscles...

Calcium won't do jack for bone density without weigh-bearing exercise to provide the Minimum Essential Strain (MES) to elicit a training response from your bone. And you can't have good posture without muscle to hold your body up.

 It's why you see increased quality of life whenever someone untrained takes up strength training, even into the ninth decade of life.

 Exercise isn't neccesary for weight loss. You can do it all with diet. For quality of life, it's another story entirely.

I agree with Melkor.

I lost weight with virtually no exercise and I got down to 99lbs and still was very flabby, soft and have cellulite. It isn't pretty. So my new goal for 2009 is to become a firmer, leaner, happier 110lb gal. I have no doubt I will look better too. I am psyched to try the barre method.

But for those curious I lost 30lbs+ eating 1500 cals a day. Some months I lost 1 lbs, some months 5lbs, some months 3lbs. I barely exercised at all, sometimes I would take the stairs and do a few small other exercises (though I did run a 5K at one point during the WL time). At the time, I was 35 years old and 5'1" tall.

Also, there are lots of ways to get exercise without EXERCISING. 

• If you have time to go to the store (or coffee shop or whatever), you have time to walk there (or bike, if it's farther).  Even if you only do this every second, third or fifth trip, you've helped. 
• If you have time to wait for the elevator, you have time to take the stairs. 
• Walk to the mailbox instead of driving there.  (Yes, I really see people doing this where I live, and it drives me nuts.)
• Park the car and walk into the coffee shop/bank/etc. rather than going through the drive through.
• Carry your own groceries out to the car rather than getting an employee to do it for you.

You can really increase the number of calories you burn just by walking and/or biking and/or rollerblading more in your day-to-day life.

Thats how i lost pretty much all of my weight. I was eating 1200-1300 calories and not really exercising at all. I would walk to classes and take stairs but i dont think that really counts as exercise b/c the rest of the time i would be sitting in class or studying. I am now trying to incorporate some strength training exercises since i now got those flabby areas. I would strongly recommend doing exercises if you want to be firm and fit once you have lost your weight.  

okay so.. "flabby" .. what exactly do you define as flabby? i mean if it's just not nice, firm abs then i'm ok w/that.. for now i'm focusing on getting rid of the fat on my face, arms, etc. (wherever it decides to come off) and would like my stomach flatter, .. not neccesarily toned.. maybe when i'm down to my goal weight i was thinking about then incorperating a little cardio and some weight training to firm up.. depending on how i look & feel.  cardio is the killer for me. i am completley miserable when i exersize and time goes by sooo slow.. anyway, whats your guys' definition of flabby?

Wasn`t the absolute minimum cal intake for teens somewhere around 1500?

And I might be way off here, but have you ever considered that not having time/motivation are just maybe excuses for not having the energy, because you`re not eating enough? If you say that you can do cardio when you reach your goal weight, I`m sure you can squeeze some in right now as well. It doesn`t have to feel lonely or boring - take up some team sport with some friends, go to a gym and listen to music/watch an episode of your favourite show (while checking out cute guys checking you out ;) ), even walking around the mall window-shopping and trying on clothes for a couple hours a couple times a week would do something for your physique.

My point is that depriving yourself of food you like is sure to bring on a negative mindset, whereas exercise releases endorphines and will make you generally more optimistic and enthusiastic, trust me on this one. So rather than just eating 1200(1500) you`d be much better off eating 1400(1700) and burning 200. And 200 cals isn`t that much of a pain to burn.

Good luck!

Hey! I don't exercize at all and I'm losing about 3lbs a month. Its really slow but at the same time I'm learning how to maintain so once I reach my goal it won't be so shocking when I stop losing. The down side is I too am flabby and not as firm so I need to start incorporating it in. Also, workout has sooooo many benefits to it including keeping you metabolism working. I've lost 37lbs to date without working out. But as others said, working out is a good thing for your body.

Original Post by crazybeautifulxo:

i stay around 1200 cals. a day but i just don't have the time (or motivation) to exersize..  are you losing and how much how often?

 

 hey well i definitely dont exercise. i lay around all day...prepare food & clean, and that's about it...I eat less than 900 cals a day & i'm losing weight & still eating. If you times your weight by 7 that's the number of calories you should consume to lose weight....

Original Post by stickthin:

Original Post by crazybeautifulxo:

i stay around 1200 cals. a day but i just don't have the time (or motivation) to exersize..  are you losing and how much how often?

 

 hey well i definitely dont exercise. i lay around all day...prepare food & clean, and that's about it...I eat less than 900 cals a day & i'm losing weight & still eating. If you times your weight by 7 that's the number of calories you should consume to lose weight....

I don't exercise yet, eat 1400 - 1800 calories a day, and have averaged 5 pounds a week lost.  a lot of this has to do with me being very overweight - the weight comes off really easily at first. 

Please explore some of the tools on this website in regards to your calorie intake.  Women should not eat under 1200 calories a day, and at 21 you are still growing, and really shouldn't eat under 1500 calories a day.  I work a desk job, and don't do much more than walking from my car to my desk and a small variety of other 20 steps away areas, so I definitely don't get any sort of workout from that.

Original Post by crazybeautifulxo:

okay so.. "flabby" .. what exactly do you define as flabby? i mean if it's just not nice, firm abs then i'm ok w/that.. for now i'm focusing on getting rid of the fat on my face, arms, etc. (wherever it decides to come off) and would like my stomach flatter, .. not neccesarily toned.. maybe when i'm down to my goal weight i was thinking about then incorperating a little cardio and some weight training to firm up.. depending on how i look & feel.  cardio is the killer for me. i am completley miserable when i exersize and time goes by sooo slow.. anyway, whats your guys' definition of flabby?

i think that whilst cardio is great for your heart and stamina and does burn calories so you can eat more- strength training will be more beneficial in toning- so maybe you could incorporate some of this first and then try and get some cardio in further down the line. i think- and i'm not an expert don't do it myself but:) that if you do lunges, squats, pressups etc and can't do more than around 10 at a timethen it counts as strength trining and will tone you up- as you get better and stronger you may have to add some weights to keep the max numebr you can do at a time at about 10. but you can do this at home in front of the telly along with maybe some ab work so a couple f reps of ten of these will be less boring than 40 minutes on the eliptical!!!

but then again i can't talk i haven't dragged myself to the gym in forever!

 

oh and stick thin- i'm sure you'll read loads of this if you scan through more of the threads but no female over 21 should eat less than 1200,  no less than 1500 if you're under 21- it really won't help you're weight loss in the future. search starvation mode in the forum search and you'll get loooooaaads of info

you'll see that there are some arguments on here over when starvation mode kicks in and some feel that some are too quick to use it as the answere to every query BUT what pretty much everyone does agree with is that you should eat minimum 1200.

Original Post by moon_doggie:

Original Post by betzc:

You are young now but you won't always be.  Do yourself a favor and find something physical that you do like.  I see so many elderly people especially women who are hunched back and weak because they didn't like to exercise or they didn't think it was "lady-like"  back in the day.  It's easy to think that you won't ever change how you look now, but you will.  We all do. 

 Perhaps they needed calcium and good posture and not muscles...

 ... and strong muscles are the basis of good posture...