i have a problem, see i HATE going to the gym, i love to run and wish i was more active, but i'm just to lazy to ever motivate myself.....so my question is, is it ok to just diet really well, but not go to the gm, granted i do go to the banr and ride my hrose 3-5 times a week, and thats about and hour and half trip of walking and riding combined, so is that enough exercise, caus ei only have like 10pounds left to go........used to be 5.......i also now hate birth control lol.......thanks for any responses

Sure, it's okay, in the sense that it won't hurt anything. Eating healthier is a great idea and its own reward. And you might even lose a little weight, if you're burning more calories than you're consuming. It won't be as much as if you did a little exercise though ;)

Trisha,

While it would be healthier to get at least 2-3 days of exercise in, studies have proven that you can lose weight by just dieting as well as just working out (that is as long as you do enough of either one). Of course if you do both, you will get fitter and lighter faster, but you can still lose weight.

I suggest going here:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculato r.htm
Enter your vital stats and enter little to no exercise where it asks you for amount of exercise and it will tell you how many calories you're allowed to eat if you want to lose weight. It's been working for me. I took their suggested caloric intake for weight loss (for a person my size) and have lost an average of 3lbs a week for the past six weeks. You may not lose as much as I have, but then again, it sounds like you have alot less weight to lose than I do.
Juan

For another point of view:
Only Exercise Causes Weight Loss

and

Will I Have to Exercise Forever?

and

Working Out vs. Eating

Certainly it's okay, and it can work for some people when done properly. But, how great can someone possibly look if the lose a bunch of fat, but don't have any developed muscles underneath? Just a thought. And remember, even just walking can be helpful, you don't have to turn into a sweaty version of niagra falls to reap some of the benefits of excercise.

The beefcake in those videos notwithstanding, it's simple math. Running your body requires calories. It will get those calories where it can find them. If you eat less calories than your body needs to run, it will start burning muscle and fat. And if your body consumes stuff you had already lying around... you lose weight!

It's worth noting that there is a difference between weight loss and fitness, the latter definitely requiring something beyond a better diet. If fitness is your goal, then exercise is the only answer. But a better diet could lead to weight loss and, more importantly, better overall health.

If you're too lazy to workout but can manage to eat better foods, go with that. It's certainly better than nothing.

Better than someone who has done neither, that's for sure.


The important metric for walking is the distance, not the time. Certainly, running two miles takes a few more calories than walking, but surprisingly not by that much.

I'm assuming you meant you were walking, and not the horse.

Amen.

If there was one thing I wish I could get out of people's heads it would be this gym=exercise nonsense. If you don't like gym : don't go. There are plenty of other ways to exercise. It sounds like you enjoy the outdoors - so maybe a bootcamp group or something like that would be more your style? ( if you ever do decide you would like to get some more exercise that is. )

that is absolutely true, but if your goal is to look like an actress or pop star, you'll have to go to the gym. They look like that because they go to the gym, and they pay some guy/gal 50 G's a year to tell them when to eat and workout. haha.

There is a lot more than weights at the gym too, a lot of people like kettlebells, pilates is good for the core, martial arts can do wonders (if your gym offers something), yoga is great. here are a lot of options.

I'm gonna have to disagree on that one. Pilates is available on dvd, martial arts is available in many places other than gyms, weights can be bought and used at home. I know a number of people who don't enjoy the environment at a gym. A gym is simply a convenient grouping of activities and equipment that are available elsewhere. So I maintain that if you don't like the gym, you don't have to go - even if you want to look like an actress or pop star BUT Nathan is right - if you want that kind of body, you will need to exercise to get it.

If an individual is going to buy enough weights to train like a pop star they are going to easily spend $1500 dollars (in weights alone, benches, bars, plates, racks, and that isn't counting a $2000 treadmill.) a pair of 5 pound bunny weights are not going to do a thing. pilates is really only truly effective for a limited part of the body it is not a full body training tool.

(all your muscles work (are possibly flexed) maybe, but not all of them are exposed to a training level of intensity, see the difference).

Even though i teach and study martial arts (Kung Fu and Tai Chi) and I am very avid in both of these, I still was when i weighed 305, they won't necessarily give you the body of a goddess.

If you want to buy all those things go ahead, I will in the future, but for now my gym membership is much more affordable.

You are completely right. A gym membership is very affordable.

I doubt somebody would do ALL the things mentioned. DVDs are not that expensive and do provide a number of options and variety. Books are pretty cheap too. And what do you need a treadmill for if you can run outdoors? ( I say that even though I have a membership because I can't run outdoors - but I'm going to assume most people on this forum live in a safer area ) Locally, I know I can buy weights on auction for a fraction of the new cost. There are plenty of options for home / outdoor workouts that don't cost as much as gym membership. Most miltaries don't need expensive gyms to get into shape - why do we?

There is a solution to every problem

Proper nutrtion and diet is better than nothing... as long as you are somewhat active during the day, and have a proper diet, you can lose weight, or maintain a healthy weight without exercise. Sure, it won't happen as fast as if you were but it will still work

Combining both diet and exercise is the best. My sisted hates exercise too, so she just diets like mad. Yes, she did lose lots of weight but she is really flabby and not toned. Even a 20 minute walk is good for you. Grab your ipod, or just some friends, or even your dog, and walk off the pounds!

Recent studies show that dieting and exercise are the same. Here's the full article.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Eating less and exercising more are equally good at helping take off the pounds, U.S. researchers said Friday in a study that challenges many of the popular tenets of the multibillion dollar diet and fitness industry.

Tests on overweight people show that a calorie is just a calorie, whether lost by dieting or by running, they said.

They found there is no way to selectively lose belly fat, for instance, or trim thighs. And their carefully controlled study added to evidence that adding muscle mass does not somehow boost metabolism and help dieters take off even more weight.

"It's all about the calories," said Dr. Eric Ravussin of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, part of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

"So long as the energy deficit is the same, body weight, fat weight, and abdominal fat will all decrease in the same way.""



Despite all that, your heart, lungs, and bones won't be any healthier if you only eat less.

I'm wondering how this meshes with the studies that have come out about HIIT training, which suggest that HIIT does increase metabolism after the exercise is finished. I'm presuming that the 12 people in the study who dieted and exercised were doing plain old steady state cardio and weight training.

Personally, I wish I knew more about that study. I was pretty surprised when I read about it last month or whenever it was. I guess if all you really care about is losing weight, you can lose it either way -- but someone who exercises is always going to be markedly healthier than someone who doesn't.

Anyway, I like eating but don't mind pushing myself at the gym, so I'll just stick with the whole "just exercising" camp.

I wish it were even that easy, they have to work HARD to keep their bodies looking so nicely toned and fit. Of course the motivation to be dedicated is also high, becuase of the scrutiny that forces celebrities to look their best...I'm pretty dedicated, but I wish I had motivation to that degree sometimes...

no their motivation is a $10 mill movie deal.

you think ryan "what's his face?" looks like that in labryinth (i think) because the camera guy wouldn't take his picture?

he looks like that because he is getting paid millions of dollars to look like that.

Oh, one other thing, Joann...
do you scrutinize yourself? You are now. the only person that can make you achieve your goals is you. Yeah movie stars have trainers, but they have to hire them, they don't HAVE to make the phone call, but they do. yo don't HAVE to go the gym, or eat healthy, or jog at lunch. But, you do. So what motivation are you missing?

That's true Nathan, maybe the million dollar movie deal would be nice as well....it's more a mental thing, I like to see quick results and if I don't I end up going through the motions but I don't feel happy unless I feel I like I'm conquering all the time.....ugh sigh, I'm battling a plateau.

Kind of off subject, but I went off birth control (chemical/pill form) partly for the weight gain reason. I just couldn't deal with the mood swings and the grogginess and the eating and the bloat. I've finally am pushing through the weight it put on. So, consider that option?

another comment to drive away those men afraid of a woman's natural bodily processes (hah):

I was on Depo for under a year, and it was NOT good. Other than making most women psychotic (and their boyfriends nuts because the chick's sex drive is pretty much nothing), I gained a significant amount of weight while on "The Shot;" while change in lifestyle (especially combo with Lexapro) probably had partially to do with this, I think every chick i've talked to who has been on Depo has gained weight.

So if you're on that, may wanna change, or even if you want to get away from the pill; the IUD is a chemical-free solution, so may want to check out the pros and cons (as I'm not going to turn traineo boards into a COMPLETE birth-control lecture). If you really want more BC info, message me and I'll let ya have it

birth control makes you gain weight and makes you groggy and bloat? ewwwww not worth it!

as for the movie stars, hell I just want like one tenth of what they have.. and if Nathan is talking about Ryan Reynolds.. droooolll

now if I can just stop eating...

I have absolutely never heard anything good about Depo. The Patch made me go absolutely insane, and I gained a smidgen of weight because I was retaining water, but Nuva Ring hasn't caused me any weight gain, depression, etc or etc. Birth control isn't all bad. I don't know what I'd do without it, anyway, since I seem to menstruate for two 14-17 days if I'm not on birth control. Ffhhh.

Layla, that's a hell of a period. I thought my fiancee's was bad.

BC is some type of estrgenic hormone correct (another feminine hormone?) right? So the weight gain makes sense. Testosterone allows for the body to lost fat and build muscle mass instead, and estrogen does the opposite.

Brenna: not every guy is afraid to talk about menstruation and pads and tampons and everything that goes along with it.

You're right about the lexapro and BC combo killing libido, my fiancee had the same problem, she's off both now, but that's for another message board.

Dieting without exercising has one distinct disadvantage over most others, your activity and therefore your burn rate is so low you have to eat a really small amount of food. If you upped your activity just a bit you could eat more and still lose weight.

Also, in all honesty, if you're only 10 pounds from your goal and your goal is to be a tight hottie, you're not gonna get that without intensity in your exercise and strictness with regard to what you eat. That simple. If you want a killer body you have to work for it, otherwise you'll get something "nice" and if you're lucky you won't be all squishy because you're lacking muscle mass.

Rather than telling yourself how lazy you are, thereby reinforcing this negative, self-sabotaging image of yourself, why not just find things you enjoy doing that are also "exercises?"

Without a significant amount of weight-bearing or weighted exercises to help increase bone mass, you're increasing your chances of osteoporosis when you get older.

Without a significant amount of general exercise activity you're still not meeting general wellness guidelines for women to help reduce the risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.

It's your body, your decision, your goals. But your body may not make your goals (depending on what they are) if you decide to confirm that you're indeed a lazy person.

progesterone. Either alone or in combination with estrogen. I think there may be one or 2 specific ones that use something else, but I'm not certain about that.

Estrogen does help store fat, but there's been studies that with a good fitness regime before and after commencing BC, there is no significant weight gain. There's also studies that women with low bf% (athletes used) did experience higher bf levels after commencing bc.

I think there's usually a different thing going on making women gain weight, only a small amount is related to the bc...

Either way, way I see it... BC is not a reason, just an excuse to keep you from your goals. Plenty of women can do it just fine.

Aoife- but it's so much fun to blame something else! (I agree, not an excuse per say)

Jessica- know what else makes you gain weight and groggy and bloat? being pregnant

Nathan- I'm sorry i doubted your cycle conversation capabilities. To elaborate on Aoife's response to your bc hormone question, most "regular" pills have estrogen and progestin, but the "mini-pill" just contains progestin. I think depo just has a form of progestin, and the ring has both.

Wow, i kind of went overboard there.

and Layla- yah, that is insanely suckie.

ew I know.. they make is seem like being pregnant is perfect but for like 9 months, all you do is puke, fart, and eat... not that attractive, I'm sure it's all worth it in the end.. I'm just not at that stage in my life so I'll keep thinking it's yucky.

Ah, everyone has made me all nervous now ... my doc has put me on the pill ( I'll start it in a few days ) as a last ditch attempt to fix an ongoing health complaint. Apart from the fact I came off it about 6 years ago because of a nasty depression reaction ( the day I went onto yellow pills ( progesterone ) I started reaching for the razor blades ), now you're telling me it may make weightloss more difficult. Terrific. ( pity there is no emoticon for sarcasm )