I don't want to be fat. But i don't exercise.

[Rainydays26]

I feel like I'm going to be fat for ever. I know ideally your meant to loose weight slowly but it just feels hopeless. I have lost but its now slowed right down to an almost stop.

I know the answer is exercise I do very little. I just can't get motivated. I never stick to it. I have apps as smart bike that I can do challenges with when connected to tv. I need to do core and stomach exercise I find that even harder to do. Logically I know what I need to do. And it's down to me to put the effort in. But I find it hard. When it should be simple.

Just edit to add i can't reduce calories anymore. I'm already lower than I should be.

This is why exercise is a 'Just fucking do it' even when you don't particularly want to.
In the same way you have to get up for work... I don't want my alarm to go off at 6am, but I've just got to get up and get on with it.

You'll feel better once it's done and out of the way.
You might even feel proud of your achievement (longer faster stronger?) when you're showered and sorted afterwards.

I lost 7 stone on mounjaro last year and I can tell you I hardly exercised....its all diet for weight loss.

At least read the thread, she’s a bmi just over 21. It’s about how her body looks now she’s lost it.

and yes it is mostly diet for weight loss. But if you don’t work out you lose a lot of muscle not just fat and yoh end up with a body you don’t like the look of.

Those pictures summarise the argument that muscle weighs more than fat.....it doesn't because a lb of anything weighs a lb but muscle is more dense than fat so a lb of muscle takes up a lot less space than a lb of fat, and hence people who work out and lift weights will usually be smaller in size than those who weigh the same or less than them. Google comparison of a lb of fat and muscle. I think you need to stop focussing on the number on the scales and focus on your body shape and size.

If you’re still in active weight loss OP then you should know that fat and skin act and look different during this time. The fat cells are breaking down and re jigging themselves which is why it goes all soft and jiggly and feels loose. Then after you stop losing weight (took a month or two for me) it stabilises and the skin tightens and the fat solidifies so it’s smoother and less loose again.

90 minutes twice a day is more than many extremely fit people do. Start with smaller goals you’re more likely to maintain like 20 minutes a day of the bike and some stretches. Then when you’ve set the habit by doing it for a few months you can up to 30 and throw in some weights etc.

Walking is the best exercise you can do. Just put some music on your phone and got for a 30 min walk every day

Yeah it is but then I completely stopped. I go from one extreme to the other. But its also probably why I stopped.
But yes I will do smaller chunks .

I am shocked as the amount of people on here saying exercise isn't important. Of course it is, weight loss is mainly diet true, but exercise is so important for your body, not just in a superficial way but for your heart health it needs cardiovascular exercise. Your bones and joints need strengthening exercises to protect them. If you strength training you increase your muscle mass and that speeds up your metabolism. A half an hour walk every day or half and hour strength training isn't a big ask you just need to do it. Once you get into the routine and see results you will get hooked on exercise. I have my exercise routine and some days I don't want to do it but I do t even allow myself to think about not doing it I just get my kit on and do it. I've never regretted an exercise session, but I have regretted skipping one.

OP, I am the exact BMI, weight, and height (which I easily calculated from your BMI and weight) as you, and nobody has ever described me as “fat” (quite the opposite, actually).

I think you feel that way about your tummy because you’re actually soft, not overweight (and I’d know, because I’m still wobbly even though I’m described as slim with my clothes on). It’s not losing weight you necessarily need, it’s firming your trunk, toning up your stomach, and working on your core. Unfortunately that’s all down to exercise.

You might also have loose skin (I know I do after having had a child!), the appearance of which the above exercises can help with. Failing that there’s always surgery (for the loose skin that is, not for firming up).

If you do lots of exercise you can eat a bit more and still lose weight. But you have to really work hard as light cardio you'd need to do it for about an hour or more to burn off like one chocolate bar.

So if you hate exercise use you just need to eat even less calories. But that might be very difficult for you if you're big.

I have lost several stones by exercising without limited/changing my food intake over a few years. I have an unhealthy relationship with food and binge eat. I tried for years to control the binging but nothing ever worked. I now just do A LOT of walking, at least 10k steps per day, spread over 3/4 walks (i.e. to work, lunchtime, walk home, evening walk), and have a treadmill in the garage for bad weather days. The weight comes off at roughly half a stone a year. That's whilst I'm still stuffing myself with all kinds of the wrong foods, i.e. chocolate bars, cakes, pies, crisps, etc. - exactly the same eating habits that got me up to 23 stones in the first place!

@Rainydays26 the key is to stop the boom and bust cycle with exercise. Atomic Habits is a good book to read if you haven't already which goes through how to build habits. Something I took from that book is the commitment: I am someone who (in my case) runs. I am a runner. When I am really not feeling it (frequently) I go back to basics: tomorrow, I will put on my running gear and my trainers, and I will just go outside for a walk.

(Inevitably once I have done that much, I think oh fuck it, and run anyway -- but not always; sometimes I do genuinely just walk, and sometimes not for that long).

Make it easier on yourself, and aim for something every day however long, and become "someone who exercises regularly".

Wow you have done amazing with your weightoss! Look into videos on YouTube about things like body recomposition. If I ever finally manage to lose enough weight and get to your point I would look at reverse dieting https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N658y0bjPcw&pp=ygUwYm9keSByZWNvbXBvc2l0aW9uIHdvbWVuIHJldmVyc2UgZGlldGluZyB3YXJyaW9y0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv&ra=m

Basically from what I understand you need to very slowly up your calories and also add in weight training. Cardio should be carefully added so that it is a level you can sustain and potentially increase it in the future if you want try cutting fat again. You would use photos, clothing fit or tape measure to ensure you are making progress more than a weghing scale. If you build your calories up you should also have more energy to exercise more. The tricky thing s doing it without gaining weight (beyond a couple of lbs which would be mainly water weight from exercise and extra food in your tummy etc) and I imagine that means focusing on adding lean protein and fibre rich veg and avoiding your old trigger foods that caused you to gain previously. Good luck with phase 2!

I don’t think that the answer is exercise, OP. I know that you have to have a calorie deficit to lose weight, but that it’s also true that you can outrun a bad diet. I have found that it helps gradually to change my diet (as in food intake patterns, not a particular regimen). I now genuinely prefer veg, fruits, beans and grains and flavour enhancers like kimchi.

It really is true that your taste buds change as your gut flora accommodate to new foods.

Also, avoid “treat days” because that’s simply conditioning you to think that your usual foods are a penance that requires occasional relief.

Sorry one other thing the aim is now to lose fat and gain muscle - not to lose weight, which is why you will have less focus on the scale.

From what I have learnt on this thread is do agree that exercise is needed. But how people feel about exercise is different. It's not as easy as just do it. Sometimes it can be a bit deeper than just can't be bothered. If I want my body to change i will have to do it. But I'm just saying its not always that easy

I'm going to do that. I don't think i will know clearly what loose skin I have until I have toned up.

That definitely makes sense.

I lost 6 stone lying in bed for a year and a half unable to move waiting for an orthopaedic operation (working from home for the duration).
Its all about calories.
Mind you it's better to do some exercise or you'll get awful muscle wasting which I'm having to deal with now.

OP, having now seen this photo, I can quite confidently tell you that you’ll benefit massively from gaining muscle in your stomach area. Look up “reconditioning”. Once the fat in your stomach develops in to muscle, the area will shrink SIGNIFICANTLY. Your loose skin will look far less so.

You can achieve this in a space of 6 months with a high-protein, low-carb, high-fibre diet (far easier than you think!) and consistent targeted exercises.

Despite having the same stats as you (BMI, height, weight) my stomach area looks quite different to yours (see pic attached) because I’m fairly muscular (having followed the above regime for about 3 months or so). If I can do it, so can you. I’m rooting for you OP! You got this!

That must have been so hard for you. I hope things are better for you now.

ETA to add a second photo to show you what you can realistically achieve, OP!

@Rainydays26 , if you are reducing calories to a very low level and are still overweight and not losing something is wrong. There were no fat prisoners in Bergen-Belsen.
I would suggest going to your GP and asking for some tests.
It would be interesting for you to share your age, height and an honest account of your typical days food and drink consumption. We might then be able to offer some advice. Exercise is good for us but while for instance taking some brisk exercise for ten minutes following eating can have beneficial consequences on blood sugar as can HIIT and building muscle helps to burn more calories really it’s what we stuff in our faces that mostly effects what we see on the scales.

Try one meal a day. If your belly rumbles, that’s good. It will start using the fat on your body.

Walk briskly for an hour a day if you don’t fancy proper workouts yet.