to ask have you lost weight wirhout exercising?

[bejeezus]

I need to loose 2 stone

I know the bottom line is that you need to burn more calories than you eat. I also understand that the types of food you eat can make this easier or harder to do

I have no opportunity to fit in any extra exercise. I do cycle to work, so 6 miles 3 times a week. I walk about 4 miles on another day and rollerskate for 2 hours once a week. Cannot get child free time to increase beyond this

Has anyone of you successfully lost weight with diet modification alone?

I lost some weight without exercising, by cutting out wheat, cow's milk and eggs for a year. I dropped a dress size, slowly, then started running and dropped another dress size in 3 months.

If you ditch wheat, butter and cheese for a bit (also how much do you drink? I've found that cutting back sharply on has made a huge difference too) for a while I reckon you'll find the weight just falls off as you sound pretty active.

I wouldn't listen to those who say cut out carbs, or eliminate a particular food from your diet tbh.
I think it is fairly simple and depends on these things:

Eat smaller portions
Fill up on vegetables and complex carbs like brown rice
Don't drink too much wine

And do exercise, not least because it's good for your heart, circulation and mental well being, whether it helps you lose weight or not.

Actually, it does help with weight loss but not immediately.

The increased appetite wears off after a while:

I walk between 4 and 8 miles a day, and when I started doing it, I was almost fainting when I got home and eating 3 bowls of cereal!
In the first month, I ate massive amounts of carbs, so didn't lose weight (but didn't gain weight either.)

Then, gradually, I found that my body became used to the extra exercise, and I didn't need to eat more.
I lost a stone and a half over 3 months.
On days that I don't walk, my appetite is naturally smaller.

I feel like the human body is designed to do quite a lot of exercise, and I feel much more in tune with my body now.

Also, when you are losing weight, it's a good idea to do weight training exercise (e.g free weights/ press ups/dips etc) as this will prevent muscle loss, and also, lean muscle helps to burn fat.

"I wouldn't listen to those who say cut out carbs, or eliminate a particular food from your diet tbh."

Why not? Have you read the links to various research/evidence that I have posted?!

If you run a car you need to put oil, water and fuel into the car. The car will be fine if you forget for a while to top one of these three key elements up, but not run as well or go as fast as it could. Long term if you don't put oil in the engine the engine will die and even with a full tank of fuel the car will stop.

Muscle loss is the first things you lose when you go one a diet so it is wonderful as it is really easy to lose - stop eating as much and keep quite still, sit on the sofa a lot and the weight will fall off your body, the scaels will not lie.

What you are left with is a body that contains a higher % of fat, as there is less muscle. Fine but now your body doesn't need as much fuel as you have less muscle to supply, so you need to decrease your eating habits further to maintain the same weight - and you will not decrease your eating habits when you have finished your diet an got to your goal weight, you will say wow I am now my goal weight I will not go back to eating as much but I can eat more than when I was on the diet....

weight loss is 80% food intake and 20% exercise,

maintenance of weight is different the importance of exercise is 50% and the food intake 50%

So why not start the process with exercise and food intake, even if the exercise is 20 minutes per day and you build up over time. Than start the process without one of the elements and then discover that it fails

"I don't have an issue with carbs per se. I think the inherent evil is sugar, which is what - especially white - carbs convert into."

Absolutely - it's not just the obvious sugar, it's the action that carbs have in and on your body.

"I think a low carb diet is very, very difficult to maintain long term." The world is not designed for us to low carb - all fast food/on-the-go choices are based on carbs (sweets, chocolate, sandwiches, crisps ...), so it's not easy. But for most people, you can maintain weight on a reasonably high level of carbs. Restricting carbs so that it's a low carb diet is important for weight loss which, hopefully, will only be for a relatively short period of time.

Most low carb diets/plans are in phases, so that you gradually add back in carbs until you find out what works/doesn't work for you in terms of maintaining a steady weight.

I lost 3 and a half stone doing ww and just walking as much as possible. I have unfortunately put this back on due to pregnancy and post pregnancy out of control eating but am now back on ww again (dd is 9 months old). So far (1 week) I have lost 4 and a half pound just sticking to the pro points and walking. I have no childcare and dh works long hours so is home too late to do any in the evening so walking is all I can do. Also, if I did sopmething like the gym I would probably want a chocolate bar as a reward as I hate the gym, so therefore pointless! I do wish I could go swimming though :(

I have been eating low carb since the New Year.
Breakfast is one hard boiled egg, and a slice of smoked salmon, followed by a little natural yoghurt with blueberries and some mango. It honestly keeps me full a lot longer, and I dont feel a need to snack. I eat lunch around 12, salad with tuna, mostly. I am then full until dinner time. I moderate to one potato, a little bit of rice or pasta, but mostly fish or chicken and vegetables. I have a fruit for supper.

I honestly don't miss bread and cereals. I ate special k for breakfast and bread yesterday, and realized just how quickly I am hungry afterwards. Suffered awful flatulence too, and realized I have been totally wind free (sorry if tmi) until now on low carb!

I have a very slow metabolism, so even with exercising at least 5 times last week (3x 25 km cycle rides, 1x zumba and 35 min on the cross trainer, 1x swimming) in addition to walking 2km to and from school twice a day, I only lost 200g. But the point is rather that I feel so much better and less sluggish.

I think people before and during the war had a lot of heavy physical work, rather than sitting in front of their computers ( ) so much, which contributed to a trimmer waistline, despite a high carb diet.

Yes. I have recently lost 3/4 stone though diet alone.

BIWI-Yes, but I think there are carbs and carbs.

Personally I do not eat sugary cereal, white bread and little pasta,(I eat rice, wholemeal bead and potatoes) but the reasons I say do not cut out carbs are these:

1. Everytime I have tried to cut way down on carbs I have felt actually homicidal.

2.It's really hard to sustain, and maintaining weight loss relies on the plan being sustainable.
For most people it is not realistic to stick to a difficult diet. I know it isn't realistic for me.

1. If we are active and buring energy, we need carbs. It's fuel. We are omnivorous, and need a balance of foods, including protein and carbs.

The problem is, that many people's diet involves too high a proportion of carbs and meat, and too small a proportion of vegetables.
If you increase your daily portions of veggie, you will automatically eat fewer carbs because you will be filling up on the veggies.
I just think that the minute you decide to deny yourself something it becomes all the more desirable.
We should focus more on health and wellbeing, and feeling good (which more veggie and fruit help with) and on the things we do eat (high in nutrition) rather than abstinence.

Its a more positive approach imo.

yup, lost me first stone with slimming world. still a couch potato. its great, I eat loads of yummy food and still lose weight. buy the magazine for some idea of how it works, and inspiration.

I lost two stones in about 16 weeks without exercising using Paul McKenna principles and have kept it off. I now exercise but not to keep the weight off, mainly for the fun/fitness. I think food intake is the main factor for being overweight and losing weight (illness, medical condition).

ok! so this is day 3 of low carbing it (with strictlynochocolate/cakes/biscuits!). Thats what I decided to doafter considering all your posts;

I am SO suprised at howeasy it has been so far! I knowit isonly day 3,but I havent had any cravings for sweet stuff at all- Im notfighting them, Ijust arent having any. Im am flabbergasted that low carb eating is stopping the sweet cravings.

I have been having porridge with soya milk (have always drank soya milk as opposed to cows-titty-juice) and agave for breakfast.

Big green salad forlunch with tuna AND eggs

meat and veg stew fortea

snacking on bananas/banana &peanut butter smoothies/ nuts and seeds/yoghurt/ small amount of apple- need to remember carrot sticks/ had a ham sandwich onbrown bread 1 day/ oh and more bananas!

wow!

Am expecting tofeel a bit faint?? I thought someonehad written about that,maybe a week into low carb diets,on this thread but I cant find it now? Carb Fog, was it called?

Thanks for all your advice and bookrecommendations

Well - you're probably not suffering because you're not really low carbing! If you're eating bananas and apple and having sandwiches your carb levels will still be high. They will, though, be a lot lower than if you were eating chocolate/cakes/biscuits - and are probably at a level that is stopping you feeling the 'carb withdrawal' that many people report. (Personally I have never suffered from them myself, although I know that others do).

But if this way of eating is suiting you, see you you get on next time you weigh.