To think I can lose weight exercising 5 x per week?

[SwimmingOnEggshells]

I fucking hate to diet. I'm short (5'0) so any of those apps tell me I need to eat 1200 a day which leaves me starving and I end up bingeing.

So I've started spinning at home 5 times a week for 35-45 minutes, high intensity and I'm a sweaty mess after.

Please tell me that by eating a normal, healthy diet with no major blips/binges AND exercising at this level of intensity will make me lose weight??

I want to hear your stories!

I run 3 miles most days and often play tennis too. It’s never exercise that makes me lose weight but my diet. According to my watch, I regularly burn off 2500 calories a day and I definitely don’t eat that much but don’t lose unless I am very careful with food. In my 20’s I could up the exercise and lose but not in my 40’s. Sorry!

It will certainly help lose some weight, and will make you a lot healthier and may raise your metabolism longer term.

In terms of more rapid weight loss, annoyingly reducing food intake is much more effective than exercise.

Another idea is a different sort of “diet” that isn’t so calorie focused - for example if I want to lose weight I have a couple of weeks of fairly low carb and it makes a big difference - I’m not hungry as I eat as much as I want but my body seems to react better to protein/fat/veg than carbs. But everyone is different.

Well that worked when I was 21 but not at 31 anymore. I find I do need to diet to lose weight i.e. massively reduce refined carbs and replace with wholegrain and vegetables, no sweets, no alcohol, no snacks, very careful portion control...when I manage to a stick to it, it works. I exercise a lot (lots of HIIT and cardio) but unfortunately a bit of dieting is needed too.

It depends. If this is more exercise and less calories than usual, then there is no reason why not. How much do you want to lose? Also you will be building muscle which weighs more than fat so maybe, unless you are very overweight, you should concentrate on how your clothes feel as opposed to weight loss

Unless you’re in a caloric deficit you won’t lose weight.
Strength training is better than cardio for fat loss as it preserves your muscle mass.

I know all the facts- I just can’t follow them myself!

Exercise is important and good for you, but on its own it's pretty useless for weight loss.

Weight loss is 80% about what you eat. Sorry.

Nah, you can’t put exercise a bad diet, especially as you get older. Good for your heart though, but if weight loss is your goal, you need to look at your diet 🤷‍♀️

Heavens, no! The low carb brigade will soon be here to tell you what you need to cut out entirely.

@QuestionableDanceMoves

Unless you’re in a caloric deficit you won’t lose weight. Strength training is better than cardio for fat loss as it preserves your muscle mass.

I know all the facts- I just can’t follow them myself!

This is exactly me 🤣🤣🤣

Depends how much you're eating (and drinking and how old you are.

Build in some resistance work and you'll increase your metabolic rate.

Weightloss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, per a pp. Sorry!

I'm 39 but in my mind I'm 21!

Ballbags, you're all telling me what I don't want to hear. My BMI is currently 26 and I'd like to get down to 23, so about a stone to lose.

Anyone out there lose weight through exercise only?? Clutches tightly to straws

You need a calorie deficit of 500 a day to lose 1lb a week (3500 calories in 1lb of fat). To do that through exercise alone I think you would need to be doing something more like 1.5/2 hours of exercise a day, every single day. I've read before that most estimates of calories burned from exercise are higher than what you actually burn. Sorry. I say that as someone who wants to lose weight too but I am struggling. I know all the facts, I just can't stick to it

@HollyGoLoudly1 so my 45 min will lead to 1/2 a lb loss per week? I suppose I could live with that?? Assuming of course I can manage 45 min 7 days a week...

You need a calorie deficit of 500 a day to lose 1lb a week (3500 calories in 1lb of fat). To do that through exercise alone I think you would need to be doing something more like 1.5/2 hours of exercise a day, every single day

It's not quite that straightforward because, whilst calories in / calories out is fundamental, we are humans not internal combustion engines and hormones, life stage, body composition, sex etc play a big part.

But yeah, basically you need to eat fewer calories. Whether you do that by calories counting, low carb, intermittent fasting, whatever, in the end it does come down to eating A LOT fewer of the little fuckers. It took me a long time to come to terms with that, but it's true!

Exercise alone won't do it.

No, you cannot outrun a bad diet.

It’s both, diet and exercise that will get you results.

If you are working flat out the whole time you exercise, you can burn around 300-400 calories (and I really do mean working flat out) - and it will make you hungry so it might not work as you intend.

Plus can you really sustain 5 high intensity bike workouts a week? You’re legs will be like jelly. You’d be better having a couple of cardio days and a couple of strength days instead.

I started pe with joe in March and did HIIT x5 a week. Didn’t loose a lb but did tone up. Started his 90 day plan (based on macros and a calorie deficiency) and lost 1.5stone since July (although off plan for the last 5 weeks due to an injury).

It’s mainly diet I’m afraid.

Not really, you will look and feel better but don't expect the scale to drop

This is interesting - Gary Taubes on the exercise/weight loss paradox

And yes, before anyone jumps on me I know it's a newspaper article but I've read Taubes' whole book too

You need a calorie deficit of 500 a day to lose 1lb a week (3500 calories in 1lb of fat). To do that through exercise alone I think you would need to be doing something more like 1.5/2 hours of exercise a day, every single day

Depends on the 'exercise' I guess. I row and 45 mins on the erg will easily burn 500+ calories. I use a heart rate monitor and sports watch so I know exactly what my calorie expenditure is. Problem is that too many people don't really push themselves when exercising. The OP in fairness sounds like she is really going for it in her spin classes which is great but often I see people mooching around the gym in a half arsed fashion and chalking it up as some uber session. Of course diet is important as well and often drinking less is the easy way to cut out crap calories. The important thing to me is that regular exerise increases your resting metabolism so even when you are sleeping or sitting on your arse watching TV you are burning calories at a higher rate.

Intermittent fasting worked for me. Just have tea and coffee until lunchtime. Weirdly don’t get hungry. Then eat quite normally but fewer bad snacks. That coupled with exercise and smaller portions lost 2 stone (bmi 27 to 21) and maintaining as normal for me now. Am 45 had years of being naturally slim but biscuits catch up with you after 35!

@ChardonnaysPetDragon I've heard that before, but genuinely curious, can you outrun a good diet?

Sorry OP, there have been studies showing that exercise alone isn't any good for weight loss. That's not to say you shouldn't do it - it'll be good for your health generally.

I think of my body as being either fat burning or fat storing at any given time. There is a switch (insulin). When you raise insulin level you into fat storage mode. If you lower insulin you switch to fat burning. The key to losing weight is to be in fat burning mode more of the time, by keeping insulin levels low.

The reason people talk about low carb is because carbs, whilst good sources of fibre, raise insulin levels. Eating fewer carbs and certainly eating carbs far less frequently (no carbs snacks) will keep insulin levels lower and keep you burning fat.

I don't think you need to go very low carb necessarily, but many of us have particularly carb heavy diets. When you eat the carbs is important - it takes time afterwards for insulin to reduce again. So even if you want to enjoy carbs, not having snacks, and not having alot of carbs at every single meal will be a huge help. You also want some dilution effect when you eat carbs - if you eat something sweet on an empty stomach your insulin level will increase higher than if you eat the sweet thing after a meal.

Also look up 'intermittent fasting' the idea being that even by just skipping breakfast and going longer between meals let's your body get back into fat burning mode for longer than if you keep topping it up.

It's just easier to eat less.

Dare I say, by lower carbing?

Come over to the dark side, you'll love it!