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!

On August 13th I went on a calorie deficit diet, limiting myself to 1300kcal a day. I also go to the gym and cycle for 1 hour every day.
So far I’ve lost 26lbs.

Exercise is helpful, but calorie intake is what matters.

I lost 60lbs by exercising 5 days a week and generally being more active and I ate well and didn’t feel deprived at all. It’s almost like I reset my metabolism with all the activity

Lol at the lower carbing. I don't think I can cut out carbs entirely but I will certainly make changes and try to bulk up my protein a bit more.

I've done intermittent fasting about 10 years ago before it was even a thing and it did work for me then, I just can't seem to do it post-children for some reason!

I'll continue to slog away at my cycling because I really love the buzz I get from listening to crap dance music, it's the closest thing I get to a night out these days!

80% diet, 20% exercise. Sorry!
I love exercise and run every other day, cycle and swim on the other days. I also do a lot of walking. I put weight on very easily, even with 1000+ of exercise calories burned I have to be careful what I eat. So very unfair!!

Low carb food day :

3 scrambled eggs

Lentil and veg soup and cheese for lunch

Steak, salad, jacket spud for dinner

It'll MELT offa ya 😁

Thank you @Pachonga! that's what I wanted to hear. I'm hoping to follow in your svelte footsteps! well done, that's an amazing loss.

That sounds yummy @Susannahmoody

@Susannahmoody

Low carb didn’t work for me. I really struggled with brain fog and headaches. I lot a lot of weight in the first three weeks and then the weight loss slowed significantly. I would end up going through weight loss plateau after weigh loss plateau.
I craved carbs months in, despite sticking to 40 net carbs a day (I think it was). It also cost me a fortune as I never knew what to cook: chicken and broccoli. Broccoli, cabbage and bacon. Chicken, bacon and leek. Leek, cabbage and steak.
Soooooooo boring.
I ‘suffered’ on low carb 😂 and when I finally threw in the towel and said ‘sod this’ I gained back all my lost weight super quickly and more!
Low carb is awful with a capital A 😆

It’s far easier NOT to eat it, than to burn it off.

That exercise sounds amazing though. Do you track your calorie burn?

You’ll need to address the eating too though. Nothing major. Maybe knock 10-15% off your daily calorie intake, while also doing the exercise.

Honestly to significantly lose weight through exercise alone you’d have to start training like a professional athlete for at least 2-4 hours a day. Doing 30-45 minutes 5x a week may help tone and may shift a pound or two if you’re very lucky, but for substantial weight loss of a stone or more it really is about the diet unless you switch from a fully sedentary lifestyle to a fully active one (ie a job where you move around all day like a PT) which isn’t realistic for most people. I find having clear rules is the easiest to stick to eg “no cheese” rather than “less cheese”.

Just remember that every hour you can stretch breaking your fast in the morning is burning fat, anything you manage will make a big difference OP.

I eat 1200 calories a day. Ran 45 miles last week. Lost 1.5lbs 😂 but I'm right at bottom of my range for my height. 5ft 3" so the last 2 are gonna be a buggar to shift.

I honestly believe guy can't out run a bad diet. Sorry 😣

@SwimmingOnEggshells

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

At your age? Nope. Sorry sis.

In my 20s I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Now I’m in my 30s I’m amazed at how fast I can put on weight. Keep doing the exercise, it’s great for you.

Am losing weight now and I go the gym 4 times and week, my lunch is salad or fruit, I have a big dinner, but overall eat much less carbs than I used to.

It’s not a diet buts it’s not eating whatever I want either. I seem to be losing a couple of pounds every week-ish, but it’s slow going

You not guy!

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

The only way this is possible is if your caloric intake is normally low.

I run every day. If I'm lucky that creates a 300-400 calorie hole in my account for the day so I can have a bit more to eat or a small treat after dinner. It does not allow me to stuff my face with pizza or McDonalds.

You cannot outrun your fork.

Oh my god you’re going to cripple yourself if you try to lose weight through extreme cycling alone! You’ll get very stiff andonkt work a very small number of muscles, that is not a good plan! Rowing and strength mixed in would be much better?

Unfortunately for biggish weight loss, unless you’re planning on hiking 25 miles a day, exercise alone won’t get you far. Cycling will only use a small number of muscles and exhaust these, unlike a fuller workout, and it won’t give you the calorie deficit to lose at any kind of rate.

All that meat and cheese. Won't work if you are lactose intolerant or dairy allergic or vegetarian. But you can't say that on here!

@PaddyF0dder No I don't track what I burn, and I probably should. I owned a very basic Fitbit before but it didn't have a HR monitor so it was relatively useless. What puts me off is all the data, I find I can get a bit obsessive with the stats which I don't want to do...

I know someone upthread said they see people pootling about in the gym but I swear I'm working very hard, but alas I will have to look at my diet too.

What you say @CrunchyNutNC is interesting, I'll do my best to try to break fast a bit later.

Low carb rather than no carb works for me, I try to limit my main carbs to one meal a day (usually lunch) and then load up on protein and veggies for dinner. Track what you eat on an app like My Fitness Pal too and you’ll soon see where you can trim worthless calories from any snacks/bad portion control etc. And up your fluid intake, sometimes I can stave off the urge to snack with a cup of tea or a big drink of water and make it to the next meal without a snack

[quote DBML]@Susannahmoody

Low carb didn’t work for me. I really struggled with brain fog and headaches. I lot a lot of weight in the first three weeks and then the weight loss slowed significantly. I would end up going through weight loss plateau after weigh loss plateau.
I craved carbs months in, despite sticking to 40 net carbs a day (I think it was). It also cost me a fortune as I never knew what to cook: chicken and broccoli. Broccoli, cabbage and bacon. Chicken, bacon and leek. Leek, cabbage and steak.
Soooooooo boring.
I ‘suffered’ on low carb 😂 and when I finally threw in the towel and said ‘sod this’ I gained back all my lost weight super quickly and more!
Low carb is awful with a capital A 😆[/quote]
40g net carbs is very low DBML and you'd need to work into it gradually.

My target is about 70g though actually I don't count and I ignore veg. My basic rule is not to normally eat carbs with every meal, so go very low carb lunch but enjoy a baked potato or pasta dish for dinner, or do a carby lunch but omit them at dinner. And other than potatoes I don't count veg as being a carb.

@SwimmingOnEggshells

Fair enough.

Just for a bit of background, I’ve lost 5 stone over the past year. My exercise has been mostly spinning and various weights machines. Just so you know I’m not talking shite...

I’ve also had to seriously control my calorie intake to achieve the weight loss.

Spinning is a great, great exercise. No doubt. But it’s not always as good as you think. If your resistance is low, for example, you’ll be fatiguing your legs through speed rather than effort. You won’t be burning as many calories as you think. That’s an easy mistake, particularly on a cheaper bike. The way to adjust for that is:

• get a better bike. But they’re expensive
• get a basic heart rate monitor. If you’re working hard, your heart rate should be 140-150 depending on your health. That’s a good indicator that you’re not wasting your time
• spin at a gym, where you have a better chance of a good workout

Also be aware that spinning might burn fat but it also builds a lot of thigh muscle. So you might not get the weight of aesthetic result you want.

Also, spin class is ALWAYS leg day. You’ll need some arm workouts or you’ll end up looking like a t-Rex.

My advice for what it’s worth: up the resistance a bit and carry on with spin maybe 3 times a week. Do some arm weights the other days. And drop the calorie intake by 10-15%.

Good luck!

Your weight is about what you eat. All that exercise will certainly make you fit and toned and might make a tiny bit of difference to weight although it'll probably boost your appetite as well.
At 5' you will have to eat less than most people. I think restricting what you eat is harder than restricting how much you eat.

DH eats all the wrong things IMO but is very disciplined at going periods without eating - so nothing between meals, ever. If he wants to shift a bit of weight he will skip breakfast or lunch for a few days.

I wish OP

I'm 5ft 1" and 50 - I do 2 aerobics classes a week, 2 40 min runs, 1 boot camp and I ride - If I don't watch my food I get fat(er)

I'm also very short (5'0"), been slender most of my life. I started couch25k and have almost completed it. I've put weight on! Because I've turned what little flab I had into toned muscle, I now weigh 5lb more than I did.
I am inordinately healthier though, which was my goal. A body that is 8 stones of muscle will use up more energy than one that is 8 stones of untoned flesh.

Focus on a healthy heart first, then look at your waistline. Just don't up your intake when you up your movement.

What’s your diet like now OP? How do you think the bit of extra weight crept on ?

I know my vices - crisps biscuits and other unhealthy snacks between meals, overly huge bowls of pasta, eating kids leftovers .
Cutting these out isn’t a “diet” in my book but definitely helps me lose weight

If you have similar vices then it maybe possible to reduce calories and lose weight without a “diet” per se. Of course if your current diet is vice free and appropriate portions then it may be harder