Exercise - can you lose weight without dieting?

[MsCellophane]

I have been overweight all my adult life. I have been on every diet going, lost weight but also got bored and always put the weight back on. I have never exercised

My heaviest has been almost 16st, I am between 14st and 14st7lb right now, depending on time of day/month. I'm 5ft1in so morbidly obese along with high cholesteral, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes - all controlled by medication

So, I've joined a gym in the hope that if I don't change my eating habits at least I won't gain (wishful thinking?)

I have been walking 1.25miles/cycling 2miles/rowing 1500metres. I am working up a huge sweat and getting out of breath (and my legs kill!!!). Last week I managed Mon/Wed/Thurs/Fri, I didn't go Sat/Sun but have been yesterday and today. I will go wed/thurs/fri this week too

Is that enough to start with?Should I be doing more/less? Saw a trainer as part of my package and all he said was to do what I feel comfortable with and to review again in two weeks

So would 5 days at that level maintain my weight or could I also lose? I haven't lost anything yet

I'm not an expert but, I do believe that 'diets' don't work but exercise does. I walk 1.5 miles 5 days a week, do an hour of yoga once a week and shotokan Karate when I can fit it in (I work too but, my dc's aren't that young so I have spare time). I have NEVER dieted once in my life and I am slim and I don't have to starve myself either.
I do think it probably helps if your eating habits are balanced, ie; regular meals that are relatively well balanced nutritionally.
As for how much physical exercise you do, you are best to get a professional opinion on exactly how much you should be doing. I would think that it will be a couple of weeks before you see some results but, it will be so worth it. Even if you don't lose weight, exercising will make you feel a whole lot better about your body, I promise.

Its very hard, especially as a woman to lose weight without "dieting" if you are overweight, because without watching what you eat you generally end up eating more to compensate for the exercise (as you are more hungry) and hence you maintain your weight rather than losing.

Also you'll build muscle and perhaps lose some fat, which is good but again would not contribute to weight loss, you may gain (muscle) weight which after years of yo yo dieting would be good, but it would increase your BMI.

It sounds as though you are doing enough exercise, but you may not lose weight with this new regime.

if you are taking in fewer calories than you are using then you'll lose weight. But it is a hell of a lot quicker if you eat less. Cut your portion sizes by at least a third, eat a lot more veg. You will get thinner.

You will need to do a combination of sensible eating and exercise.

Just a word of caution, do not lose hope if you don't lose weight straight away. When I started exercising, I didn't lose weight for about 3-4 weeks and then it started falling off me. I think my metabolism had to change first and if, like me, you might not have exercised for a while it can take a few weeks for that to happen.

Yeah you need to exercise and change your eating habits.

You can only what what you like when exercising like a pro (ie 2/3 times a day)

My friend has put on 2 and a half stone since she started exercising 4 nights a week! I think she thought no diet/lots of exercise would shift weight, but it has had the opposite effect.

Your freind must be eating more calories to have put on 2.5 stone. People make the mistake of thinking that if they exercise they desrve a treat as it doesn't matter. Then the calories add up.

I have always exercised, but until I actually looked at what I was eating and drinking I remained overweight. It was pretty frustrating actually, exercising several times a week, building muscle but still much larger than I should have been. You never work off as much as you think you must have. If you go on myfitnesspal.com that shows you very clearly calories consumed and expended. I would say if you want to lose weight you have to do both.

I think you have to do both, although I think you can be more moderate with the diet part if you are doing lot of exercise.

Eat real food, not processed low-fat crap. Good fats, protein, and decent portions of good carbs. Don't starve yourself, but only eat when you are hungry - not when you think you deserve to, or ought to.

The amount of calories you use as result of exercising is actually quite low. I wore a kifit for a week and was depressed by how few calories th gym used even when sweaty and out of breath. Bearing in mind that sitting on the sofa uses some calories...

I'd estimate that 1.25miles/cycling 2miles/rowing 1500metres uses around 300 to 400 (max) calories for 45 mins worth of effort? Sitting on the sofa would use around 100.

So your workout used around say 250 calories. If you did not eat anything extra afterwards you'd probably lose half a pound a week (3500/250 = 14). The problem is that most people eat their 250 calories afterwards!

Months of training for a half marathon resulted in me putting on half a stone - not all of it muscle - my appetite shot up and I over-compensated.

I trained for a half marathon and lost half a stone! I think it ovb depends on what you eat, and how often.

I've maintained this weight for over a year so hopefully, if I don't overeat, I should lose a little

I didn't get to the gym on Weds but did today and managed an extra mile on the bike and half a mile on the crosstrainer

Good luck, but I think that unless you change (or take steps to moderate) your eating you are unlikely to lose much.

I also think that eating a lower GI diet and cutting out sugar will increase your energy and motivation making it easier to keep up your exercise sessions.