Is Exercise really necessary when you are on a diet?

[John Price]

I recently lost 10 pounds over a course of time by controlling portion size and consuming approximately 1000 calories per day.

I say this because before this diet I was biking every single day, but I wasn't losing weight. When I started controlling my diet I noticed that my weight started to trend downwards for the first time in years.

I am now at my lowest in years (149) just by watching what I eat and controlling portion sizes. I now have one pizza instead of two slices. I drink less beer. And the results show on the scale.

I'm just curious because I'm losing weight with my diet, is it really necessary for me to exercise? Is it necessary for me to work out? I'm already getting the losses I need through my diet, so I don't see why I should work out.

First of all, working out did nothing to help me lose weight. I biked every day for over a year with no discernible weight loss.

Second of all, working out puts a heavy strain on my already sore muscles and joints. My knee has been flaring up for some time now, as has my ankle. I can't work out anymore without extreme swelling and pain in my joints.

From everything I've seen online it doesn't sound like it is necessary when I'm losing weight already, but I want to see what experts think. A friend told me that there were benefits to exercise other than losing weight, but when I asked for more information he did not provide.

Click to read more...

 

[Filthy Dangles]

No you don't need to exercise to lose weight, diet is the biggest key.

Check out how many calories are in a donut for exmaple vs how many calories you might burn jogging on a treadmill for 30 minutes and you;ll see why diet is the easiest way to make a calorie defecit, i.e losing weight.

But does that mean you shouldn't exercise? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. In terms of maintaining your target/goal weight, exercise could help with that, if your diet gets back to a little more normal, exercise could keep you near maintenance level of calories.

Exercise and physical activity could also help with reducing risk of certain diseases/conditions, and help with sleep and general wellness

 

[John Price]

No you don't need to exercise to lose weight, diet is the biggest key.

Check out how many calories are in a donut for exmaple vs how many calories you might burn jogging on a treadmill for 30 minutes and you;ll see why diet is the easiest way to make a calorie defecit, i.e losing weight.

But does that mean you shouldn't exercise? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. In terms of maintaining your target/goal weight, exercise could help with that, if your diet gets back to a little more normal, exercise could keep you near maintenance level of calories.

Exercise and physical activity could also help with reducing risk of certain diseases/conditions, and help with sleep and general wellness

Yeah I just avoid too much beer and donuts now, one donut is like 300 or 400 calories, it's nuts. By staying under 2000 and just controlling what I eat (I had a pizza and 5 oz beer instead of 2 pizzas and a huge pint the other day) I've been staying even or even losing weight.

I just feel my body is too old and achy to exercise so if I can just continue eating less, controlling portion size and losing weight I should be good

help with sleep and general wellness

Oh I've had terrible insomnia even with exercise

 

[snakeye]

Starving yourself is not ideal and won't be sustainable long term. Maybe the weight you're losing isn't even fat but muscle, and improper nutrition certainly won't do any good for your joints either; in fact, it may be one of the cause of the muscle and joint soreness your experiencing.

What you eat is more important than how much you eat. You mention pizza, which is somewhat of a junk food. What exactly is your diet like?

 

[John Price]

Starving yourself is not ideal and won't be sustainable long term. Maybe the weight you're losing isn't even fat but muscle, and improper nutrition certainly won't do any good for your joints either; in fact, it may be one of the cause of the muscle and joint soreness your experiencing.

What you eat is more important than how much you eat. You mention pizza, which is somewhat of a junk food. What exactly is your diet like?

Mostly whatever I want as long as it's under 1400 calories or around that

I strictly count calories and measure myself every day.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

Mostly whatever I want as long as it's under 1400 calories or around that

I strictly count calories and measure myself every day.

I agree with the above poster, Snakeye. He said exactly something I was about to say here.
Maintain a good diet and exercise regularly, even if the exercise time isn't long.

 

[John Price]

I agree with the above poster, Snakeye. He said exactly something I was about to say here.
Maintain a good diet and exercise regularly, even if the exercise time isn't long.

No one has yet explained why I need to exercise and why I can't just lose weight off a diet.

I'm not seeing much benefits of exercise, other than it "should help lose weight". But that's not true. I exercised every day for a year and didn't lose a pound.

 

[Vancouver Canucks]

No one has yet explained why I need to exercise and why I can't just lose weight off a diet.

I'm not seeing much benefits of exercise, other than it "should help lose weight". But that's not true. I exercised every day for a year and didn't lose a pound.

How did you exercise? There's a difference between aerobic exercises and anaerobic ones. The latter burns less calories for you, so once you drink and eat a meal or two, the weight will go back up again.

 

[John Price]

I biked constantly throughout the spring and winter.

I also walk constantly.

No weight loss at all. But eating less, bam.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

I biked constantly throughout the spring and winter.

I also walk constantly.

No weight loss at all. But eating less, bam.

Sometimes if you eat too little your body will stop burning through calories like normal and you'll need to spike up.

Depends on what your goals are, but weight loss and gain is due to diet mostly.

Avoiding empty calories like beer/pop or calorie dense things like muffins/bagels is helpful.

 

[82Ninety42011]

Check out intermittent fasting people it's easy works and sustainable. Been doing three years loving it. Food actually tastes better to as a bonus. No calorie counting eat whatever you want. Of course eating healthy makes it work even better but you don't have to limit anything. Want a cheat day no problem start again whenever you choose plus many other health benefits.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Depends what benefits you want.

Can you achieve weight loss without exercising? Absolutely.

There are a lot more benefits to exercise than just weight loss. Cardiovascular health and lean muscle goes a long way in preventing major health issues down the line. Dr. Peter Attia, pretty much the most researched physician in longevity has said that arguing for and against different dieting models is basically pointless if you don't exercise.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

I can't really sleep if I don't exercise regularly. May just be me though.

 

[John Price]

Depends what benefits you want.

Can you achieve weight loss without exercising? Absolutely.

Great, because I weighted myself today and I am 149, lowest in months. So I will retire from daily exercise and continue my low calorie diet. Thanks

 

[Tobias Kahun]

No one has yet explained why I need to exercise and why I can't just lose weight off a diet.

I'm not seeing much benefits of exercise, other than it "should help lose weight". But that's not true. I exercised every day for a year and didn't lose a pound.

Cardio helps your heart health.

Thats a big benefit.

 

[John Price]

Cardio helps your heart health.

Thats a big benefit.

not for me. I'm only concerned about me being able to fit into my dress pants again.

And what type of heart health are we talking about?

 

[Tobias Kahun]

not for me. I'm only concerned about me being able to fit into my dress pants again.

And what type of heart health are we talking about?

What it does: Aerobic exercise improves circulation, which results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate, Stewart says. In addition, it increases your overall aerobic fitness, as measured by a treadmill test, for example, and it helps your cardiac output (how well your heart pumps).

 

[IComeInPeace]

It’s much easier to lose weight by changing your diet as opposed to working out.

Its not quite this simple, but you can just look at it as simple math.

If I consume 1000 less calories a day that is way easier to do, day in and day out than burning 1000 calories via cardio.

That much cardio will probably leave you hungry as well.

Decreasing your caloric intake by 1000 may not be super realistic for some people but even 500 fewer calories daily is easier than 500 cardio calories burned daily.

The hard part with decreasing your caloric intake is the first few days to the first few weeks can be hard, and too many people just aren’t disciplined enough to get past that initial difficult period.

But, also, some people just want more than to lose weight. They also want to look more muscular or toned. Simple diet doesn’t help you put on muscle.

But, I’d agree with the OP that the average person thinks exercise is more important for weight loss than diet, and it’s actually the other way around.

Very simple:

If you improved your diet and never exercised, you’ll lose weight.

Conversely

If you exercise a lot, but continue to eat like crap, you won’t lose any weight at all and will likely even start to put on weight, get frustrated and give up on exercise.

Ideally you’d do both. But, if your goal is weight loss, and you could only do one of the two, hands down it’s diet.

 

[John Price]

Great. My main goal is weight loss. I noticed exercise wasn't contributing to it (even with bad diet...AND good diet) so I can now continue my diet to lose weight.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

Calories In, Calories Out.

Any strategy that minimizes the former and maximizes the latter will give you the best rate of return. If the first item is greater than the second, you will gain weight, and the opposite will occur as well. Diet drops the first item. Exercise increases the second item.

 

[tfwnogf]

Working out? No. Exercise? Hell yeah.

Exercise is ALWAYS necessary. Especially as you age. Stretching and using your legs (when you knee/ankle feels better), going for walks is absolutely essential to staying on top (literally) of your joints and degradation as you age. If all you do is sit around, your body will accept its fate and break down much more quickly than someone who moves around and uses their body. Weight lifting is not completely necessary, although you should at the very least do body exercises like pushups on the regular. Weights can injure you if you aren't careful or previously injured, but at the very least stretch your body out each day and stay as flexible as you can.

Diet is important for your well being, to fuel the engine, but the engine must be used in some compacity as well! I go on nature hikes to stretch my legs. Lost 80+ pounds this way years ago after I let things get away from me. It doesn't have to be this thing you dread doing; any exercise is beneficial. It's important to know your limits and give yourself time to heal as well if you are experiencing ankle and knee strain.

 

[IComeInPeace]

delete.

 

[NateThompson44]

....

 

[Seattle King]

Is dieting really necessary if I exercise regularly? is the right question you should be asking.
Not really if you are smart and mildly disciplined is the answer.
I prefer an hour or so of tolerable exercise discomfort to the 24/7 feeling of constant starvation and low blood sugar.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Is dieting really necessary if I exercise regularly? is the right question you should be asking.
Not really if you are smart and mildly disciplined is the answer.
I prefer an hour or so of tolerable exercise discomfort to the 24/7 feeling of constant starvation and low blood sugar.

If you ever decide to switch that exercise to anything closely competitive (like beer league hockey or broomball or ultimate frisbee for me) I find that diet becomes more important. If I eat poorly and highly-processed foods (I love pizza and soda but it makes me sluggish), I don't perform as well on the field as when my diet is clean.

If I try to keep on top of exercise and dieting.