Can You Lose Weight Without Exercise?

When you want to lose weight, diet and exercise are a winning combination, but you don't have to exercise to lose weight. If you did, life would be terribly unfair because many people have mobility issues or other health issues that make it difficult to increase their levels of physical activity.

So, if there are medical reasons preventing you from exercising, don't worry. You can still lose weight. The most important thing you can do to get slim is monitor your diet and keep your calorie intake sufficiently low.

If you can do this and exercise too, it creates a highly desirable situation because your low-calorie diet will cause a calorie deficit that forces your body to burn fat. Meanwhile, your exercise activities will cause you to burn more calories than you normally would. This will help you to burn extra fat and lose weight faster.

However, diet is the key to weight loss, not exercise. It doesn't matter how much you exercise, it won't help you to lose weight if your diet is providing you with more calories than you burn. It's much easier to put extra calories into the mouth than burn calories via exercise.

Why Correct Diet Is More Important Than Exercise

Let's try and put this into perspective. How long would it take you to eat a burger and fries? Twenty minutes? Half-an-hour?

According to statistics provided by the nutrition calculatore on the McDonalds.com website, a Big Mac delivers 580 calories. Even if you resist the option to "go large", a small portion of fries will add a further 230 calories. That means your meal will provide 810 calories—and probably do so in less than half an hour. Add a small Coke to your meal (200 calories) and you will have taken in 1010 calories! For the average woman, that will account for around two-thirds of the energy requirements for a day (1,500 calories), or nearly half the daily energy requirements for the average man (2,000 calories).

It's also worth noting the calorie count increases by a suprising amount when you add one or more sachets of ketchup () or mayo or an alternative dressing to your meal.

According to figures provided by Harvard, people who weigh 185 lbs (83.9 kg) and maintain a pace of 5 mph may burn burn 336 calories in half an hour (672 calories per hour) while running. That's considerably fewer calories than they would get by consuming the aforementioned meal.

By comparison, someone who weighs 125 lbs (56.7 kg), and runs five miles in an hour would only burn 480 calories.

Running is hot, sweaty work. Especially if you are out of shape and, if you are not eating sensibly, it's easy to take in more calories than you burn.

Now ask yourself, which option is easiest: Running 5 miles in an hour, to burn 480 - 672 calories, or making more careful food choices?

Unfortunately, its' not just McDonalds and alternative "fast food" options that can present problems. Even meals that may appear healthy contain hiddent sugars and fats, especailly the processed food options that find their way into many people's shopping trolleys, so it's important to always take note of the calorie content and go for fresh nutrient-rich food options.

Here is a link to a webpage that provides a simple 7-Day, 1,200-calorie diet meal plan. It may not be the best choice for everyone, and there are ceretainly alternatives, but it's a pretty good place to start.

Concluding Thoughts

Although it's possible to lose weight without following an exercise regimen, unless you have medical problems that make it difficult or dangerous to increase your activity level, becoming more active is still a good idea. In addition to helping you to lose weight faster, regular exercise can also deliver additional benefits including higher energy levels, better quality sleep, and improvements in physical fitness, thereby helping to improve your overall quality of life.