Weight loss on raw without exercise? Also, big muscles....

[Arbee26]

Is weight loss on a raw diet possible without exercise? I read about.... Phillip something?, who lost an initial 100 pounds without exercise. I only have about 30-35 lbs. to lose total, so do I have to exercise in order to lose weight? I don't mind it; I walk a lot and really enjoy it....

But, here's the reason why I'm asking: My thigh muscles are quite large. Muscle is good, of course, and I don't fear it. But I've been walking and doing weight training for a few years now, and it's given my bulky thighs. I want the muscle to shrink up a bit, along with fat loss. So if I eat raw and don't exercise, will I have both?

Another thing; I've heard on other sites about not exercising until your body adjusts to raw. Is that true? Should I wait, or exercise like normal?

I'm really sorry to be asking so many stupid questions!! :( I'm not confused on the food aspect of this, but I want a clear idea of what to expect with weight loss, mainly because I've been reading about raw for weeks now, and there are so many different ideas out there!

Thanks for taking the time to read this; any input is appreciated! :)

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

Exercise is way overrated when it comes to weight loss in my opinion. It simply doesn't make that much of a difference. But it does make a difference in terms of overall wellness.

However, I think it is important to do some strength training if you don't want to lose a lot of muscle. So perhaps you might want to work on everything besides your thigh muscles.

Even if you lose some muscle in the process, I've found that at least for me personally it's quite easy to gain it back afterward when you're on a high raw diet.

[Dimond]

Exercise is important in general, though not necessary at first for weight loss. Really this applies more for people that need to lose huge amounts of weight. Eventually you'd need to add it in. I wouldn't stop exercising though.

Philip McCluskey: www.lovingraw.com

[RawSar]

I wouldn't stop exercising either.
When I went 100% raw for the first time I was not serious about exercise. I did try and work out once in awhile but I was mostly too tired to (detox/work/new relationship) and I still lost 20pounds. Some thought I had lost muscle as well as fat but I know it was all fat and that my muscles weren't that big and were hiding under all the fat. I'm much more toned now.
I think you will definitely speed up the weight loss by exercising as well. I would avoid doing heavy weight squats if your worried about your legs but continue to do regular body weight squats with no extra weight.

[HereAndThere]

I say you should eat normally, exercise as usual (maybe upping some cardio wouldn't be bad), don't try to lose muscle along with fat and let your body become what it wants to.

And I don't know about these people that say you can stop exercising if you're raw. I find I have so much energy anymore that I have to work it out somehow or I go batzo. :eek:

[RawLibrarian]

Is weight loss on a raw diet possible without exercise? I read about.... Phillip something?, who lost an initial 100 pounds without exercise. I only have about 30-35 lbs. to lose total, so do I have to exercise in order to lose weight? I don't mind it; I walk a lot and really enjoy it....

But, here's the reason why I'm asking: My thigh muscles are quite large. Muscle is good, of course, and I don't fear it. But I've been walking and doing weight training for a few years now, and it's given my bulky thighs. I want the muscle to shrink up a bit, along with fat loss. So if I eat raw and don't exercise, will I have both?

Another thing; I've heard on other sites about not exercising until your body adjusts to raw. Is that true? Should I wait, or exercise like normal?

I'm really sorry to be asking so many stupid questions!! :( I'm not confused on the food aspect of this, but I want a clear idea of what to expect with weight loss, mainly because I've been reading about raw for weeks now, and there are so many different ideas out there!

Thanks for taking the time to read this; any input is appreciated! :)

Don't stop exercising! It is much too important for overall health.

You might want to try barre-type exercises--they are terrific lower body workouts done without weights. Done correctly, they will fry your quads, glutes, and hamstrings. While 'looking like a dancer' has a lot to do with genetics, still, you can get strong and elongated muscles from barre workouts. I highly recommend them. There are several of these on Netflix if you work out to videos: "Exhale: Core Fusion Body Sculpt", "Exhale: Core Fusion Glutes and Thighs" (I had serious DOMS for three days after this one!), "Squeeze: 30 day body transformation", "Kathy Smith: Total Body Lift", and 'Lotte Berk: Muscle Eats Fat". These are just the ones I thought of off the top of my head. All of these require minimal to no equipment aside from a chair and some light dumbbells; I believe that 'Squeeze' uses a ball of some kind (like a playground ball).

Hope this helps.

[brendasue]

Good Morning!

Exercise may not be necessary for you to loss weight, at least in the begining, but it is necessary for strength, balance, heart health and bone density. It is also necessary if you want your skin to tighten as you lose.

It is not necessary to bulk up while doing strength training. A work-out like T-Tapp or The Bar Method workout will elongate your muscles and not add bulk. A dancers body!

Cardio is good for your heart and endurance but it will not build muscle or make you stronger. It doesn't even burn that many calories. They did a study where a runner did 24 miles at 8 miles an hour and her total weight lose was one pound.

Don't leave out your weight and strength training, not if good health is your goal.

BrendaSue

[gabriele]

I don't think exercise is over-rated at all. It is vitally important. That recent TIME magazine article that stated that exercise is actually BAD for weight loss was such a disservice to everyone trying to lose weight and get healthy.

Exercise of any kind burns calories. I don't care if you're eating SAD or raw, it's still calories in, calories out. Now if you go and run 3 miles and come home and pig out, you won't lose weight and you will sabotage your run. Whenever i walk, i burn calories. AND i'm restricting my calories because i still have a lot to lose. I can't just eat whatever i want. Maybe one day, but not now, not if i want to see results. So, in addition to restricting my calories AND burning calories walking, that ensures that i lose weight.

[Shine]

It may be true that when first switching to RAW you loose weight without exercising - your calories are most likely lessened and your everyday movement burns enough per week wo put you in the negative equaling weightloss. As mentioned previously weightloss is more calories burned than taken in - and imo this is easier through exercise.

That said - exercise is vitally important for health and overall wellness. It has not only helped me lose weight but it also has lesened my depression AND it was the only thing that helped me quit smoking. When I exercise, I feel great. I have energy and I feel so darned GOOD about myself. When I am done, I don't want to pig out because I know I have something wonderful for myself which I think in it's own very beneficial way HAS indeed helped my weightloss.

Big muscles - don't know much....

[Arbee26]

Thank you so much for the replies! After reading all of this, I think I'll continue my daily walking, and try out one of the workout DVDs RawLibrarian suggested (Thanks so much!). I'd much rather dancer's muscles than bulk, obviously.

Going raw seemed kind of daunting to me, but all of the awesome people here are making this so much easier for me! :)

[cara4art]

The average woman will NOT bulk up from doing weight-training, simply because women don't have the hormonal set-up to do so. Even most men at the gym have to work their butts off to gain significant muscle and they have the hormonal advantage in this regard! What WILL happen though, along with a well-constructed raw diet, is that a woman will get sleeker, tighter, and even get some muscle definition, especially with keeping a very clean diet and also doing cardio(how much cardio all depends on one's starting body though). However, some women will swear they're "bulking up" when in fact what is happening that is that they are building some muscle, but not losing the fat that's sitting on top of it, thereby making it look like they're bulking up. Still other women are genetically-gifted(not too many though)in that they will indeed build muscle pretty easily - more the mesomorphic body type, of the basic three that many people are combinations of with one type predominating in their physiology.
Yes, I saw that Time magazine article in passing and I agree that it does really do a disservice to health and fitness seekers. They make it sound almost futile to even bother with exercise. Exercise is vitally important, and for many people, it DOES help them lose weight, assuming their diet is in line. For younger people, in many cases, all it takes is tweaking one's diet to lose weight, and as time goes on, adding exercise becomes even more important, not less. Some people will start losing weight just by walking, others need more intense exercise than that to get things to move. But OF COURSE one can't go for a good cardio session, and then pig out on McDonalds - DUH!
Many years ago, I started to watch what I ate, with the intention of losing some weight I had put on at a stressful, sedentary job. But things really didn't kick into gear until I was on a solid exercise program, on most days of the week. Then the weight came off with me hardly even thinking about it. Along the way though, I did improve my eating habits.

[katchmoleen]

Everyone is different. My daughter takes after her dad in that she has very large thigh and butt muscles. She even looks a little "bottom heavy" when she is wearing regular clothes, but when she has her volleyball uniform on, you can see the bulging muscles! She is very slim and muscular all over, but she does have larger than average thigh muscles. This makes her able to leap up like this:
5734

And dig like this:
5735


Those large thigh muscles enable her to play on the net, even though she is the second shortest on her team, at 5'2". Yes, a mom has to brag sometimes. :D

[Arbee26]

The average woman will NOT bulk up from doing weight-training, simply because women don't have the hormonal set-up to do so. Even most men at the gym have to work their butts off to gain significant muscle and they have the hormonal advantage in this regard!

I agree, most won't. :) However, I started doing weight training 5 days a week last year, and I've still retained the muscle from that, even though I've barely touched a weight for the past few months. I gain muscle easily, and I've never been stick thin with no muscle to start with. My dad and brother are the same way. Which in one respect is nice: I have much more endurance than my super-skinny no-muscle friends.... but it makes my biceps, triceps, quads, and glutes that much bigger. Which is why I was considering not exercising in the first place; whatever I lose, I can probably gain back... and it's not like I'll be a stick if I lose a few pounds of muscle anyway. :) Thanks so much for your advice though! I tend to focus too much on my weight and how I look rather than other aspects of my health.

I never read the article in TIME. How recent was that?

[Arbee26]

Everyone is different. My daughter takes after her dad in that she has very large thigh and butt muscles. She even looks a little "bottom heavy" when she is wearing regular clothes, but when she has her volleyball uniform on, you can see the bulging muscles! She is very slim and muscular all over, but she does have larger than average thigh muscles. This makes her able to leap up like this:
5734

Those large thigh muscles enable her to play on the net, even though she is the second shortest on her team, at 5'2". Yes, a mom has to brag sometimes. :D


A little bragging never hurt anyone!! :D

[cara4art]

" Originally Posted by cara4art View Post
The average woman will NOT bulk up from doing weight-training, simply because women don't have the hormonal set-up to do so. Even most men at the gym have to work their butts off to gain significant muscle and they have the hormonal advantage in this regard!
I agree, most won't. However, I started doing weight training 5 days a week last year, and I've still retained the muscle from that, even though I've barely touched a weight for the past few months. I gain muscle easily, and I've never been stick thin with no muscle to start with. My dad and brother are the same way. Which in one respect is nice: I have much more endurance than my super-skinny no-muscle friends.... but it makes my biceps, triceps, quads, and glutes that much bigger. Which is why I was considering not exercising in the first place; whatever I lose, I can probably gain back... and it's not like I'll be a stick if I lose a few pounds of muscle anyway. Thanks so much for your advice though! I tend to focus too much on my weight and how I look rather than other aspects of my health.

I never read the article in TIME. How recent was that? " - Arbee26

Aha! You sound like the classic mesomorph, and you share this trait with your relatives - genetics at work here! The other body types are the ectomorph, the skinny person who has little muscle or fat for that matter and usually has a hard time adding muscle, and the endomorph who tends to be larger with a much higher body fat level and not that much muscle underneath. All three body types, and their combos however, can definitely improve their appearance with proper type of training for their type, and of course a decent diet. Raw is awesome for all three - and can be tailored likewise. Dr. Gabriel Cousens goes into this in his books as he is oriented to the Ayurvedic system of typing which is very similar to the three types I mention. Instead of wishing to be a lot smaller, embrace your power - there are women in the gym who practically kill to have muscles like that - seriously! As far as losing weight, I would say keep on working out, and pay careful attention to your diet and do cardio to drop body fat, not muscle. You'll end up sleeker, but still powerful - again, embrace that powerful beauty and go get some clothes that show that off too! Best of luck!

[Imani]

I have a larger than average muscle mass, and so does two of my daughters. I do not do too much weight lifting, but I wish I could figure out how, because I would slim down until I got to the muscle. right now I am eating less so get rid of the fat on top of my muscles. When I did lift about 3 years ago. My wieght trainer told me to keep lift it will slim down the fat until I get to the muscle.

[RawHunter]

First...I dont think you have asked any stupid questions. These forums are a great place to learn.

I have been Raw for 90 days now. Lost 50 lbs. No workouts at all. I am not an advocate of that though. I wish I had been. I mean can you imagine how much I would have lost? 60? 70? 80? I could be completely done with my weight issues had I worked out but I didnt and now I am living with it.

So with that said if you want to speed the process up then heck yea. I really WANT to work out but (and this is probably a HUGE excuse) my work schedule has not allowed me to work out so far. This is quickly changing and what is great is now that I am raw and a lot lighter I have more energy to workout...a big plus.

I dont think you should be too worried about your legs. First when you start losing weight they will get smaller for two reason: 1. Fat loss. 2. Weight loss. The less you weigh the less muscle you need for everyday things like walking and stair climbing. Dont let a little thing like you self body image get in your way. Do the right things for your body (eat right and work out) and it will reward you.

[Arbee26]

" Originally Posted by cara4art View Post
Aha! You sound like the classic mesomorph, and you share this trait with your relatives - genetics at work here! The other body types are the ectomorph, the skinny person who has little muscle or fat for that matter and usually has a hard time adding muscle, and the endomorph who tends to be larger with a much higher body fat level and not that much muscle underneath. All three body types, and their combos however, can definitely improve their appearance with proper type of training for their type, and of course a decent diet. Raw is awesome for all three - and can be tailored likewise. Dr. Gabriel Cousens goes into this in his books as he is oriented to the Ayurvedic system of typing which is very similar to the three types I mention. Instead of wishing to be a lot smaller, embrace your power - there are women in the gym who practically kill to have muscles like that - seriously! As far as losing weight, I would say keep on working out, and pay careful attention to your diet and do cardio to drop body fat, not muscle. You'll end up sleeker, but still powerful - again, embrace that powerful beauty and go get some clothes that show that off too! Best of luck!

Seriously? I always thought I was endomorph, simply because I've been overweight for a long time. I guess I thought ectomorphs and mesomorphs just didn't get fat.... but there's more to it than weight, apparently! :) I know this is completely stupid, but you just made my day! lol

[Arbee26]

I have been Raw for 90 days now. Lost 50 lbs. No workouts at all. I am not an advocate of that though. I wish I had been. I mean can you imagine how much I would have lost? 60? 70? 80? I could be completely done with my weight issues had I worked out but I didnt and now I am living with it.



Oh my goodness! FIFTY pounds in 90 days?! You're my new hero! Congratulations! It took my a year to lose 50 pounds back when I was working out hard every day, and eating a "healthy, low-cal diet". Then I put 15 of it back on... so you can see how well that worked.

Thanks for your input... I do want speedy weight loss, so I'm glad I'm keeping up the workouts. :D

[RawHealthyBeauty]

Keep exercising which s good for the body overall even if one doesn't need to lose weight or tone up their muscles. It renews the energy in your body and keeps it flowing especially being very beneficial to your organs as well for good health. I had to learn the hard way that exercise is important for health.
Plus, raw food does wonders for the body as well. Any one who decides to stick to a raw food diet will slim down for sure! As far as the upper thigh goes, I hardly believe that walking is causing the upper thigh to bulk up. I'm just saying because I walk a lot and it actually tones and slims my legs down. I do know that hiking will bulk up the upper thigh along with the calves though. Maybe just keep on walking and just being on the raw food diet will naturally slim down that area for you. Walking is really good for the back, hips, and really improves the posture.

[RawHealthyBeauty]

Another thing I want to add on here to answer all of your questions.
As far as weight training goes, keep on doing it for the rest of your body and just do your upper thigh every once in a while. Lifting weight adds bulk. Or you could do toning which is like weight training without the weights and more reps (which tone the muscle down without adding on bulk).

[freelive]

You could try exercises like T-tapp or Tracy Anderson. Their systems build long lean muscle instead of working just middle head of the muscle. But if you are concerned with number on the scale, then it wouldn't work. Lean strong muscle can make you weigh up to 30 pounds more while wearing the same size.