Will exercise help me lose weight?

[poleidopy]

HA HA HA HA HA Stupid question, eh? :rolleyes: But seriously...

I started my raw journey on December 15. Since then I have NOT exercised at ALL. I have lost 22lbs. If I did exercise, would I be losing more weight? I mean, I'm pretty happy with 22lbs in two months, but if I can lose more/faster then dang it, I want to! What workouts do you recommend? I still have about 42 lbs to lose (give or take a few ;) ) Right now I have two recorded episodes of Inhale yoga and some Leslie Sansone Walk Away The Lbs DVDs. What else would you recommend for a beginner (though I am very flexible and have a lot of stamina.) I'm leaning towards yoga, but was wondering if there is any one type of workout that best compliments a raw diet. Oh yeah, and I don't have the big bucks to spend on TTapp or anything like that. It would have to be something I can do on my own, find online, rent from the library or buy cheaply. Thanks!!!

[Nikkan18]

Hey!

Yes if you incorporate exercise, you will def lose more weight. personally when i went raw, i was walking about 50 minutes(i used to walk to my campus and back 25 min each way) and was dropping weight like there was no tomorrow and got down to 130 pounds

and also remember, if you exercise it healthier for you overall,

if you eat tooooooo much of anything, you can gain weight, so you def want to exercise even after you reach your goal weight!
(you can just walk which is great no tools needed, jogging though i am not a fan, swimming, and i highly recommend weight training----you will not get bulky, we do not have high testotorne levels as men do, so you will create lean FEMININE muscles while getting rid of excess fat! I love weight training, trust me it will help you get where you want)

[shadowknosl]

no, contrary to what most will tell you.There is no evidence that you exercise will cause you to lose weight.
now before everyone gets in a frenzy. I'm quoting scientific studies.
additionally let me quickly say.
Exercise is great for you. Health wise it improves muscle , heart beat, aging etc.
what is does not do it cause you to lose weight. there is no evidence to show such
best
The Shadowknos

[Mindy Sue]

no, contrary to what most will tell you.There is no evidence that you exercise will cause you to lose weight.
now before everyone gets in a frenzy. I'm quoting scientific studies.
additionally let me quickly say.
Exercise is great for you. Health wise it improves muscle , heart beat, aging etc.
what is does not do it cause you to lose weight. there is no evidence to show such
best
The Shadowknos

Ummm.... I beg to differ with you on this one. You are right that it doesn't "cause" you to lose weight, but it "helps" you lose inches.

You may not lose "weight" but you will definitely lose inches.

[skygazer]

exercise may not help you lose weight, but it definitely helps alter body composition (more muscle less fat).

I dont think that you need to start anything big for exercise. As posted earlier, walking is great.

If you do yoga, or anything, breathe deep. Our body burns fat best when the cells are getting lots of oxygen. This is why hard exercise is so effective, it gets you huffing and puffing and rids your lungs of the waste accumulated in them and delivers oxygen to the body.

I would practice yoga and deep breathing when you wake up and throughout the day when you remember to (its tough!) and pair that with light weight training to keep your body working efficiently and lean.

Practice in the morning and deep breathing throughout the day will keep you energized all day and will have you sleeping like a baby at night.

Also,
REBOUNDING! look into it. great exercise especially as you eliminate more waste from your body!

[Evie]

Exericise would speed up the wieghtloss process and firm up your skin as you lose weight. Other wise it could become "saggy" depending on how much weight you have to lose. I love beginner yoga videos and beginning pilates videos. We just got a Wii. It has helped increase our exerise as a family.

[cara4art]

In general, if one has more than a just a few pounds to lose, diet is the key to losing weight. However, exercise is just as important not only to lose weight but to help regulate and improve a number of markers, including body composition. You see, if we don't exercise, as we get older, we lose muscle which is so-o not good at all, because having that muscle on our bodies will allow us to live independently for much longer than otherwise. Back to the weight loss aspect of exercise - doing a serious weight-training program along with stellar nutrition will help recompose the body in favor of muscle over fat, according to one's genetics. Some people do put on muscle faster than others, while others have to work extremely hard for a long time to add a few ounces of lean tissue. Women in general don't have to worry about adding too much muscle - in fact, we have to be concerned about adding enough, IMO! Added muscle tissue will help calorie burn around the clock too. But you still have to keep a hawk eye on just how much you're eating and what, and this varies on different bodies. A final note, a decent cardio program with interval training in there will really help too. As far as what can be done at home, there are DVDs out there. A Y gym might be an affordable option too. But for a basic home gym, a bench with an incline feature, and a few sets of weights would be good too. Installing a pull-up bar in a safe place in your home and having a buddy assist you(because these are hard)for a few reps gets things moving on the upper body. There are a lot of body-weight only exercises that can be done in circuits that will torch calories too.
A last note about exercise - there's been a lot of talk elsewhere minimizing the effect of exercise on weight loss, and how people can lose weight by diet only. There are a couple of things wrong with that equation - one being that diet-only induced weight loss includes the loss of muscle tissue as well as fat, thereby reducing one's metabolism, one reason why people put the weight right back on and then some soon after they quit the diet. Also, one ends up a smaller, flabbier version of oneself, rather than reshaped the way it would be if one both were on a really clean diet AND proper exercise. Personally I found years ago that even with eating cleanly, things really didn't happen until I was exercising 5 days a week, plenty. As they say, your mileage may vary.

[Sweetness]

If you're going to quote studies, please provide links to the actual study (like pubmed.com) so we can read it?

For those interested in weight loss and exercise, I recommend googling insulin resistance and strength training. For those with a waist measurement of over 88cm, you may find the info quite useful.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7504/1363

[Lukesgramma]

During/after menopause, my weight started to creep up, even though I was eating only raw vegan foods and doing yoga 4-5 hours /week. I wasn't extremely overweight, but the extra weight was uncomfortable.

I tried eating less, but that was really hard. I'd lose a couple of pounds after being really hungry for several days, but then as soon as I ate again to satisfy my hunger, I gained the weight right back! Frustrating!

So I started walking and increasing the distance, and then finally started running. I now try to alternate days of running with days of cardio/handweights, plus still do yoga in the mornings (yoga is great).

In a few months, I lost over 10 pounds, which was all the menopause weight, plus some. That doesn't sound like much, but I'm only 5'1", and 10 pounds was a good portion of my body weight. Now I'm lean again, and I like that.

What I've found is that with exercise, I can eat more; and any weight that I lose, generally stays off. I weigh myself every morning, and I can actually see a day-to-day difference in weight gain/loss depending on exercise.

The more strenuous the exercise, the greater the effect; but it's good to start easy and build up. After a while, exercise can become very enjoyable, and even addicting - but a good addiction!

Of course, other great advantages of exercise are a stronger, more flexible body, better proportion, better posture, better digestion, and a happier outlook on life.

[cara4art]

Lukesgramma - you're right on, and a prime example of some of what I was referring to. Keep up the great work - this has already paid off for you! Over on a fitness board there are mostly younger women, who often say that diet is 80-90% of weight loss, but your example, and mine(even before I got to be older)are classic examples of exactly how important proper exercise is. I did yoga(very beginner Ashtanga)exclusively for a year and a half, and returned to basic weight training as I just didn't feel that my home yoga practice was "enough". Some of us really do need intense exercise, not only for weight control along with a clean diet, but simply to feel well! If I don't get sufficient exercise, I feel anxious, depressed, cranky and sluggish, even at approaching 63 here - I have a lot of nervous energy that MUST be channeled into physical activity. My husband would agree - LOL!

[Sweetness]

Btw, for those starting exercise programs it does pay to research what's out there and what studies say NOW about what works best. For instance, dropsets (esp. for women) work best for building lean muscle mass compared to the lift/wait/lift types of sets. HIIT burns more calories and does more good for your body than walking at a steady pace for an hour. If you're going to invest the time in exercise, it makes sense to know what your options are.. similar to eating.. eating a doughnut compared to eating an apple isn't the same thing. Yeah, it's both eating and the idea is the same, but the outcomes are different. For busy folks it is great to know you're getting the most exercise bang for your buck (time!). :)

[cara4art]

Sweetness - you're right on target too. Dropsets is exactly what I do, and for my cardio I include 2 sessions of HIIT per week, and 2 of regular intervals(not as intense as HIIT which should only be done a couple times a week anyway)but far more beneficial than slogging away slowly at a low level for an hour. I totally agree with you, because there's a lot more current info about what really works, and often in less time too. But people still have to be prepared to work - LOL, and hard!

[GoingtoRAW]

I just started exercising about two months ago and I have lost weight and I can definitely see and feel changes in my body. Based on "the study" the exercising may not have helped me to lose weight - but I think it did because I am burning calories. I work out 5 days a week. I do 45 minutes of cardio and I do upper and lower body exercises on the machines at least 4 days per week, sometimes 5. Whatever - I am losing weight. Aside from that all my pants, are all too big now. I had on a pair of pants yesterday and was rushing and forgot to put on a belt. I had to keep yanking my pants up all day. Felt great until I was walking up a flight of stairs and my pants almost came off my butt!!!:o:o Well actually that felt great too...like I am making progress! So you have nothing at all to lose from exercising!

[EveNyasia]

Drink plenty of water, at least 8 big glasses of water a day, and more if it is very hot, if you sweat a lot, or if you are exercising intensely, and eliminate fruit juices. Fruit juices have too many calories, so get your vitamins from fresh fruit, not the juice. You will begin to see changes in your body. So eliminate unnecessary calories.

[cara4art]

Another great story from GoingtoRaw about weight loss and exercise - way to go!

[GoingtoRAW]

I had another great workout today! I do cardio at least 5 days per week, butI had a trainer tell me today that I only need to do strength training twice a week. Has anyone ever heard that? If that's enough - that's fine with me. I just don't want to "under do" it. I thought that 4 to 5 times a week was OK - he told me no. I don't use heavy weight on the resistance machines...I want to tone, not build big muscles. Any thoughts?

[cara4art]

to GoingtoRaw:
Not all trainers know what they're talking about, especially the ones at chain gyms. Some do, however, to be fair though. Personally I'd suggest a full-body workout 3x a week with mostly compound moves(weight-training exercises that hit several muscle groups all at once). Some people do go to a split workout(half their body one day, the other half the next, and the third day off, repeat the two days, and then take 2 days off)but one doesn't usually get into this kind of schedule unless one is further along and maybe going for some sort of competition like figure or something. The trainer was right in one respect though, and that is that one needs a day in between a given workout and the next one, and not to do the same workout 2 days in a row, in order to give the muscles time to recuperate.
As far as "toning", women need to eliminate that word from their workout vocabulary, seriously! What you want is muscle, plain and simple, and most women totally overestimate the ease of actually building muscle because they see pix of professional bodybuilders on or close to competition day. But the truth of the matter is that women have to work very hard to build muscle, on account of our hormonal status, unless we have "chemical help" which anyone who is into a natural lifestyle is so not into. Because of this, the average woman who weight-trains does NOT have to worry about gaining too much muscle as I might have mentioned elsewhere. The bulking effect that women are afraid of is the result of building some muscle, without losing the fat that's sitting on top of it. If one keeps a fairly tight diet, and does good intense cardio in addition to those 3x weekly weight workouts, that fat will reduce in time, giving one a leaner look that many women think is "toning". Anyhow, best of luck in your training and it sounds like you're going along just fine!

[Kingsley33]

Ya Exercise with perfect diet will helps you to loose weight ...There are many different types and styles of exercise and of course some routines and workouts are going to be much more effective than others. A person needs to understand that their selected exercise routine needs to match their desired purpose. For example, some methods may be designed to burn fat and others are intended to build muscle mass. It is important to realize that muscle weighs significantly more than fat and as a result can actually cause a dieter to gain weight initially. If a dieter is truly desiring a workout that will help them lose weight, they need to focus on burning calories.........

[karenisraw]

Hi,

I was 100%raw vegan a few years ago and I ate as much as I wanted and I did not lose weight. I did not gain either.

I am again raw vegan but this time I am not eating as much and I am not eating as many fats and I am already losing weight. I walk on my treadmill about 50 minutes per day for 5 days a week.

K

[alissagiadagreen]

One of the best ways to look and feel thinner is to have beautiful posture. Pilates creates a leaner look by emphasizing both length and good alignment.
Exercise burns calories. How many calories you burn depends on your body type and your level of exertion.
Engaging in an exercise program, like Pilates, promotes self-esteem and heightened lifestyle consciousness. Both are associated with weight loss.

[grehamjones]

Yes, definitely if you have do regular exercise then you can easily lose your weight in fast way. You can daily early in morning perform the exercise and you can go for walking. Through walking and exercise you can lose your weight and fat also.

[neurosport]

depends on the kind of exercise you do.

swimming plus riding a bicycle every day will make you lose weight guaranteed.

lifting weights could make you gain weight.

exercise should not be treated as a means of weight loss and neither should diet.

diet and exercise are the things that your body NEEDS regardless of whether you want to lose or gain weight.

everyone should exercise AND watch what they eat regardless of their body mass index or percent bodyfat.

[Katie P]

exercise should not be treated as a means of weight loss and neither should diet.

Diet and exercise are the things that your body needs regardless of whether you want to lose or gain weight.

Everyone should exercise and watch what they eat regardless of their body mass index or percent bodyfat.

i second that!

[montyloree]

I like bicycling.... it's good cardio.. and it's helping me get my blood pressure down. I've seen many benefits for being consistent on my bicycle.

[jimmyblakk]

I personally understand that I can't loose the weight I want until I change my diet. I do get exercise, and that does help burn off what you are intaking in food. But to really get the weight off AND keep it off, you have to eat right as well. For me, right now, I am not dissatisfied enough with my weight to give up the foods I like.

[bing]

The title "Will exercise help me lose weight?" really got me!" :D

Of course it would, so long as you don't change your intake while deciding to do some form of exercise. Just burn more than you eat, that's weight loss.

But be careful though, abrupt weight loss is not good for your body.

[okorolina40]

I was a personal trainer for 10 years before going back to grad school, and yes, depending on the exercise, it can help you lose weight. Depending on your age, however, nutrition is likely to influence weight loss more or less than exercise. If you are looking to lose inches or firm up significantly and prevent sagging skin, weight training, yoga, Pilates, and rebounding all do a great job - many of the replies are really SPOT ON..

- Breathe! Fat is burned through OXIDATION..
- full range of motion
- try to keep food intake steady
- dropsets, HIIT, supersets, circuit training are great weight training formats for women -- know your body and build in some rest if this is new to you.


I personally have been able to maintain a 25 lb weight loss just by eating raw foods.. but I have plateaud and now (a little older and now a mommy) need to lose weight by adding in the exercise. Bikram Yoga, dance and Pilates have been particularly helpful for my body type, along with callanetics and calisthenics. P90 i think was making me somewhat bulky in the beginning. I have put that aside and am doing higher repetitions with moderate to lower weights.. I also love my Total Gym, and I also go walking with my Nordic poles of with my baby in his jogging stroller.

Do what you like and do them frequently. Those will be your best tools for weight loss.

Blessings and Rawk Steady!

Okorolina

[kaleboy]

if you're eating more calories than you're burning then you wont lose any weight...

[joesoph]

HA HA HA HA HA Stupid question, eh? :rolleyes: But seriously...

I started my raw journey on December 15. Since then I have NOT exercised at ALL. I have lost 22lbs. If I did exercise, would I be losing more weight? I mean, I'm pretty happy with 22lbs in two months, but if I can lose more/faster then dang it, I want to! What workouts do you recommend? I still have about 42 lbs to lose (give or take a few ;) ) Right now I have two recorded episodes of Inhale yoga and some Leslie Sansone Walk Away The Lbs DVDs. What else would you recommend for a beginner (though I am very flexible and have a lot of stamina.) I'm leaning towards yoga, but was wondering if there is any one type of workout that best compliments a raw diet. Oh yeah, and I don't have the big bucks to spend on TTapp or anything like that. It would have to be something I can do on my own, find online, rent from the library or buy cheaply. Thanks!!!

I think you need to be patient and not to expect results that soon.I am not saying that 22lb is an impossible goal but it requires too much effort on your part.Yoga is a good practice but it is much better that you shall do those exercises that helps you burn more and more fat.

[BlackKat]

When I was eating SAD food the only thing to help me lose weight was exercise. When more calories are burned than what's being put in (energy) then you lose weight. It's quite simple. I also exercise now on raw and believe it does make a difference. It helps shape the body as well. I was eating high fat content last year when I first went raw and was still losing weight because of walking long periods of time every day.

Even someone that sits on a couch all day for years on end is going to lose a ton of weight just by getting off that couch and walking around the house a few times a day.

[aquariusmediaaseo]

Yes, In my opinion exercise is the way of loosing weight. If we regular do exercise and yoga then we can definitely reduce our weight.

[Chrisy]

Hello! Well if exercises can't help then nothing will! :excited:

[jackpeter58]

What else would you recommend for a beginner (though I am very flexible and have a lot of stamina.) I'm leaning towards yoga, but was wondering if there is any one type of workout that best compliments a raw diet.

[jackpeter58]

Yes if you incorporate exercise, you will def lose more weight. personally when i went raw, i was walking about 50 minutes(i used to walk to my campus and back 25 min each way) and was dropping weight like there was no tomorrow and got down to 130 pounds.

[Revvell]

What else would you recommend for a beginner (though I am very flexible and have a lot of stamina.) I'm leaning towards yoga, but was wondering if there is any one type of workout that best compliments a raw diet.

Kettlebells. Check out Zenkahuna and Coach Tara on YouTube.... and, of course, hooping! Playing with SandBells if you find kbs intimidating or if you have to play indoors.

[big foot marty]

I love the people that say exercise won't help/make you lose weight...

It WILL and has been proven many more times with more reliable data than Non-exercise studies.....BUT

Not just exercise- exercise with bad food, poor rest or heavy muscle building which will grow heavy muscle....

Eat better- burn more calories on a regular basis and you will lose more then if you just ate better

[KatyJane]

Sorry, I haven't read the whole thread, but... well yes, pretty exercise and correct dieting are said to be pretty much the holy grail of weight loss. But the thing with exercising is doing it faithfully over longer periods of time. If you are truly able to (it's kinda harder than you might think), for at least 2-3 months or so, then you should be thinking about alternating the exercises. Why is that so? Because after a while, our bodies get used to the same kind of exercise, rendering it less effective. But still, you might want to start with something you like. Anything, as long as you can enjoy it.

Hope that helps.

[farry]

If you do yoga, or anything, breathe deep. Our body burns fat best when the cells are getting lots of oxygen. This is why hard exercise is so effective, it gets you huffing and puffing and rids your lungs of the waste accumulated in them and delivers oxygen to the body.

[kellijonez]

You are right Farry. Yoga is also good way to lose weight safely and effectively

[blissrunner]

Yes, if you include a combo of strength training and cardio you'll loose more lbs faster overall. You'll also increase your metabolism, improve your body composition, increase your energy levels and a ton of other stuff. Yoga is fantastic and I recommend it but in terms of weight loss it does take much longer to show results then other forms of exercise. If your primary goal right now is weight and inch loss I'd go with other forms of strength and cardio over yoga if you have to choose and even better would be to do all three :-). If you do opt for yoga I personally recommend bikram, hot or some other form of power yoga, you still get the traditional benefits of doing yoga, but you also see changes in how your body looks a little sooner then other forms from personal experience and from what I've seen in others.

Congrads on your weight loss and diet improvements so far!

[Revvell]

One thing I've found over the years, if you don't handle the inside, it's really difficult to handle the outside. Finding out why you're fat in the first place.... many people lose weight and most find it again because they've not handled the CAUSE and no, it's not just overeating... WHY do they overeat? What's THE cause of that? Big part, not receiving enough nutrition but, what's the rest? Lonely? Sad? Depressed? Handle the emotions while doing all the rest to keep it off.

[andipenoza]

We may say that exercise could help us lose weight but exercise alone is not that effective in losing weight, we need also to monitor our diet and avoid unhealthy and fatty foods, though by the means of exercise, it could help us a lot.