Can you lose weight if you don't exercise?

(Dee Eichler) #1

I am 67 female with some health issues. I have never been one to exercise. Will I still be able to lose weight on keto?

(Kellie) #2

Yes lost 44 pounds 7 months no working out all keto

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

Exercise is great for us, but the one thing it doesn’t do is to help us lose weight. If you like exercise, do it; if you don’t, don’t. Personally, I believe I get enough exercise jumping to conclusions, lol!

(Jane) #4

Yes, lost 30 lbs through keto only. I occasionally would use the hotel gym (travel a lot) but only to feel better, not to lose weight. I’d do 20-30 min on the treadmill so nothing that burns any big calories.

(Amanda) #5

I’ve lost 80 lbs in just under 8 months with no “exercise”. My day to day activity has increased, but no planned or regimented exercise.

(Dee Eichler) #6

Lol

#7

Yes!

The conventional wisdom that exercise is necessary to lose weight is a myth. Hopefully we can disabuse you many other myths and misconceptions about health and nutrition. Exercise is, of course, a good thing but does little for weight loss. What you eat is much more important.

I loss 80 lbs on Keto without changing my activity level.

I suggest not worrying about exercising for now and just eating Keto and letting your body to heal. After losing weight, you may have a desire to exercise more, which is very good for long-term health. If you do, you can then get a lot advice at that time from this forum concerning exercise and what may be helpful for you…

Good luck on your Keto journey!

(Dee Eichler) #8

Thank u. Makes sense

(Casey Crisler) #9

I’ve never been big on exercising either. Since going keto I now have energy I haven’t had since I was a kid. I’m hiking, lifting, and doing 5k’s. Something unheard of not that long ago. IMHO, exercise (or at least moving) isn’t required but you will want to because sitting around will get old real fast.

(Deborah ) #10

Absolutely! I’m a 66-yr-old female and I’ve lost about 31 lbs. since end of May. I am definitely lazy keto – no exercise and don’t count macros. I do eat only keto foods and no cheat days. :slight_smile:

#11

Yup. I’m 61 and wheelchair bound. Lost about 180 pounds so far.

The rule of thumb is that a pound is about 3500 calories. You can either do exercise (it would take walking more than a marathon distance to burn that amount) or cut back that much on intake. That’s a vast over-simplification, but it gives the two methods some perspective.

For myself, the two biggest advantages of keto:

  • It controls my blood sugars. Keto is a far more effective treatment of my T2 diabetes than medication. My A1c used to be 7.3 while taking both insulin and metformin and is now 5.4 without taking any diabetes medications.

  • It controls my hungers. I only eat a fraction of the calories I used to eat, because I’m no longer ravenously hungry all the time. And I don’t feel deprived, like I have been on every other attempt to lose weight over the past five decades.

#12

Current views by keto physician Dr. Michael Eades and keto physical trainer Fred Hahn is that 99% of body recomposition is dietary.

Only 1% is from “exercise” and the only kind that recomposes lean body mass (and thus dramatically increases protection of joints, particulary relevant in older age) is super slow strength training. The book Body By Science cites amazing stats on elders who do short sessions of strength training just once a week in terms of multiplying their physical strength and thus joint health.

But, you can still accomplish amazing & tremendous things without the weight-bearing exercise, it’s just slower in terms of restoring muscle mass - for those of us over 50, muscle restoration is also actually pivotal for hearth health, as it dramatically benefits circulation to the heart and enhances tissue rejuvenation/mitochondria/HGH.

(Carl Keller) #13

You only need to exercise your option to embrace keto. Keto is about retraining your hormones. Just keep your total carbs under 20, keep your electrolytes up (salt and water mainly) and do not starve yourself.

#14

I’ve lost 70 lbs since July 26th of this year when I started keto. I was too out of breath to walk when I first began, but feels SO much better now that I can walk and do walk much more. I’m still not quite ready for a heavy work-out, but that will come.

Exercise is good for raising your HDL, which I need to do.

(Bob M) #15

I’m not sure about that. I exercised a ton while on low fat/high carb (many years, did many 60+ mile bike rides) and my HDL never went about 40. It only went above 40 when I went on low carb.

70 pounds in 6 months? Holy crap batman!

#16

I think exercise is so good , and you need to find a way to do some .
not so much about weight loss, which it does help with weight loss, but just for breathing and moving your body and staying strong for older years.
My mom had a Walker and that is something that will not happen with me I do 22 mile walks and 12 mile bike rides and I’m pretty trim. Exercise just makes you feel good and brings more life to the world.:sparkling_heart:

(Robert C) #17

The reason you want to exercise is to reduce injury risk, better balance, increased flexibility, better (instead of just more) years, ease in getting out of a chair, less joint pain, better sleep, looking better without clothes on, continued independence, keeping up with the younger relatives, tighten up some of the skin that might loosen from weight loss etc. but nope - no reason to exercise for weight loss.

(Brennan) #18

To add to the chorus… Absolutely you can lose weight on keto without exercise. You’ll probably find that after awhile on keto you want to exercise though! (Lol you’ve been warned!)

(Running from stupidity) #19

Do you have a link to that? It would be useful to wave at people on occasion :slight_smile:

(Robert C) #20

“99% of body recomposition is dietary” sounds like an exaggeration.

People use strength training (not diet) all the time to add some muscle (which leads to recomposition).