Has anyone managed to lose weight via a diet only ?
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It depends on how and why you gained the weight. If it's not from a medical condition, you probably could but it will be extremely hard. You'll eventually cease to constantly gain more weight but as long as you're not exercising, you won't loose much.
I don’t think that’s true.
The principle behind weight loss is caloric deficit. You have to use more energy than you eat, because excess energy is converted into fat. Exercise uses up energy, but you have to eat food in the first place in order to have excess to burn off.
TL;DR—Exercise is healthy but strictly unnecessary for weight loss. Diet alone will do it.
The principle behind weight loss is caloric deficit. You have to use more energy than you eat, because excess energy is converted into fat. Exercise uses up energy, but you have to eat food in the first place in order to have excess to burn off.
TL;DR—Exercise is healthy but strictly unnecessary for weight loss. Diet alone will do it.
You should probably monitor caloric intake. There are devices that can monitor that.
If you can't run or exercise, and need to improve your cardiovascular health, simply walking/hiking can help. Walking is a good, easy cardiovascular exercise that can help you lose weight. By no means is it better than running, but swimming, rowing, and cycling are also good alternatives.
If you can't run or exercise, and need to improve your cardiovascular health, simply walking/hiking can help. Walking is a good, easy cardiovascular exercise that can help you lose weight. By no means is it better than running, but swimming, rowing, and cycling are also good alternatives.
I've lost 20 pounds so far this year, mainly from changes in diet. I kept reading phrases like "you can't outrun a bad diet", and it's true. Run for 20 minutes, burn off 100 calories. Which you could easily eat past with one candy bar, or the dressing you put on your salad (seriously, check the calories for that crap, it's ridiculous). Make sure the calories you're eating are heavy in nutrients (lots of greens, lean meats) so you won't have to eat as much to feel satisfied.
I'll tell you that everything I ever thought about diets was wrong.
Full disclosure: I was a FATTIE. Loved to eat and did it a lot. Didn't mind being 'thick'. I was right at 300 pounds when I got diagnosed.
Anyway long story short I have been almost a year with max 1200 calories a day. Usually I hover around 800-1000. I could explain why but won't unless you want to hear.
I eat no bad food. Lean fish, soft veggies, protein shakes. I cannot cheat so I'm forced to do this but the changes have been incredible. I lost well over 110 pounds and my body responded fantastically. BTW I'm 45 too so it's not so easy to make massive adjustments.
To sum up I'm saying you can eat a super healthy diet that works long term and stay at a very low caloric number as long as your diet is complete and thought out. It's not easy at all but the dividends only continue to mount. Once the joy of food is gone (like in my case) it really lets you focus on what you need versus what you want and I'm really surprised at how little you do actually need to function just fine.
Full disclosure: I was a FATTIE. Loved to eat and did it a lot. Didn't mind being 'thick'. I was right at 300 pounds when I got diagnosed.
Anyway long story short I have been almost a year with max 1200 calories a day. Usually I hover around 800-1000. I could explain why but won't unless you want to hear.
I eat no bad food. Lean fish, soft veggies, protein shakes. I cannot cheat so I'm forced to do this but the changes have been incredible. I lost well over 110 pounds and my body responded fantastically. BTW I'm 45 too so it's not so easy to make massive adjustments.
To sum up I'm saying you can eat a super healthy diet that works long term and stay at a very low caloric number as long as your diet is complete and thought out. It's not easy at all but the dividends only continue to mount. Once the joy of food is gone (like in my case) it really lets you focus on what you need versus what you want and I'm really surprised at how little you do actually need to function just fine.
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I've only ever lost weight by doing both (not because I couldn't doing just one, but because when I can be bothered to monitor calories, I go all-out to make it as quick a process as possible), but it's VERY simple to do this. That being said, simple doesn't mean easy.
Find LOW CALORIE diets. Don't bother with any of the gimmicky diets (atkins, south beach, paleo, etc., etc.), just find a number of low calorie diets that provide you with what you need. Focus on MOSTLY eating vegetables, but making sure you're getting lean protein (fish is especially good) and enough carbs (without carbs, you'll tend to feel sluggish as they are quick energy for the body). Use meal replacement shakes if you're up to it, as they're a good way to jam in food without thinking, but some people feel hungry afterwards, so it's hit and miss. The point of calorie restriction is you choose a number and stick to it, no matter what. Try to break up your meals into roughly equivalent sizes so you don't crap out partway through the day.
Honestly, though, talk to your doctor about that hernia. A lot of the time, lack of exercise is what causes them. See what kinds of exercise won't hurt you and do that, low impact, etc. at first, and build up. Go for a walk, get in a pool, so some pushups and pullups and leg presses (should all be kind to your back), etc. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST, but you should be able to find a way to integrate exercise into it.
Finally: make sure you give yourself a cheat. I like to do 2 cheat meals a week. That means that of all of your meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), are all on the crappy, painful diet, but every once in a while, a breakfast, lunch or dinner is full of fat and calories. You'll find yourself looking forward to these days A LOT, but what happens is that when you are tempted to cheat, instead of the future looking like a hopeless, endless succession of the same, you go, well, I AM going out for steak in two days, so I might as well stick with it. It works wonders.
Good luck! Diets are the absolute worst, and hopefully I'll never have to do one ever again.
Find LOW CALORIE diets. Don't bother with any of the gimmicky diets (atkins, south beach, paleo, etc., etc.), just find a number of low calorie diets that provide you with what you need. Focus on MOSTLY eating vegetables, but making sure you're getting lean protein (fish is especially good) and enough carbs (without carbs, you'll tend to feel sluggish as they are quick energy for the body). Use meal replacement shakes if you're up to it, as they're a good way to jam in food without thinking, but some people feel hungry afterwards, so it's hit and miss. The point of calorie restriction is you choose a number and stick to it, no matter what. Try to break up your meals into roughly equivalent sizes so you don't crap out partway through the day.
Honestly, though, talk to your doctor about that hernia. A lot of the time, lack of exercise is what causes them. See what kinds of exercise won't hurt you and do that, low impact, etc. at first, and build up. Go for a walk, get in a pool, so some pushups and pullups and leg presses (should all be kind to your back), etc. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST, but you should be able to find a way to integrate exercise into it.
Finally: make sure you give yourself a cheat. I like to do 2 cheat meals a week. That means that of all of your meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), are all on the crappy, painful diet, but every once in a while, a breakfast, lunch or dinner is full of fat and calories. You'll find yourself looking forward to these days A LOT, but what happens is that when you are tempted to cheat, instead of the future looking like a hopeless, endless succession of the same, you go, well, I AM going out for steak in two days, so I might as well stick with it. It works wonders.
Good luck! Diets are the absolute worst, and hopefully I'll never have to do one ever again.
Lower your calorie intake, as mentioned before. Include more fibre (will fill your stomach without the calories), if you want you can go gluten free, that'll probably make you lose weight. 
I'm assuming you are referring to an herniated disc right? If so, can't you get surgery to get that fixed? If you have access to healthcare that can help pay for it (if not all of it) I would get it fixed. I've had two herniated discs at separate times and life gets back to normal once you get it fixed. (after a few months, but slowly/surely)
If for whatever reason you can't get surgery, I would stop eating foods with flour in them and eat ass tons of salad with non fatty dressing. You should also eat lean meats. Then you should slowly swim laps a few times a week for no less than 30 minutes at a time. Since you are in water, there is no pressure on the disc and the gentle motion of slowly swimming is good for it. This is what a doctor told me.
Yes, the classic in L4-L5. Surgery can be covered by healthcare here but it seems doctors won't touch it because it's not pronounced enough.
:tup:
The only way you can lose weight is through changing your diet, it's virtually impossible to exercise enough to lose weight. There have been times where I've worked out 15 hrs a week and still not lost weight. Eat a lot of vegetables and meat, cut out anything that comes in a box or contains a ton of sugar.
For real weight loss I would really recommend looking into intermittent fasting (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110403090259.htm). You need to prime your body to pull from your fat reserves. Once you acclimate to it the low-energy feeling that normally accompanies low carbohydrates will stop.
For real weight loss I would really recommend looking into intermittent fasting (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110403090259.htm). You need to prime your body to pull from your fat reserves. Once you acclimate to it the low-energy feeling that normally accompanies low carbohydrates will stop.
Very interesting read. I started on a veggie only diet in February after just feeling sick to my stomach all the time. What can I say. No stomach problems anymore, no acid reflux. I am not a heavy guy more the "tall guy with long arms and legs but belly type" I don't feel like I have lost a lot of weight, but then again I didn't do any exercise either, just healthy eating.
I don't eat healthy at all, but I decided to try this. While still eating stuff bad for me, I knocked it down to 2 meals a day, and a 3rd meal primarily liquid (usually water or juice). Additionally, I stopped eating (for the most part) until I was stuffed...
...read a study somewhere that we're actually full before we feel it, that your tummy is full before it fells full because most people eat faster than the food gets down there to digest.
I weighed myself only once a week, or month (I'm forgetful at times) and over the course of 1 year I lost 60 pounds.
Would've been more if I exercised too, although significant exercise might make me hungrier.
the trick of a diet is to realize that dieting is pointless. People engage in dieting to lose weight and then resume their bad habits as soon as they get to whatever weight they deemed ideal. However, the word "diet" actually means "what you eat".
The alterations to my eating habits I described above I stuck to years after the fact and still do. My weight fluctuates seasonally, but I'm not anywhere as heavy as I used to be...
...and whould I ever knock off the fatty foods I love, and my addiction to chocolate, I'll probably lose more.
Okay, probably never gonna stop the chocolate... I'm not crazy!
...read a study somewhere that we're actually full before we feel it, that your tummy is full before it fells full because most people eat faster than the food gets down there to digest.
I weighed myself only once a week, or month (I'm forgetful at times) and over the course of 1 year I lost 60 pounds.
Would've been more if I exercised too, although significant exercise might make me hungrier.
the trick of a diet is to realize that dieting is pointless. People engage in dieting to lose weight and then resume their bad habits as soon as they get to whatever weight they deemed ideal. However, the word "diet" actually means "what you eat".
The alterations to my eating habits I described above I stuck to years after the fact and still do. My weight fluctuates seasonally, but I'm not anywhere as heavy as I used to be...
...and whould I ever knock off the fatty foods I love, and my addiction to chocolate, I'll probably lose more.
Okay, probably never gonna stop the chocolate... I'm not crazy!
I'd suggest seeing a physical therapist. I have the same problem as you, l and do plenty of cardio and exercise recommended by therapy to keep fit. I've seen two friends end up worse after back surgery, so unless I'm pissing my pants or can't walk I won't let them cut me open.
As for weight loss diets, I'd suggest a monitoring app if you have a smartphone. Pick one that will let you input everything you eat and drink for a week, then adjust intake accordingly. I dropped 25 pounds by switching the types of things I ate, not the amounts.
I posted some photos of my weight loss a few years back. The loss was mainly due to following a medically supervised keto-diet that was high in protein and added up to about 800 calories per day. In 12 weeks I had lost 70-80 lbs with very little exercise.
I never really addressed my poor eating habits though and have yo-yo'd a bit since then. I didn't gain it all back but I'm probably only down a net of 30lbs since that first weigh-in.
I never really addressed my poor eating habits though and have yo-yo'd a bit since then. I didn't gain it all back but I'm probably only down a net of 30lbs since that first weigh-in.