Can You Lose Weight Without Exercise?

Lose Weight
27 Jun

Last Updated on June 28, 2016 by Michael Brockbank

For many people, exercise is more like a chore that needs to be avoided at all costs. I can’t say that I blame them; there’s plenty of days I would rather not commit to an exercise routine. Is it possible to lose weight without exercise? Absolutely. However, exercise does more for your body than just merely burn calories, fats and carbs.

How to Lose Weight Without Exercise

The reason why most people gain weight in the first place is because their food intake is beyond their needs. If you don’t get a lot of physical activity, you won’t need a lot of food for energy. You wouldn’t keep trying to put 10 gallons of gas in a car if you only use three. Unfortunately, the extra gas wouldn’t cause the car to expand or become bloated.

You Burn Calories Regardless of What You Do

The human body will continue to burn calories, fats and carbs for energy no matter what your activities are for the day. For example, I burn about eight calories every five minutes. This is dependent on several factors such as body type, weight and sex. Almost every organ in your body needs energy in order to survive. This is one of the reasons why it’s possible to lose weight without exercise. Your body will experience continuous use of those elements. It just won’t be on a very fast scale.

Perhaps you are one of those people who have a full day from a physical perspective. For instance, labor workers who are outside moving all the time may not need extra exercise to drop a few pounds. Chasing little children through the house could vastly increase your daily activity. No matter how you slice it up, physical activity will burn away the fat without committing to an exercise routine.

Personally, I’ve found that I burn quite a few calories simply doing chores around the house. I use the Fitbit Charge HR to give me an idea of how much activity I get in any given day. A grueling 20 minute clean up can be quite beneficial from a healthy perspective.

Monitor Your Intake

Keep a close eye on how much food you’re eating per day compared to your activity. Not to sound like a broken record again, but I use MyFitnessPal. There are plenty of food apps online, and it could be an invaluable tool if you want to lose weight without exercise. Anyway, record every morsel of food you eat and pay special attention to your carbohydrates, sugars, fats and calories. These are some of the components that will cause the most damage to your waistline.

It’s important to be honest with yourself when using these tools. If you don’t record a night of dining on pizza because you don’t want to see your calories go into the red, then you’re not really helping yourself. The only one your fooling at this point is you. While your friends on MyFitnessPal may not see the extra carbs and fats, your body still still experience the load.

Learn Portion Control

Portion control is one of the biggest problems most people have in the United States. We are often led to believe that a covered, heaping plate of food is what we should eat every night. In reality, it’s often the amount of food three people should eat. A 64 ounce steak is enough meat to feed more than 20 people in a single sitting when you consider proper portion sizes.

When it comes to sweets, be mindful of portion sizes. For instance, a single cupcake isn’t going to throw your diet into a downward spiral. It’s eating four or five a day that’s going to do you in. Snacking is one of the most important things to watch if you want to lose weight without exercise. Mostly because many of us have a hard time saying “no” to sugar. Portion control of these snacks allows you to enjoy some of the sweeter things in life. I don’t believe you have to deprive yourself of goodies. Just watch how much of them you’re eating.

Your Normal Physical Activity

Those who are more active will burn more calories. If you can keep the food intake at an optimal level, then you’re regular routine will make sure you lose weight without exercise. For me, I spend close to 16 hours a day working and playing on my computer. This means my food intake should be considerably lower than someone who paints houses all day.

This is part of the reason why it seems like athletes can really pack away the food. Essentially, their metabolism has been conditioned to quickly convert the foods they eat to promote greater levels of energy and to maintain muscle mass. If you’re not as active as these people, you won’t want to eat as much as they do. It’s all about what your body can burn in a day.

It’s all about find a balance between what you eat and what your body will use. If you want to lose weight without exercise, then you need to focus on reducing what it is you eat to drop the pounds. It’s really that simple.

Exercise Does More than Burn Calories

Although you can still lose weight without exercise, these routines do more for you than just help you burn away the fat. In fact, exercise can contribute to improving your life in a myriad of ways outside of slimming down. Here are a few examples:

  • Improving activities ranging from grocery shopping to sex.
  • Muscle mass for picking up random items around the house or at the store.
  • Endurance to chase the children down.
  • Improving various hobbies that utilize strength and stamina, such as golf or even darts.
  • Bragging rights to your ex when you look like eye candy.

I don’t simply want to lose weight. I want to explore what my physical potential can be. I’ve already noticed improvements in a variety of activities and am looking forward to seeing what else I can accomplish. Don’t view exercise as a chore, but more of a way to improve yourself. However, you can still lose weight without exercising if that is your primary concern.

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