I am just wondering, how many of you who have lost a significant amount of weight or have met your goal weight, did so by exercising? I'm curious if anyone has lost their weight without exercising? I've been trying to get some exercise in but just haven't been feeling motivated enough lately, I know it will help with my weight loss and I wish I could find the energy and motivation but I just don't have it right now..Thanks..

Thanks Butterthebean' date=' I would love that it looks awesome, but my kids are all grown now, so I would have to put a doll in it! LMAO..[/quote']

Oops....sorry....thought you said something about a 1 year old grand daughter. I had a lady pass me on my last run pushing one of these things. I couldn't keep up with her. Kinda demoralizing.

I have exercised off and on (more on than off) throughout the years. I've NEVER been able to lose weight without exercise, trust me I've tried several times. I exercise because it feels good. Of course getting into the routine of exercising is hard but after about 3 weeks you begin to crave it and feel weird if you don't. I hated the treadmill for a while but now that I've been on it for the past month, I no longer dread it. Once my kids are back in school I will start going to the gym again. I feel at home in the gym because everyone else has the same goal as me which is to be fit and healthy. Exercise helps me look better in my clothes plus it lifts my mood. I'm naturally a very anxious person and it keeps my anxiety under control. Plus it also suppresses my appetite. I find that I'm not as hungry on days when I workout and my cravings are almost non-existent. I also make better choices food wise after working out. You don't have to kill yourself at the gym but I do believe that working out will help you look better in your clothes

LOL yes I do have a 1 year old granddaughter, but I live up on a mountain with nothing but hills, so I don't really see me running around with that, haha, but it looks awesome...Well since I first posted this thread, I did a 5K foam fest on Sunday and it was awesome, I completed the entire thing, was so proud of myself..www.5kfoamfest.com check it out, was really fun....Been going to Kettlebell classes once a week and trying to work on fitting more things in...

Great Job Kari

I HATE exercise. I mean, in a real way. Only once in my life have I enjoyed it and that was when I was single and had no kids and could zone out on a treadmill and run my stress out. I never lost weight with exercise alone but it did make me feel better.

I am busy. I know we all are, but I have enough trouble getting six hours of sleep in a night (and that was before the most recent addition to our brood) and have never felt that exercise was worth the investment. I'm losing weight without it and I got to goal and maintained without real structured exercise.

Just because I don't enjoy formal exercise does not mean I'm a slug. I move all day long every day. It's a big deal that I take fifteen to forty five minute breaks and sit on my laptop. When I'm not here, I'm doing something else, I assure you. I fit exactly one hour of television time into my entire week and thirty minutes per evening reading before bed. Ain't no way I want to replace either of those time slots with getting sweaty and sore!

That said...I am actually on day five of a workout DVD that I'm really enjoying and I have done my short circuit workout each day. Am I losing because of that? Doubt it - really. I usually pack on pounds when I start exercising and it takes longer than five days for it to regulate.

However, I do feel better. I might get stronger doing this, I might not. But for now, it's a very welcome stress release and every day I do it I feel like I earned a gold star in my "things I'm doing just for me" column. Because as other moms and wives on here probably know (no offense menfolk) everything but that TV and book time is about everyone else. I enjoy my life and I find it fulfilling, but I still need a few uninterrupted minutes to work off my frustration!

Will I start to love exercise? Doubt it. But I am getting to the point where even I can't say I don't have thirty minutes to work up a sweat. The big kids are big enough to entertain themselves, my twins are no longer in full time destructo mode and my baby takes three naps a day. I can spare the time, even if I don't completely enjoy it.

~Cheri

I am busy. I know we all are' date=' but I have enough trouble getting six hours of sleep in a night (and that was before the most recent addition to our brood) and have never felt that exercise was worth the investment. I'm losing weight without it and I got to goal and maintained without real structured exercise.

Just because I don't enjoy formal exercise does not mean I'm a slug. I move all day long every day.

[/quote']

Girl, I know what you mean! I had 4 kids in 6 years (and 3 of mine are special needs) so I am busy too. I always considered myself sedentary because I didn't formally exercise and I did take time out to Facebook and such. Well that theory go blown out of the Water when I bought a new smart phone that had an awesome pedometer in it. I log between 4-6 miles a day just taking care of my kids. May sound stupid, but it did make me feel better having a little validation that I do actually work.

^{Cheri, thank you for your honesty...What DVD are you using?}

^{Cheri, thank you for your honesty...What DVD are you using?}

I dug out my dusty 30 Day Shred disc. I like that it's challenging but short. I do my workout each day and feel a sense of accomplishment when I'm done. I have this DVD binder that must have about thirty different workout discs in it...I think I'll try another one once I finish up the month on this one.

One of my pre-surgery weight loss resolution habits was to buy workouts and swear I'd start them. I never did more than one or two workouts on any of these discs, with the exception of a really wonderful stress relief yoga workout I have. Maybe my "stay in maintenance and get in better shape" resolution should be to work my way through that binder and stay active.

~Cheri

Same here, I have a million (exagerating) DVD workout tapes that I need to start using! LOL

I didn't start to move around much until 9 months post vsg - started with Water aerobics twice a week. I know nutrition is responsible for 80% of WL - I am finding that working on my long walks, enjoying my new gym membership, etc. are helping me build strength and flexibility in a big way. I am trying to get away from the mindset of exercise as a means to lose more weight - but rather use it as a tool to be able to do more things that I could not do when I was almost 320 lbs. I still have to make myself go exercise, but it is a bit better these days.

We enjoyed a family hike yesterday and there is no way in heck I would have been able to participate in this prior to losing the weight that I have. I have terrible arthritis in my ankles, knees and hips and am working towards building up strength so that I am not as hindered by it. This has become the new goal - fitness so that I can live a better life.

A few weeks ago while driving through the parking lot at our small local mall I saw a woman who was in her 70's struggling with opening the door at the local Barnes & Noble - she honestly did not have the upper body strength to pull it open...I want to be strong enough to do the things I want to do!

I also didn't start formal exercise till nine months post op. that's when I was ready. I lost nearly all my excess weight without exercising. I now go to the gym several times a week. I don't 'love' it really, but I like how it makes me feel for sure. I'm with Lynda, I have to do it first thing in the morning, which I had to really adjust to as I'm not naturally a morning person. But I've been doing it consistently for a couple of years now, so I think I'll stick with my moderate approach.

FYE, you look so great! I want to try belly dancing now...

I know I'm way late on this topic and i didnt read ANY of the replies- but for me, no exercise= NO weight loss. Period. End of story. And I mean 5 days a week, 1 hr minimum each time.

I know I'm way late on this topic and i didnt read ANY of the replies- but for me' date=' no exercise= NO weight loss. Period. End of story. And I mean 5 days a week, 1 hr minimum each time.[/quote']

P.S... I started the day after surgery with small walks down the hall of the hospital and went up from there.

P.S... I started the day after surgery with small walks down the hall of the hospital and went up from there.

I did that too, walked a LOT in the hospital, as I was there for six days (no complications, just SOP where I am, so I was bored a lot too...). And if we are counting walking as exercise, then I was doing that since day one post-op and all along (but was doing it pre-op too, just slightly less). I don't count it as exercise per se cos it's my transportation.

I have exercised regularly since I had surgery, and on and off for years before. I don't think it does much to impact my weight loss. I've been at it steadily and long enough that I've seen a pattern emerge. When I up the frequency and intensity of exercise, my weight loss stops or slows. When I back down, it picks back up. I will keep doing it though, because I've found it to be a great stress reliever, I just try not to kick it up into too high a zone. I feel like I've really accomplished something when I do it, but I'm down to about 2-3 days a week for the time being. I've had some knee issues that have slowed me down, and that's how I realized that decreasing the exercise increased the weight loss. Might be a fluke because it goes against everything I have believed, but there seems to be some correlation for me. But I have a weird body, it has NEVER, and still does not, respond to diet and exercise like I think it does for most people.