I'm forcing myself to go walking and I do a bit of skipping for maybe an hour each day. But I'm also cutting my calories pretty drastically (not that i eat very little now but rather i ate a hell of a lot before) and I'm scared I'll end up with .. kind of loose skin or something. I'm terrible with exercise, normally I do very little - none on purpose. Basically my question is how much exercise is necessary and has anyone just eaten less and completely ignored the exercise side? I guess I need to tone up and I need to know how much you have to do to tone up. I'm not that fat really, but 129 lbs and only 5ft 2 so far from thin.

At least walk, if you do nothing else.

You'd be surprised how much walking can actually accelerate your weight loss.

at 129 lb at 5' 2", you will not end up with loose skin. even people who are obese can avoid it if they diet slowly. you're hadly obese are you? therefore it wont happen to you.

like people have said already, at least do 1/2 an hour of walking a day. or if you dont like walking, dance about your house for 10 minutes at a time 2-3 times a day. or run up and down the stairs (if you have them) for 5 minutes a few times a day. i've tried dieting without exercising. guess what - didn't lose anything at all. it's pretty pointless. i mean, sure you may lose about 1/2 an pound to 1 lb a week or sometimes nothing at all, your weight loss wont neccessrily be as steady as dieting with exercise is.

doing some kind of good quality cardio like jogging, swimming, running, dancing or cycling at least 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time can help you lose weight faster.

also, you say you've cut calories "drastically". i sincerely hope you keep your calories between 1,300-1,500. this will encourage your body to lose fat and not muscle. crash diets means your body goes into starvation mode, your body will store more fat and eventually it will feed off your muscle for energy. not to mention your metablolism will be fucked so as soon as you're off your diet, you'll put the weight back on. a body with more muscle mass looks better and more toned (because fat takes up 5 times more space than muscle) than a body with fat and little muscle mass (even if you're slim). dont find out the hard way, like i did, that crash diets are bullshit. do it the right way and there will be a better chance of losing the weight and keeping it off.

loose skin dosn't really matter, unless you're an absolute heffer it goes away natuarally.

the only diet that ever worked for me without exercise was atkins. i lost 16 lbs in 2 weeks the first time, and 30 in a month the second. but its no way to live.

i <3 carbs.

But exercise is the fun part!! Not eating the food you want certainly isn't...

i hate to say it, but you cant get away without exercise. its absolutely impossible in the long run. for a few reasons.

first is- in order to lose weight without exercise, you're going to have to cut calories DRASTICALLY in order to achieve any significant weight loss. you'll lose weight, BUT..a)you'll be starving and unable to keep it up for very long, b)you'll be losing fat AND muscle, muscle being your body's calorie burning furnace, meaning that in the long run your metabolism will be WAY WAY low and you'll have to eat very very little forever in order to maintain. which like i say, is impossible for anyone. so if you exercise you can, and basically have to, eat a lot more. which is mentally way easier, and just feels more natural.

secondly- getting into exercise, as much as you think it will be horrible now, will pay off BIG time not just physically, but MENTALLY. it feels like shit at the beginning when you're out of shape, it sucks frankly. that's why you've been unable to get past that, but that horrid feeling DOES go away and you can't imagine how GREAT you feel during and after exercise. and it's a wonderful mental check for keeping your other good habits in line, it really does motivate you to not eat crap even if you really want to, it helps your cravings go away, etc. it 'resets' your brain in a way. and those feel-good chemicals are a serious plusside

the key is to start slowly, and dont put too much pressure on yourself. find an exericse you truly LIKE to do, a few, and mix it up. and make sure to do weight training as well as cardio (weights are a must, esp for weight loss!), and do whatever you can to be consistent.


too bad there isnt a magic bullet that gives you the benefit of exercise without the time and effort, but truth be told, id miss the actual exercise so much. as long as there ISNT a magic bullet, people have just gotta keep looking for stuff they'll like to do! its out there!