Losing a lot of weight by merely dieting?

[out of the woods]

Is it possible?
Can you lose a significant amount of weight by only dieting, and no exercise at all? I know, of course, that a balance of the two is the healthiest way to go, but if someone refuses to exercise no matter the logic, can you lose at all?

Perhaps if you start at 2000 calories and gradually decrease it by 100 every one or two weeks? Or are there other methods? Discuss the possibilities!

{This would also be helpful for those who are incapable of exercising due to a health issue, surgery, life giving issues, etc.}

 

[The_Great_White_Snark]

Yes. You can sit on the couch all day and lose weight so long as your metabolism burns more calories than you are consuming. That's how sick people starve, really.

However, your metabolism tends to try to match your calorie intake as hard as it possibly can. When you diet without exercise, your metabolism drops and you burn fewer calories total.

When I had my first encounter with anorexia, I ate around 1000 calories a day and lost a lot of weight within the first month or two, with minimal to moderate exercise. After that, though, I stopped losing, and where before I was losing several pounds a week and eating comparatively well, I had to eat less and less and exercise more in order to lose even a single pound. It got to the point where if I spent a week eating 400 total calories and then had 700 total calories on the weekend, I gained 3-5 pounds back and had to spend the next two weeks working that off.
When I started eating 'normally' again - moderate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, no snacks - I gained fourteen pounds in twenty days and was horrified.

So yeah. Watch your metabolism, really...exercise is the best way to raise it.  

[freelance lover]

I lost a bunch of weight by cutting out calories when I was younger. Unfortunately, I've kind of hit a plateau where I'm not gonna lose anymore unless I work out. But it's possible, sure.  

[Tandahda]

I had a friend who lost a bunch of weight that way, sadly it either developed into very quickly or always was anorexia. She still deals with the effects its had on her body...

I would say that cutting down 100 calories every few weeks is not the best plan, it would be better to check out your BMR for the weight you want to be and simply eat those calories or something roughly equivalent.

http://www.tlbc.ca/blog/index.php/bmr-calculator/

This one only works if you are older than 20, but it has an option for your exercise. Just place in 'little to none'.  

[Divash]

I have a friend who was in such poor health that her doctor ordered her to lose 300 pound. However, he said that she was forbidden to exercise until she'd lost her first 100, because it could cause her a major heart trauma and kill her. She actually did lose that first 100 pounds, though it took her about four years.

You can do it, but it will take a LOT longer by dieting alone, and every little mistake or cheat will cost you that much more than if you were exercising. Building even a little bit of muscle mass will help you burn fat and calories much more efficiently, because muscle burns fat -- fat doesn't burn fat at all. You can lose weight up to 3 times as fast if you're willing to engage in a healthy amount of exercise. The_Great_White_Snark is right. Trying to diet without exercise is counterproductive and will soon result in a huge weight gain.

Ask your doctor's advice. Unless your doctor tells you that you're forbidden to exercise, you should exercise.