Bottom line is that if you burn more calories than you eat, the weight will come off! So don't worry..

If you put your stats in under MY PLAN and choose sedentary or no exercise (can't remember exactly what it's called) for lifestyle, it will calculate everything for you and you will be able to know what loss you can expect after entering your food daily. I'm not sure exactly but if you burn something like 500 calories a day more than you eat then you will lose one pound that week...

Hopefully some veterans can answer your question, but I can share what I have done so far. I have not exercised much during my weight loss phase and the weight has been coming off every week. I am guessing the weight comes off faster with exercise, but if you are willing to settle for slow and steady, doing just the 5&1 would be ok. I prefer to do the amount of activity I know I can maintain in the long run (after transition). Since I have never enjoyed exercise, I have not made it the focus of my diet but made eating properly instead the focus. Portion control with food and little to moderate exercise routine is something I know I can maintain for the long term...

I can say I didn't exercise a whole heck of a lot!.

I had started a walking program but then a foot problem waylaid me. The only thing I've been doing consistently is a toning routine that is mostly floor work (leg lifts, crunches, etc.).

I didn't seem to affect my weight loss, actually. My personal opinion is that exercise is more important for weight maintenance (and has other benefits) more than for losing weight...

I didn't get serious about exercising until I'd been in maintenance for 3 months. During my weight loss I did walk though. I started out walking 10 minutes at a time 3X/day. Then I increased my lunch time walk to 30 minutes (and kept the 2 short walks). Once I had lost a bunch of my weight, I added longer walks on Saturday and Sunday (usually 1 hour) (and still kept the 2 short walks).

I lost the weight just fine, just wasn't very toned and I thought I could use more aerobic work, so I joined a gym. Now I work out 6X/week at a pretty intense level. And I try to get in a short, easy walk every morning (15 minutes)..

I think the most important thing was that I was moving 3x/day - I didn't just plop down on the couch after meals. I don't know what level of movement you can handle with your injuries, but the light walking helped me. Good luck! Becki..

One thing we can all say...listen to your body..if it hurts..STOP....you can cause undue swelling and pain...this is a very big lifestyle change as is...do the plan and wait..I had to wait 3 weeks..then just started light walking...and went from there...after a very hard yr.....I worked up to doing a 39.3 mile walk for Avon walk for breast cancer.....but it took time....your doing a very positive thing for your health and well being.....take it one step at a time....only other thing I can think that might help is if you can go to a pool....just something to think about...hang in there...and let us know how it goes.....I sure hope it gets better.....Later Prez..

I waited 3 months until exercising, not 3 weeks. I lost 29 lbs in those 3 months. I'm now doing 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer daily. I plan on lifting weights this week. I do have a lot of loose skin and flab even tho I'm at the top of the "healthy" weight for my height, so I wish I had started exercising earlier..

Mary Beth..

I did not really exercise regularly until I had been on Medifast over 1 year and lost over 100 pounds. I lost weight just fine. Good luck and do what you can when you can...

Exercise is important in the sense that it gets you moving and can help increase your metabolism. But there are so many different types of exercise, you should be able to find something that is tailored to your needs.

Swimming is an excellent suggestion as it does not put weight on your joints. However, if the problem is in the muscles you might aggravate it. Stretching exercises are also excellent since they are not too demanding. Walking is good exercise and can be done without injuring your joints if not done to excess. I guess the most important concept is to MOVE! Sitting around is definitely not the way to go. There are things you can do that can be considered exercise in moderation. Only increase the exercise when you are ready, don't force it...

Thank all of you so much. Your sugggesstions have really helped me out. The swimming suggestion is good, I may try that. I am going to go about it very slow. Thanks for all of your input...

I have not made exercise a priority during my weight loss. However, now that I am getting closer to a healthy BMI, my weight loss progress has slowed tremendously down. It took me 2 months to lose what I was losing in 1 month. I am confident that if I start an exercise program the weight loss will pick up speed again.

I have just renewed my health club membership and I plan to start a regular strength training and cardio program the 2nd week of August when I go back to school for preplanning. The only reason I am waiting is that the gym is right around the corner from my school, but 30 miles from my house and I just don't want to drive over there everyday during my last month of relative freedom before school starts...