Running and maintaining weight

andrewslacey61
andrewslacey61 Posts: 3 Member
edited June 2015 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
anyone else have advise on maintaining weight or losing a small amount with running and light weight training as main fitness routine?

Replies

  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    I'm looking for same advice hope someone can help us
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Eat the right number of calories - that's it, it's your calorie balance that determines if you gain/maintain/lose weight.

    If you do a significant amount of exercise you need to factor that into your calorie allowance. Either the MFP "eat back exercise calories" or TDEE method works. Some experimentation/adjustment will probably be required based on long term results.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    As long as your average number of calorie eaten doesn't exceed the average number of calories burned, you won't gain weight. Obviously, you need to eat more because you are exercising and you need to weigh yourself once a week or so to make sure you aren't gaining or losing weight. Make adjustments to diet and exercise if you are.
  • pinkteapot3
    pinkteapot3 Posts: 157 Member
    I've been maintaining for over two months now. I just use MFP and have always eaten back all my exercise cals, both while losing and maintaining. My sport is a mixture of running and cycling.

    I ate 1,200 plus exercise cals to lose weight, slowed to 1,400 plus exercise cals near goal, and have been maintaining on my MFP recommended 1,740 per day plus exercise cals.

    Most days I earn 300-600 cals from exercising. I have two days a week with no running or cycling so just have my base 1,740 cals on those days.

    Not sure what specific advice you're after?
  • This content has been removed.
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,630 Member
    What everyone else said. Hit your calorie goal and since you are maintaining, eat back your exercise calories.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to maintain weight, eat so you do so. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1800 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you maintain weight, you're good to go. If you lose weight, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't gain weight, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    anyone else have advise on maintaining weight or losing a small amount with running and light weight training as main fitness routine?

    Eat at maintenance to maintain, or a small deficit to lose....
  • Guy04
    Guy04 Posts: 20 Member
    The fist thing that comes to mind is running is not good for your back and joints ! Cycle instead !
  • This content has been removed.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Guy04 wrote: »
    The fist thing that comes to mind is running is not good for your back and joints ! Cycle instead !

    Says who?
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    What everyone else said. Hit your calorie goal and since you are maintaining, eat back your exercise calories.

    This is what I do only I eat at my TDEE so I don't worry about exercise calories.
  • erimethia_fekre
    erimethia_fekre Posts: 317 Member
    I ran ultra marathons in my youth. The only thing that I could find that would help me maintain my weight was waximaize or maltodextrin. I couldn't put in more than 250g of carbs in from food sources a day so the supplement helped me put more carbs in without much effort. Once I was consuming roughly 700g of carbs, I was good. Mind you I was running anywhere between 25 to 60 miles a day, 5 days a week for a full year, as well as weight training, circuit training, and yoga so if you're doing less than that, you obviously don't need much in that regard.
  • Guy04
    Guy04 Posts: 20 Member
    shell1005 wrote: »
    Guy04 wrote: »
    The fist thing that comes to mind is running is not good for your back and joints ! Cycle instead !

    Do what works for you instead of proclaiming that everyone else should...that's what works for me.

    I also have no issues with back or joints or what have you and log 20-25 miles per week. Different strokes y'all.
    I used to do 25-30 miles a week myself until I developed a herniated disc and had surgery. The surgeon said he's seen this a lot with runners and then the hospital had me watch a video about running and back and joint problems. I'm just trying to warn people.If you think i'm wrong just do research on it !
  • This content has been removed.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,286 Member
    anyone else have advise on maintaining weight or losing a small amount with running and light weight training as main fitness routine?

    no different than maintaining or losing a small amount on any other exercise program. It's all about the calories as already pointed out......I run several times a week and lift heavy. I eat a lot, been in maintenance for several years and haven't counted calories in over a year.
  • faithyang
    faithyang Posts: 297 Member
    I've been maintaining for over two months now. I just use MFP and have always eaten back all my exercise cals, both while losing and maintaining. My sport is a mixture of running and cycling.

    I ate 1,200 plus exercise cals to lose weight, slowed to 1,400 plus exercise cals near goal, and have been maintaining on my MFP recommended 1,740 per day plus exercise cals.

    Most days I earn 300-600 cals from exercising. I have two days a week with no running or cycling so just have my base 1,740 cals on those days.

    Not sure what specific advice you're after?

    Thanks for laying out your method to maintain weight!

    I have been struggling with this somewhat.

    I do find it more annoying than losing weight simply because previously it was a simple matter of knowing I had to eat a certain calorie limit and that's it. Now if I exercise 275 cal I must eat that 275 cal IN ADDITION to my calorie limit, and of course the cal from exercise varies on the day, type of exercise - and it's become an everyday thing I have to consider than a "meh just stick to 1200-1500 + exercise and the weight comes off"
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
    faithyang wrote: »

    Thanks for laying out your method to maintain weight!

    I have been struggling with this somewhat.

    I do find it more annoying than losing weight simply because previously it was a simple matter of knowing I had to eat a certain calorie limit and that's it. Now if I exercise 275 cal I must eat that 275 cal IN ADDITION to my calorie limit, and of course the cal from exercise varies on the day, type of exercise - and it's become an everyday thing I have to consider than a "meh just stick to 1200-1500 + exercise and the weight comes off"

    Just factor in the typical amount of exercises calories you burn in a week, and set a daily target based on that. If your weekly exercise volume changes, just re-adjust and carry on..

  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    Not a big fan of correlating running with calories burned. It will become a rally bad experience if you are doing it for the calorie burn alone.
  • patrikc333
    patrikc333 Posts: 436 Member
    I started to run almost 1 year ago and that helped me in losing weight but, when maintaining, you need to be careful as you must find the right balance

    this is my experience

    phase 1 - running 10-20 miles per week (3-4x) while losing weight. eating calories back till having a positive daily calories difference of 300-400 calories = losing constantly, happy

    phase 2 - running 30-40 miles per week (4x) while maintaining. only have a positive diff of ~100-150 cal per day = maintaining. if I was not eating the running calories, I was still losing weight, so I started to eat more of the exercise cal back (so having 350 cal per day left, then 250, then 150)

    phase 3 - now I run >60 miles per week, daily. Based on the experience above, I still aim for a positive diff of 100-150 cal per day and I'm perfectly maintaining.

    I have a garmin HRM strap + watch + fitbit

    you need to find the correct numbers, as the above worked for me but it all depends on how well the estimated cal burnt are real cal burnt
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
    Not a big fan of correlating running with calories burned. It will become a rally bad experience if you are doing it for the calorie burn alone.

    How so? I'm just curious. :)
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    Guy04 wrote: »
    The fist thing that comes to mind is running is not good for your back and joints ! Cycle instead !

    Total BS.
  • mwyvr
    mwyvr Posts: 1,883 Member
    Not a big fan of correlating running with calories burned. It will become a rally bad experience if you are doing it for the calorie burn alone.

    Do tell.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Shame OP never came back!