Successful Weight loss--how much do you exercise?

alexandrazzzz

So, I lost a lot of weight by eating around 1400 calories and working out ALOT! 2+ hours day! I want to lose my last 25-35 but it is hard! I would love to hear from people who have lost a lot of weight consistently, how much did you exercise while losing weight? How many hours a day, how many times per week? What types of exercises? Thanks!

FrustratedYoYoer

I exercise 5 days a week, usually 30 - 60 mins but the past 2 weeks some days I've done up to 2 hours split over the course of the day because I've been on holiday. I run 3 x per week and do weights 2-3 times.

daniellemm1

bump

AJ_G

Weight lifting 5 days a week, minimal cardio, maybe once or twice a week, and only HIIT, never steady state

murphy612

I started 2-3 times a week. 2 days weight lifting and 1 day cardio. Never more than 45-60 minutes. I now do 3 days of weight lifting and 1 day of cardio and that is probably all I will ever do, I don't really like exercise but I like the results. I exercise efficiently and not excessively.

In truth, exercise is for fitness/body composition and diet is for fat loss. If you are trying to lose fat focus on your diet.

CoderGal

If you want to get rid of fat, lift weights. If you want to get rid of weight in general including hydration and the like, while making your heart and lungs healthier and you like eating lots of food, do cardio. If you want to be a lump on a log and don't really care about nutrition, you can still lose weight with a calorie deficit.

cavia

3x every nine days due to my work schedule. That translates to 3 hours of lifting or 2 hours of lifting plus one 2+hour run every 9 days. I credit none of my weightloss to my exercise. Weightloss is about maintaining a calorie deficit - exercise can certainly help to achieve that deficit, but it isn't necessary.

jonnythan

About 3 hours per week lifting in the gym. I usually play tennis or mountain bike a few more hours a week, but that's because it's fun (not because it's exercise). The non-lifting stuff is not necessary and doesn't help my weight loss, especially since I eat back all those calories.

2 hours a day in the gym every day is absolute madness and potentially a sign of disordered eating/exercising.

xxhieixx

I do zumba twice a week (both for an hour) and I go running/walking (the c2k program) 3 times a week. If the weather is bad I do zumba at home since I know the routines. I lost weight really fast at first but it really slowed down the past month, which seems to happen to most people. Just keep at what your doing and don't get discouraged, I have about 27lbs to go and I know it's going to take awhile before I'm there

JamieM8168

During the majority of my weight loss, about 90 lbs, I lost weight by my diet and cardio maybe 2-3x per week for about an hour

KAS0917

For my first 30 pounds I lost weight basically through diet alone. I did exercise, but not consistently (maybe 1 hour a week?). I'm 'lightly active' in my normal life, but I didn't really kick in my exercise until about 60 days ago. I lost 30 pounds last year, and have been bascially mainting since then. I'm not back on my hard core calorie counting, and have added activity in on a consistent basis.

epie2098

I've lost 80lbs and have kept it off for years. I joined MFP to help take a few more off before I hit 40. Arbitrary goal, but chances are that's when things will really slow down metabolically.

I ate around 1400-1600 calories of high-protein, moderate carb, low fat. I eat clean about 90% of the time, but I realize that's a subjective term. I had my best success with something approximating the Body for Life nutrition plan. That was a few years ago. I would now recommend The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno, as it focuses more on nutrition rather than protein-carb-veg, and gives you more flexibility in planning your daily eats.

For workouts, I was in the gym about an hour each day, but I upped the intensity so it was harder than if I went for a 2 hour walk. I did C25K on a treadmill when I was about 230ish lbs. It was hard. When the 30 mins was up, I'd walk for another 30 until an hour was done. I would push hard on elliptical trainer for about 45 minutes then do an abs routine. I used Oxygen magazine and created routines that would last for about an hour total, hitting all major muscle groups. Basically, I alternated between cardio and weights daily for a workout six days a week, taking one rest day.

This is not what I do now.

I'm on a mostly plant-based diet, with lower protein but higher whole grain and fibre than I ate then. I aim for 30 minutes of higher-intensity cardio, and have dropped weight training in favour of yoga, which I enjoy more and find isn't as hard on joints like wrists, hips, and elbows as the lifting was. I don't schedule in a rest day, because my job has changed and there are some days where getting to the pool/out for a run/onto the mat is really, really hard. I work out when I can.

srobinson84

I'm within 5 lbs of goal and as of the last 6 months I've done the most change in my body by making sure that I move most of the day and do 15-45 minutes of body weight strength training about 3 days a week. I never fill burnt out and I have muscles that I've never in my life had before.

Nefetete

I workout 3 x week for 60 min each strength training plus 15-20 min HIIT. I'll add a bit of cardio here and there for 30-40 min for another 2 days. This seems to work better for me then working out 7 days/week, which I used to.

I eat anywhere between 1600 - 2000k and have almost reached my goal.

TeaBea

So, I lost a lot of weight by eating around 1400 calories and working out ALOT! 2+ hours day! I want to lose my last 25-35 but it is hard! I would love to hear from people who have lost a lot of weight consistently, how much did you exercise while losing weight? How many hours a day, how many times per week? What types of exercises? Thanks!

Weight loss is at least 80% diet

Exercise is about the shape of my body ..... my fat to muscle ratio. If someone loses weight too fast .... they end up losing muscle tissue....not the goal when most people start to exercise.

I exercise for health ..... not just to burn calories. I exercise because it is a good lifestyle change...... not because it makes weight loss "faster." I will need to exercise to maintain weight loss..... I don't want to diet forever.

I like a portion of cardio, a portion of strength training, and (I'm old) a portion of flexibility & balance (yoga).

refinedredbird

I work my arms/shoulders/core/chest 2x a week and my legs/glutes/core 2x a week and I do cardio at least 1-2x a week which is usually running I do try to change it up and set up a training schedule

cwolfman13

Weight loss is all about calorie deficit...with MFP you have that built into your calorie goal. Technically, you don't have to lift a finger and you'll lose weight if you meat your calorie goal. Stop the over-training nonsense....

Diet for weight control; exercise for fitness.

BayleighPaws

Holy moly I wish I had 2 hours a day!!

I've lost 100lbs since October with about 45 minutes to an hour of exercise a day. Strenuous exercise I suppose- I bust my *kitten*. I'm a SAHM, and I just do circuit training or running whenever I get a chance (ie; when the baby is napping).

DPernet

My base case is:

Weight lifting 3 times a week - about 45 mins per session
Swimming 5 times a week - about an hour per session
Running or Cycling twice a week (HIIT) - 35 minutes per
Hiking about 2 or 3 times a month - 3 or 4 hours per time

In addition to this, I also throw in 2 months of Insanity every 3 months :blushing:

SJVZEE

So, I lost a lot of weight by eating around 1400 calories and working out ALOT! 2+ hours day! I want to lose my last 25-35 but it is hard! I would love to hear from people who have lost a lot of weight consistently, how much did you exercise while losing weight? How many hours a day, how many times per week? What types of exercises? Thanks!

I lost around 50lbs doing no exercise. Weight loss is about what you eat, exercise is for good health.

Cherry_T

No need to exercise a lot! Just intensely! Quality over quantity.