What to do cardio-wise after losing weight?

middlehaitch

Since being in maintenance I have been more forgiving if life events get in the way and will make sure I get an hour of walking in, and 10-15 min of bodyweight exercises, not always in one go.
Otherwise, I set myself a 1hr minimum 6 days a week, just like when I was losing.

Some days it's a 30 min swim/ or rowing machine, at lunch and 30 min conditioning in the evening.
Most weeks, when I am on track, 3days are lifting, the other days are the above, or drop-in Pilates, Zumba, belly dancing, or aqua fit.
I don't run, have no desire to.

Sunday is my day off, but will often do a Inyangar yoga session, keeps me flexible.

I do find variety in my cardio has helped me avoid any overtraining injuries, or I'm just lucky.

Heavy duty gardening or building/renovation- I give myself a break. That is enough of a workout in itself.

Cheers, h.

PS, my exercise has never been about the calories, I'm getting old, I want to stay healthy and active, and being active (maintaining a reasonable weight and eating nutritious food) is the only way to do that.

Cheers, h.

JeromeBarry1

The most recent tweak to recommendations for cardiovascular exercises are that 2.5 hours moderate exercise per week in any arrangement of time segments is good. If you walk around for that much without even trying, that's good. As always and forever, your weight will respond to your energy balance.

Orphia

Guidelines from the Australian Department of Health:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines

Physical Activity Guidelines

Doing any physical activity is better than doing none. If you currently do no physical activity, start by doing some, and gradually build up to the recommended amount.

• Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
• Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
• Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

I should add that here, 30 minutes a day was the recommendation in the eighties, before we became more sedentary and doing less NEAT. We need a lot more if we have a sedentary job.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

gia_incognito wrote: »

Do 20-30 mins of walking on the treadmill or doing the elliptical. You'll maintain with this.

only way she will maintain weight is if she is eating maintenance calories(including exercise) if she eats more she will gain if she eats less she will lose.

Keto_Vampire

Re: cardio vs. activity....it's not necessary to do cardio (as others have mentioned), especially if you control your diet to hit around TDEE. I still think it's a good idea to track activity on a day to day basis to have a consistent TDEE in the form of brisk walking (LISS, technically not cardio since HR elevation is not high enough). If you want more kcals to eat, do some cardio.

Still good to do cardio regularly for CV health; most guidelines will state around 150mins/week is enough. Heart = muscle (neglected often)

kerrylkatriviera

I reached my goal weight a few months ago, and found that I was still losing weight with my old routine. So I've cut my cardio from 50 minutes four days a week to 30 minutes 3 days a week, plus a few sessions of strength training, one yoga session a week and a lot of walking. We'll see how it goes. Trying to add more protein to feel full so I don't eat fat.

psychod787

fb47 wrote: »

LiftHeavyThings27105 wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

LiftHeavyThings27105 wrote: »

dani_lopera wrote: »

nxd10 wrote: »

I'm a wimp. I walk 3.5 miles most days and always do 30 minutes of walking with elevated heart rate.

How does that make you a wimp?

Exactly. The cardio (if we are calling the 3.5 mile walk "cardio") simply helps to burn some additional calories. That might allow you to eat some more food. :-)

I find that - while weight loss is all about calories in vs. calories out - that I do much better when I am in the gym (training sessions). I just recently added cardio to the mix (I used to run a lot and really enjoy running....but all I am doing now is about 30 minutes on the treadmill four times a week...maybe five times a week). But, that is just me. Everyone is different.

Walking is considered low impact cardio. So, yes, we are.

I do not disagree.....that thing called L.I.S.S.! Some people get funny and call their walking "NEAT"! :-) 6:1, half-dozen the other.....all part of "calories out"! No matter what the letters associated with it are!

Can't they be both? For example, I walk all day at work which explains why my metabolism is high. On one hand, I know it's kind of a low steady cardio, but at the same time, these little walks and movement I make at work can also be classified in the NEAT definition if we read the definition on this website https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12468415

Same here. I average 13500 steps a day with 11 hours out of a 12 hour day on my feet. I only formally walk 4 days a week for an hour on days off. I pace between sets at the gym and work around the house most of the day. Everything adds up. While i cant follow the Paleo diet, i like their ideas on exercise. Stand a lot, walk a lot, move heavy stuff. I have purposely designed my "exercise" to be as low impact as I can. I have seen several people get into high impact sports like cross fit and get hurt. No exercise= regain.

LivingtheLeanDream

When I was losing I was averaging 90 mins exercise a day, even at the start of maintenance and for a few years I continued.... but now I average 30 mins a day. It means I have to keep a more vigilent eye on how much I eat but it works better, I have more time to do other things with my time.

DX2JX2

Do enough to keep yourself heart-healthy but no more than that if you don't want to.

If you're used to 1-1.5 hours per day then the current recommendation of 150 minutes per week will be a joke. You get double credit for 'intense' workouts (heart rate at 60%-70% of max), so in reality many of us can fulfill the recommendation with 3 twenty five minute sessions per week.