How often should I work out to stay fit?

cmcostello23

Hello!

I'm a 37 female who recently had a baby 7 months ago. I am about 10lbs from my goal weight of 145lbs. I am currently 155lbs 5'5". I have worked out most of my life. I cope with stress by overeating so in my past i have gained weight because of poor nutrition.

I currently work a desk job monday through friday. I take my two 15min breaks and my 30 min lunch break to briskly walk. I do it monday through friday consistently. So thats 1 hour a day total of brisk walking.

On weekends i do 45 min intense yoga then a 30 -45 min jog/walk with stroller.

During the week before or after work is the hardest time for me to find time to workout. I can usually get 1-3 days during the week of insanity, piyo, run or yoga.

Is it enough to workout 4 days per week? Considering I do brisk walking daily 5 days per week for 1 hour/day.

My goal is to lose 10lbs and be fit/healthy.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

MostlyWater

sounds like a question for your dr.

janejellyroll

Many people find that four days a week is a good number of workouts for them.

Your current routine meets the US recommendations for aerobic activity for adults, but you don't mention muscle-strengthening activities, which are the second part of the recommendation: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

Weight loss will be created by a calorie deficit. Activity can certainly be part of that, but if you find that you aren't meeting your goals you will want to take a look at how many calories you're consuming.

harper16

Working out is important, but to lose weight you need to remain in a calorie deficit.

What do you have your weight loss set at? I'd suggest .5 lbs a week, and log any exercise calories separate and eat those calories back.

Congrats on your new addition. I'm also trying to lose the baby weight.

sardelsa

Congrats on your baby!
If you have more specific goals like training for an event, strength, yoga flexibility, endurance etc. then you can work towards that .. being fit is pretty open ended and can mean different things to everyone.

I also have a 7 month old and to be honest I try not to put too much pressure on myself fitness wise. I do try to get in at least 3 lifting sessions in per week (for muscle, strength, stress relief and aesthetics) plus the occasional walk, dancing and playing soccer with the older kids and just being on my feet all day at home and going up and down the stairs with that extra 20lb (baby) that is good enough for me!

Theoldguy1

The CDC guidelines are a good place to start:

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

BrianSharpe

To be fit and healthy - definitely, to lose weight - hard to say as you didn't mention anything about your eatig habits (other than stress eating). There's an old expression....you can't outrun a bad diet; if you're not eating fewer alories than you expend.

Keep on working out but track your food intake and eat a balanced, healthy diet with a modest caloric deficit and be patient and consistent. If you're only about 10lbs away from your goal weight it may take a little while to lose that if you're doing it in a sustainable manner.

ja20102004

4 days sounds good.

cmcostello23

Theoldguy1 wrote: »

The CDC guidelines are a good place to start:

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

Thank you!! This is super helpful and exactly what I was looking for!!!

cmcostello23

BrianSharpe wrote: »

To be fit and healthy - definitely, to lose weight - hard to say as you didn't mention anything about your eatig habits (other than stress eating). There's an old expression....you can't outrun a bad diet; if you're not eating fewer alories than you expend.

Keep on working out but track your food intake and eat a balanced, healthy diet with a modest caloric deficit and be patient and consistent. If you're only about 10lbs away from your goal weight it may take a little while to lose that if you're doing it in a sustainable manner.

Thank you!! I am frustrated with counting my calories and restricting myself to foods I do not enjoy. So I am working on paying attention to moderation and eating a variety of foods. I want to find balance between enjoying my life and being healthy. I am definitely aware that losing weight is through the diet so I am monitoring my weight as I adjust my diet to fulfill healthy goals and enjoying life. I was just curious how much to work out to keep/improve muscle strength/tone. I tend to push myself too hard and over do it which in the end makes it harder to reach goals. Thank you for your input!!

cmcostello23

sardelsa wrote: »

Congrats on your baby!
If you have more specific goals like training for an event, strength, yoga flexibility, endurance etc. then you can work towards that .. being fit is pretty open ended and can mean different things to everyone.

I also have a 7 month old and to be honest I try not to put too much pressure on myself fitness wise. I do try to get in at least 3 lifting sessions in per week (for muscle, strength, stress relief and aesthetics) plus the occasional walk, dancing and playing soccer with the older kids and just being on my feet all day at home and going up and down the stairs with that extra 20lb (baby) that is good enough for me!

Thank you so much!!! Congrats on your baby!! yes I agree. Fit to me is just feeling strong and maintaining or sometimes increasing strength, flexibility and balance. I just go too hard sometimes so I need to check myself and make sure I am doing enough to stay healthy but not too much to be too hard to keep up with or cause injury.

I like your schedule! 3 days to focus on a fitness goal and the rest is being active do to every day activities, like being a very busy mom!

Thank you for your input!!!

cmcostello23

harper16 wrote: »

Working out is important, but to lose weight you need to remain in a calorie deficit.

What do you have your weight loss set at? I'd suggest .5 lbs a week, and log any exercise calories separate and eat those calories back.

Congrats on your new addition. I'm also trying to lose the baby weight.

Thank you! Same to you!! Yes i am trying to eat healthy yet still enjoy food. I have it set at 1lb but I honestly have not been monitoring my food. I want to try to escape the need to record every day and hope to get to a point where I can trust my body to know what fuel I need.

cmcostello23

janejellyroll wrote: »

Many people find that four days a week is a good number of workouts for them.

Your current routine meets the US recommendations for aerobic activity for adults, but you don't mention muscle-strengthening activities, which are the second part of the recommendation: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

Weight loss will be created by a calorie deficit. Activity can certainly be part of that, but if you find that you aren't meeting your goals you will want to take a look at how many calories you're consuming.

Thank you!! I feel like I do muscle strengthening through yoga, piyo and insanity. Its more body weight training and calisthenics which is what i enjoy. I do not enjoy weights. I feel like most people underestimate the kind of strength workout you get though yoga, barre and Pilates.

Chieflrg

The recommended guidelines for general fitness is you get 150-300 minutes of cardio depending on how vigorous the intensity and strength train twice a week.

It's a good starting point but I would prefer to see people exceed the recommendations for added benefits.

Chieflrg

cmcostello23 wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

Many people find that four days a week is a good number of workouts for them.

Your current routine meets the US recommendations for aerobic activity for adults, but you don't mention muscle-strengthening activities, which are the second part of the recommendation: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

Weight loss will be created by a calorie deficit. Activity can certainly be part of that, but if you find that you aren't meeting your goals you will want to take a look at how many calories you're consuming.

Thank you!! I feel like I do muscle strengthening through yoga, piyo and insanity. Its more body weight training and calisthenics which is what i enjoy. I do not enjoy weights. I feel like most people underestimate the kind of strength workout you get though yoga, barre and Pilates.

It's not so much of a underestimate by some people. In reality yoga is awesome if you choose to do so but isn't going to give you the same benefits as more optimal strength training.

There is plenty of evidence that shows more optimal resistance training lowers risk of Sarcopenia, heart disease, some cancers, etc...things that have a direct link to a shorter life.

If you rather not lift weights there are other means as well to add resistance training.

I'm not downing yoga, I enjoy it but unfortunately it isn't helpful for my goals.

I rather see you do yoga or insanity than nothing. In the same breath, I'd like to see if there is something else to add that would add greater benefits if you see where I'm coming from .

KimiAR

“Staying fit” is pretty subjective. It highly depends on your goals-for example, one of my fitness goals is to be able to run 5 miles, steady state, once a week. Another is to be able to do 3 kettlebell work outs a week. But all this is in the name of being able to feel free to play hard when I want to play hard: kids, beach, hiking. I would suggest goals and then once you get to those then reevaluate.

IF you are currently happy with your fitness level, then doing what you are doing is awesome. You are getting your heart rate up in a variety of ways and moving everyday. Maintaining what you have is relatively straightforward.

cmcostello23

Actually, I must say though that yoga is one of the most underrated forms of strength training. It all depends on your goals. I prefer to move my own body through space vs moving a heavy object through space. I find using my own body as resistance is challenging and helps me achieve my own personal fitness goals. I found quite a few articles just by googling, and even the Department of health, confirming that doing the right form of yoga (more intense power/vinyasa yoga) builds strength and can meet the quota for 2 days of strength training.

The limitation of moving your own body weight is that there is a limit to the weight you can lift, you can't keep increasing the resistance. However, I am ok with that limit and I have quite a while, if ever, before I can easily move my body without effort. If I changed my fitness goals to increase muscle mass and higher strength goal I would have to change to weights. I think its just important to recognize that strength training isn't just lifting weights, you can accomplish it by other means.

I see where there may be other or more benefits to other types of strength training, however yoga and calisthenics makes me happy and keeps me healthy. So why change? Sometimes its OK to just pick one and go with it.

KimiAR - I have similar goals as you! I want to be able to play hard, and be able to keep up with my daughter. I guess my current goals are holding plank for 5 min, and then doing 50 pushups all at once...Im currently holding plank for 2min 30 seconds and I can only do 30 pushups at once. So once i get to those goals, I 'll increase them and then maybe add in different types of pushups etc. I have a few other goals that I am working on, but in general i just want to feel happy and energetic.

Thank you all for your input! Sometimes I just need a little outside validation to make me feel like I am doing something right. lol.

klove808

I like working with dumbbells and calisthenics (although cant do a single pull-up).

Yoga is amazing - not only for functional strength, but flexibility is so important for increased functionality. I’ve seen so many strict weightlifters that can’t do normal daily work/movements due to lack of ROM. Being a massage/body therapist, I see it a lot. Yoga also helps all of the internal organs and bodily systems as well!