Maintenance for recovery…how long?
Hi everyone,
I wanted to reach out to this amazing community because I’ve posted here before, and your responses have always meant a lot to me.
Over the past six months, I’ve been consistently training—five days a week of cardio (45 minutes) and five days of weight training (about 60–90 minutes), with two rest days. I had a coach guiding me through it, and while I did lose 11 pounds, I can't help but feel that, given the volume of work I put in, the results should have been greater. Deep down, I know that my body was under too much stress.
I began experiencing symptoms like adrenaline surges during workouts, post-training shakes, and just an overall feeling that my nervous system was off. Despite pushing through for a while, I’ve now parted ways with that coach. If I was brought to this point under their guidance, it’s clear to me that it’s time for a different path.
Right now, I’m exhausted—mentally and physically. I haven’t trained since Friday because I know my body needs a break. I’ve decided to increase my calories to around 1700 (maintenance) and focus on gentle walking, yoga, breathing, and meditation. I want to give my body space to reset and recover.
Here’s where I’d love your insight:
How long should I stay in this recovery phase before easing back into training and a calorie deficit?
Also, has anyone been through something similar and how did you manage the scale during that time? I’m nervous about weight gain, but I know I need to prioritize healing first.
My long-term goal is to continue losing fat—just at a sustainable, balanced pace. I have about 15 pounds left to lose, and I want to do it in a way that supports my health, not works against it.
I appreciate any advice or experiences you’re willing to share. I’m looking forward to taking back control of my body and my life—this time from a place of strength, peace, and balance.
Thank you for reading 💛
Replies
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You don't mention your diet and what you think your deficit has been. Just going off your post there in isolation, there isn't a connection to be made with that much exercise and "only" 11 pounds lost, since so much of weight loss is dictated by calories in, not exercise (and especially not calories from weights).
However, your description of how you feel does sound like over-training, and that can certainly be harmful to your gains, and increased stress can mean more cortisol which leads to more water weight and fat gain. Just speaking about the weights only, if you've been pushing hard with progressive overload, you should be taking a deload week every 4-16 weeks, depending on your training age and intensity. So you're overdue. A deload can take many forms. One option is take a few days off completely, then do a few workouts with 50% of the sets at 70% of the weight, then a few workouts with 25% of the sets at 80% of the weight, then get back to your usual routine. And in future, watch for those signs such as irritability, lack of motivation, slowing gains, poor sleep, etc., or just take a deload as part of the plan, i.e. ramp up volume for X weeks, deload, repeat.
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On the food side of things, here's a thought, not definitive: Do you need to decide in advance how long to stay in maintenance? Might you be able to identify some specifics you want feel, to use as decision criteria about when to switch back to a more manageable deficit?
From a theoretical perspective - what I've read about hormonal recovery during weight loss - my suspicion would be that it would be good to stay in maintenance for at least two weeks. I doubt there's a maximum, especially if someone is within a healthy weight range (just not where they'd like to be).
After all, lifelong, we can decide to lose a little more or gain a little back to feel and function our best. Maintenance weight - even after reaching goal weight - isn't necessarily a forever decision. (I decided to add 5 pounds to my goal range around a year and a half into maintenance, and right now am hanging out a few pounds above even that because of some injury-recovery stuff right now. It's flexible.)
So, I'd suggest going by when you feel recovered. If it takes 2 or 3 months or longer . . . it's an investment in your long-term health and well-being - mental as well as physical - worth it.
Best wishes!
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I'll be honest 1700 accurately counted sounds like a deficit to me in terms of the majority of people.
Can you remind us of stats?
There exists a thread on diet breaks in the posts referenced in the stickies. The first pages there cover the bases
But I won't hide from you that long term choices that create sustainable and enjoyable and healthy balance is probably what we should all seek, imho, of course
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Just wanted to share where I’m at and hopefully connect with others who’ve been through something similar.
I’m a 30-year-old female, 5’4”, currently 147 lbs. Up until last week, I was doing quite a bit of training—five days a week of both weight lifting and cardio. I was eating around 1550 calories and, despite the effort, my body started feeling extremely overstimulated and burned out. Since stopping training last week and fully resting, I’ve maintained my weight at 147 even with minimal movement.
I’ve come to realize that my calories weren’t the issue—it was the training volume and the stress it put on my body. So now, I’m increasing my intake to 1700 calories to give my body the fuel it needs to truly recover. I’m currently just doing gentle walking (nothing intense), and even today, after a 45-minute walk outside, I felt so wiped out I could barely get off the couch. That told me everything I needed to know—my body is still healing.
I know 1700 might seem high for someone who’s not super active, but I don’t think it’s excessive given what my body is going through. I’m trusting that this is what I need right now to get back to feeling strong again.
My hope is to recover fully, return to the gym, and resume weight loss in a more balanced way. I still have a goal to reach, but I want to approach it from a healthier place
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Why would you consider it ahead of time to be too low?
It is at the bottom end of the 1.2 x RMR level which is less than what MFP considers sedentary (but in line with a wider variety of estimators that also assume, to a degree, that people are not totally accurate in their caloric consumption estimations)
In any case it is a fairly conservative estimate and not a high one by any stretch.
Do you use an activity tracker at all?
A 1.2 level, on average, would clock in around the 3500 step mark. It is not a high level of activity!
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I’ve never used an activity tracker before, so I’m doing my best to estimate my maintenance needs during this short recovery phase. I’m a 30-year-old female, 5’4”, 147 lbs, and I recently increased my calories from 1550 to 1700 because I was feeling depleted and overstressed from training. MyFitnessPal says my sedentary maintenance is around 1860, but I’ve been seeing small upward fluctuations on the scale even at 1550, so I’m hesitant to go higher. I’m not currently training, but I am walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. I’m hoping this phase only lasts two weeks before I can return to the gym, and ideally 1700 will be enough to support recovery without causing significant weight gain—maybe even act as a small deficit depending on my movement. Just trying to listen to my body and find the right balance.
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As a fellow female - FWIW about your height, more than twice your age, and a few pounds lighter - 1700 sounds much more low than high to me, too. 1860 doesn't sound unreasonable. With 8-10k steps, higher wouldn't be unreasonable, either.
Your recent weight trend history should tell the story - I'm thinking PAV may've described the process for projecting maintenance calories from that on one of your other threads, though I may be misremembering.
You say you've seen small upward fluctuations on the scale even at 1550. Were those fluctuations that kept creeping upward and upward gradually over time, or simply individual weigh-ins that were up a little, then dropped back down? The latter would be normal during loss. Actual regain is going to be that persistent upward creep repeatedly and fairly steadily. I'm concerned about whether you may be over-reacting a bit to routine up/down fluctuations . . . some people do, don't know about you. When it happens, it's counter-productive.
Do you have a doctor from whom you can request a round of nutritional and other blood tests? Some deficiencies can manifest in the symptoms you describe, too, and a few quite treatable health conditions. Overtraining certainly can be a factor, but I'm wondering whether that's the only piece of the puzzle TBH.
Best wishes!
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I wanted to share a little more context. I’ve attached my trend graph from Happy Scale — you’ll see that June 30 is when I completely stopped exercising to give my body a true break. The entire month of June was rough; I was extremely fatigued, had several off-plan meals (intentionally), and just felt depleted overall. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right and decided it was time to pause everything.
Since then, I’ve still been eating around 1550, and just recently increased to 1650 on July 1, and then to 1700 today. I do have a doctor who checked my labs — everything came back really solid, including iron, which I’m supporting with red meat twice a week.
Today was really eye-opening. I gave myself full permission to do nothing, and my body literally collapsed. I was so tired that I could feel it physically, deep in my bones. It was the first time I truly understood what exhaustion felt like — not just emotionally, but physically.
I really believe overtraining is what pushed my body into this state. And while I know 1700 sounds low for maintenance, I’m genuinely confused too. But based on how my weight trend has responded and how little energy I have even now, it’s clear my system needs time, nourishment, and rest.
Thank you again for being a kind, listening ear. I’m committed to healing and doing this the right way now — with more grace, not pressure
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I agree, fully, with your general approach.
And estimates are just that: estimates. Derived from a sample, generalized to a population best fit and then applied to ourselves as individuals.
None of us knows if we track in the middle, top, or bottom of the estimate band. not ahead of time and not without thorough record keeping.
I saw your numbers (thank you for repeating them) and they are helpful in discussing generalized approaches.
The caloric estimates derived by the various estimation tools (including MFP) come up with their numbers by multiplying your daily BMR or RMR level calories by an activity factor. There are two most frequently used formulas: the Harris Benedict and revised Harris Benedict equation and the Mifflin St Jeor formula (there are many others but they are less widely used as far as I can tell). The Harris equations are still used in medical settings but the Mifflin equations are based on a more contemporary population sample that better reflects today's body types both in terms of height and weight. They are generally considered more predictive of the energy needs of people "in the wild".
So much so that pretty much every activity tracker I'm aware off (and MFP itself) base their estimations on the Mifflin formula.
So the only question is what physical activity multiplier to use. And how well that activity multiplier, in the end, reflects your own needs. (I will come back to that!)
Traditionally a physical activity factor of 1.2 has been used to estimate the needs of someone described as sedentary.
I quickly punched your stats in the sail rabbit estimation site (weird name I know) and 1700 came in as a bit lower than their lowest sedentary estimate. But close enough to not argue the point too much.
But in spite of all the verbiage, there does exist support at the population level for sedentary to be much more than 1.2. Here is a link to support sedentary at 1.53, which would be even higher than MFP 's number:
And you then have to define sedentary.
Based on a number of studies and definitions sedentary is in the sub 3000 step range per day (customarily 2500)
Specifically your 8000 to 10000 step range is somewhere between lightly active and very active. Not to mince words too much, usually 10k is in the active category. Dragged and slow 8k may be at the higher end of lightly active instead of the low of active. But neither is sedentary by definition.
Which is an incredibly long way of saying that other than through an experiment that proves it wrong (i.e. getting negative feedback from your actual results) there is no reason to assume that 1700 is not actually still a deficit in your particular case.
And we now come to the crux of the matter.
Determining results.
Eat and log. jump on a scale. and I have my results. Simples, right?
Not so fast!
Food in transit, sodium, time of the month, reduction or increase of water weight because of exercise. Reduction or increase of water weight because of stress or other medical reasons.
All of this obscures weight movement caused by fat changes!
How many weeks did you run the experiment of eating xyz calories as compared to observing your weight change?
For sure we are all different in this. But I can literally go from the first to the third or fourth belt hole within the same week (and 5lbs) and that only has a very little bit to do with my underlying fat reserves. Not nothing for sure. But such a movement, for me at least, can result from less than 1lb of underlying fat weight.l changes (I've been logging fairly meticulously for the past 10 years)
SO you DO have to give your body a chance to catch up and recover without excessively worrying that 200 Cal will result in rapid weight changes because of fat!
If you truly overeat consistently above your tdee by 200 Cal each and every day... it will take you 17 to 18 days to actually gain 1lb of fat!
In the meanwhile water weight changes are likely to have shown you as gaining and losing multiple lbs in that same time period!
You're actually doing awesome but please do try to put your mind at ease about the level of energy you're taking in.
It's nowhere near excessive and you're far from sedentary!
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Your results in Happy Scale do look close to maintaining. A confounding factor, though, is the profound fatigue you're reporting during that time period. That can cause depressed calorie expenditure during that time period.
If you want to hang out in maintenance until your body replenishes, one option would be to start at 1700 calories as you're thinking, then if things go well, start creeping that up after a couple of weeks, maybe adding 50-100 calories daily once a week or once every two weeks, see if energy level perks up with increased calories without triggering persistent gain. Calorie needs are not static, but a bit dynamic: In some cases, within a narrow range, eating more calories can spark burning more calories, though it's not a super common case. A starting point in a state of perceived extreme fatigue is a case where that might be plausible.
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Had not seen some messages 🤷🏼♀️ will re read 🤔 specifically Ann's similar message to mine A butt fluctuations and the happy scale stats. My only question on happy scale would be comparing similar points in one's cycle
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How is your sleep in general? You do seem to be covering all other bases (i.e. bloods and exercise)
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How was your lifting recently, OP? Assuming you were previously challenging yourself and doing progressive overload, I also assume that recently your performance was dipping? Harder to get the same reps or same weight as before? That's a sign that you need a deload.
As one of the people I follow on YT says, "If you don't take a deload, the deload takes you." Because you risk injury while continuing with systemic fatigue.
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Sleep hasn’t been terrible, but it hasn’t been great either. It’s been really up and down. Some nights I fall asleep fine, other nights I either can’t fall asleep or I wake up constantly tossing and turning. Lately it’s felt like it’s been getting worse.
Yesterday was actually the first time my body felt completely wiped out. I had this overwhelming exhaustion — like I couldn’t even get off the couch. I ended up resting all day and even took two naps, which I never do. I went to bed early hoping for a good night’s sleep, but barely slept at all. I’m guessing my body just wasn’t ready for more sleep after all the daytime rest.
In general, my sleep used to be “okay,” but ever since I’ve pulled back from training and started resting more, it’s like my system is trying to reset itself — and it’s all over the place right now.
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The truth is, my lifting wasn’t bad — I still had a lot of strength left in me. But every time I pushed even slightly toward a more intense state, my nervous system would go haywire. I’d get sudden adrenaline rushes, feel like my blood sugar was crashing (even though it wasn’t), and it almost always happened while I was lifting. At first it was only during weight training, but eventually it started leaking into my daily life — walking the dog, standing in line at the grocery store, even sitting in traffic. Out of nowhere, my body would act like I was in danger. It was scary and confusing.
Looking back, I remember feeling the same sensation months ago during training, but I ignored it because I didn’t know what it meant. I just kept pushing. I even tried going back last week with light weight and half the volume — and it was still too much. That’s when I knew: my body wasn’t just tired — it was burnt out.
This is especially hard for me because I genuinely love training. It’s not just something I do — it’s part of who I am. Having to step away feels like I’m grieving a part of myself, but I know I need this break. I’m tired in a way I’ve never felt before, and I’m finally listening to my body.
I was doing all of this under the supervision of a coach who’s a competitive bodybuilder, and when I told him how I was feeling, his response was to give me a meal plan and blame my carb timing — which wasn’t the issue at all. That was the final sign for me that I need to trust myself more than anyone else.
So going forward, when I feel ready, I’ll be training myself. I’ll program based on what my body needs. I’ll continue tracking my food and weights on MyFitnessPal, and I’m confident I can lose the rest of this weight on my own — at my own rhythm, without burning out.
If there’s one thing I learned from all of this, it’s that I will never overtrain again. Nothing is worth this kind of physical and emotional crash
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Assuming it's overtraining and not some health issue, and this all sounds like OTS, Google says it can take at least several weeks, possibly months, to recover.
Take it easy.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/overtraining-syndrome
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Dumb question since you mention doing blood work but have you also been able to just talk with your doctor about how you're feeling?
We are all attributing things to this or that likely cause based on the facts we have all discussed but sometimes it's good to pull back and just list timelines and symptoms, without pre conception as to probable cause, and see what connections someone else might make 🤷🏼♀️
Overdoing is not something I've never done! Pulling back is not always easy. But, quite often, it's the only viable solution!
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I replied on your previous thread. I’m glad to hear you’re planning to make some adjustments.
I’ve been in a similar situation, and what worked for me was reducing workouts to just 3 days a week and eating at maintenance, or slightly below if that feels better for you, and sticking with that for 4 to 6 weeks.
After that, you can start slowly lowering your calories to aim for losing about 0.5–1 pound per week and maintain that pace. I would also start increasing your NEAT, which makes a more profound difference in your calorie expenditure than workouts.
Just remember, this isn’t only about losing weight, it’s about building a lifestyle you can actually sustain long term.
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