continuing to exercise

lbpw

ive always wondered something about exercising once you're done with your weight goal. i hope someone can help me haha. i know exercise is good for just about everything health wise, but is it really needed for maintence? i guess i just dont understand everything about it. like say you continued to eat your maintence calories everyday, yet you gave up on exercising completely, would you still maintain? ive always assumed it was basically just about calories and that exercise was just an added health benefit and something you need to get weight off of your body. everybody always says how important it is and needed for life, but why exactly? when people start gaining weight back they usually say they've given up exercising for a couple of months or something, but if that person was to continue eating healthy would that weight have came back on?

Chenoachem

Depends on your definition of maintaining. If you want to continue to have muscle tone, than you still have to work out. However, if weight is all you care about you could probably maintain without exercise. Studies do suggest that maintaining exercise you are also more likely to maintain weight as well.

Azdak

There is a Long Term Weight Loss Registry in which they collect and track behavioral habits of those who have kept the lost weight off for more than 2 yrs. One of common factors of those who maintain their weight loss over the long term is that they continue to follow a vigorous exercise program.

Keep in mind that weight loss is not really considered "successful" unless you have kept it off for at least 2 years. The majority of people who lose weight eventually gain it back.

Me--I'd keep exercising.