Do I HAVE to take a Rest Day?

xilka

I'm 37yo, 5'0 ft, 119 lbs right now.
I've already lost 18 lbs and am 6 lbs away from my ideal weight.

I kept my calories lower for the first couple of months on MFP, but really, I need to eat.
Food is good, and it makes me happy. And I eat good food, so that's not an issue.

Anyway, I WANT to eat an average of 2000 cals x day. It's what feels right to me.
With a TDEE of 1700 without exercise, this is my workout routine so that I can maintain that intake,
burning 300-350 exercise cals every day:

HIIT / Circuit Training / Bodyweight training - 20 mins x daily

Calisthenics for Toning - 20 mins x daily

Cardio / Aerobics - 15 mins x almost daily

If I take a rest day, the numbers don't work out.

So my question is:
Do I have to take a rest day?

My heart rate stays at about 66% of my estimated max heart rate when I workout.

I know it's kind of backwards to do a certain amount of exercise so that I can eat a certain amount of food,
but I love food and I love movement, so I think it might work. What do you think of my plan in general?

(please only answer if you are experienced and/or well-informed in the field, or have tried doing something similar, thank you)

*btw - I live in a jungle - no gyms around, so although I'd love to lift more, I'm going to have to wait until I can buy my own equipment, and Amazon doesn't deliver out here, so it's probably going to be a while.

wingnut86

Rest days are important to give your joints a break, allow the muscles time to repair and strengthen, restore your glycogen and prevent injury. Over-training can also cause a weight loss plateau and possibly burnout.

Since you requested responses only from people in the field, here's what I have: Currently I work for a top 100 hospital in the US as a recreation therapist and CPR/AED instructor for the American Heart Association, and play ice hockey weekly. Growing up I played soccer and virtually every other sport with friends. I worked in the field of fitness and recreation for 5 years with dieticians and personal trainers, acquired my Masters in Recreational Therapy which included taking courses in anatomy and physiology, kinesiology, psychology, etc. I'm big into supporting Special Olympics and promoting adaptive sports for people with disabilities. Right now I work on an inpatient behavioral health unit but my previous experience includes inpatient rehab, long-term care, and spinal cord and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation. I expect to finish my training to obtain my ACE Health Coach certification early this summer.

Duck_Puddle

My body needs rest days - I take 2 per week. Your body may not. Only you can tell. Rest days are not inherently bad, they give your body a chance to rebuild & recover.

If you're worried about maintaining a certain TDEE, and do need a rest day (or 2) you can bump up the exercise you do the rest of the week to "cover" what you're not doing on a rest day. Burning 350 calories 6 days a week is the same (calorie wise) as burning 300 7 days a week.

Another option is to break up what you're doing so you're not stressing the same muscles every day. Incorporate "rest" days for legs for example by working on upper body only one day.

Give your plan a shot. If you notice yourself feeling burnt out, having trouble completing workouts (or doing them at the same intensity), you probably need to include rest days. If you're a machine and can keep going like the energizer bunny, then rock on sister.

dstromley1

every one is always saying how bad overtraining is and how it ruins ur progress. I train 7 days a week quite a bit. i go by feeling. If im run down and no energy to train i dont but otherwise if your body is recovered and ready to train why not?

Angeloftheshore

My rest day is usually Sunday because that is when my husband and I usually have the most time together. I use Sunday rest days as Yoga/Meditation days,

Hatha Yoga for stretching the tired muscles.

Pre-meditation I do Ananda Yoga

I have found yoga to help with strength, endurance, recovery and balance.