How much/often do you exercise?

I do purposeful training 5x a week, and try to walk as much as is reasonable each day as well. I probably run for 2-2.5 hours a week, plus 1.5 hours of resistance training, a bit of cardio on the rower and elliptical, and maybe a half hour swim if I have time. That's not with the intention of just padding out my maintenance calorie intake (although that's a pleasant byproduct) but because I'm training for a half marathon. My maintenance calories at the moment are probably around 2,000-2,100 a day, averaged out over the week.

I would consider exercise an obsession if it regularly gets in the way of other meaningful activities in your life or becomes a source of stress and frustration for you. Liking to be active is a good thing; missing all social engagements and neglecting household chores totally in order to exercise 3 hours a day to hit some kind of self-imposed standard would be worrying.

Exercise nearly every day. Mostly alternate days strength and cardio.

In the winter I seem to average about 3,500 cals a week - that's a handy number.
In the summer when I'm out cycling much more then it's likely 6,000+ cals but can be a lot more.

I'm fortunate that I actively enjoy my exercise so it's a joy not a chore. Even when it's "just training" I enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something that progresses me towards my goals.

I sometimes feel like kind of a weirdo here. I 'exercised' regularly while I was obese, and kept doing it during the weight loss process, perhaps with a tiny bit more consistency (in order to earn extra calories for special occasions, for example), but no dramatic change.

I put 'exercise' in quotes because (mostly) I don't feeling like I'm "doing exercise"; I'm doing something I consider fun that happens to involve vigorous activity: I'm a rower. Because I'm a rower, I'm more likely to do other activities (especially in the off-season) in order to stay strong for rowing and get better at it. (As an aside, it kinda blows me away when people here say things like "do you do cardio"? What is that? Um, no. I row.)

As a rower (sometimes competitive), I've spent a dozen years or so with a number of pretty serious athletes in my social circle: Rowers, cyclists, triathletes, and more. In that world, a schedule like yours is pretty routine, maybe even lighter than some, and I don't consider them obsessed. They're doing what they do because they find it fun, and it makes them happy, makes them feel good - a positive hobby, if you will.

So, post cranky sermon ;-) , I'll answer your questions: In contrast to more-serious athlete friends, I consider myself a bit desultory in the "exercise" department.

Last week, I logged a little under 6 hours of what MFP considers cardiovascular exercise (rowing machine, 2 spin classes, weight training, core exercises), plus just under 2.5 hours of yoga/stretching (which I don't log as cardio in MFP).

Like you, I'm just entering maintenance (lost 60+ pounds, about 1/3 of my bodyweight). Right now, I'm eating at 1700 net, and suspect I may have more calories to add - something between zero & 200 daily. Last week, my MFP cardiovascular exercise calories amounted to an average of just a bit over 200 more per day. So, I think my average TDEE is somewhere around 1900-2100 (in winter, anyway). I'm 5'5", 122-ish pounds, 60 years old, retired, on the sedentary side outside of the logged activities.

Like others who've commented, I don't consider exercise an obsession unless it interferes with things that arguably ought to be more important, such as adequate attention to family, life-maintenance chores, employment, etc.

Lift 2-3 times per week :P sometimes zero ^^. I also walk 240 minutes per week I really don't care about the extra calories since it's not much..I maintain 1750-2200 minimum... I don't exercise to eat more food.. : 0

sijomial wrote: »

Exercise nearly every day. Mostly alternate days strength and cardio.

In the winter I seem to average about 3,500 cals a week - that's a handy number.
In the summer when I'm out cycling much more then it's likely 6,000+ cals but can be a lot more.

I'm fortunate that I actively enjoy my exercise so it's a joy not a chore. Even when it's "just training" I enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something that progresses me towards my goals.

Same here.

3x, sometimes 4x a week.

Looking at my fitbit I average about 90 Active minutes per day. Some is deliberate exercise the rest is just being up and moving around.

rhtexasgal wrote: »

I do at least an hour of cardio 5x a week, alternating stair climbing, the bike and elliptical. Most of those times, I will do intervals. 2 of the 5x a week, I also work with a trainer on weights. Because I have ulcerative colitis, I typically carry some overall body inflammation so I have to have someone prodding me along and also ensuring that I use proper form. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it at all or I could hurt myself.

That leaves me with two "rest" days which is a relative term. I still make sure I get my 10,000 steps in and stay moving!

I have Crohn's and lift heavy 3x a week. No cardio allowed as I have no appetite and the exhaustion is really bad.

I exercise every day but Sunday; Sunday is always my day of rest. I mainly do cardio at the gym but I have the Body Gym to use at home and I LOVE that thing! It's all resistance and my body has completely transformed. Good Luck!

Wow. All of you guys are so active.
My current program has me doing weights 3xper week, cardio (approx 30min) twice per week, and one circuit style class. And I thought that was going at it pretty good.

I am lazy in comparison to most of you!

About 400 to 450 minutes a week. Mix of cardio and weights. Averaging over 11,000 steps a day.

7 days a week! Cardio workouts. Treadmill @ incline 15, elliptical, biking.. Lifting. Boot camp is my favorite. I do that between 1-3 times a week. I'm new to all this but decided I needed a lifestyle change! It's addictive!

Usually 6 days a week. 3 of those are just cardio (running, stairclimber, circuits, stationary bike, elliptical, arc trainer) for about 90 minutes and the other days are about 30 minutes of full body strength training with 30 minutes or more of cardio at the end. I average 350 minutes of fairly high intensity exercise per week. I've lost almost 60 pounds and I'm aiming to lose 100. I'm also a certified personal trainer.

vixtris wrote: »

Hey everyone! I just entered maintenance last week. I've lost 90 lbs in the past 13 months, and a total of about 150 lbs from my highest weight. As I was losing weight, I exercised a lot, every day - cardio on the elliptical for 2+ hours, plus 1 lifting session a week. I felt working out for 2 hours every day was too stressful for me, so since starting maintenance I have reduced the cardio time to 1.5 hours/5 days a week, and 1 lifting session per week as well. So far, this has been working great for me, and it gives me 1,900 calories to work with on a daily average (after eating about 1,300-1,400 calories a day, that's a pretty generous amount for me!). But, I wonder if its too much exercise? It obviously is not nearly as much as I was doing before, but I don't want to seem obsessed. However, I feel really good after working out on the elliptical, and I do want to keep my fitness level at least the same, if not improve somehow (and I also want to eat more food!) I also may want to try new activities this spring/summer, like maybe swimming, biking, or hiking.

So, for those who are maintaining, how much/how long/how often do you exercise? What kind of exercise(s) do you do? What is your daily calorie intake for maintenance? Do you exercise solely to eat more food, or do you do it for other reasons as well? At what point do you think it becomes an obsession?

I would imagine with the amount of cardio you are doing you will continue losing weight. You may want to consider upping your calorie intake of you're working out 5 days a week for 1.5 hours. You will need to give your body adequate time to rest to rebuild the tiny muscle tears which repair themselves to be leaner muscle mass.

Tou could probably eat up to 1800 and still maintain at the rate you are going. Try and set a new goal of watching your macros and managing your sodium and fat intake to ensure you continue to build muscle instead of dwindling down to stick and bones. Great work ethic though! Im in the gym for about two hours 2 to 3 times a week (usually 30 to 40 mins of cardio and the rest is resistence and weight training). I consume on average 1600 to 2100 calories a day and have been able to maintain my weight eaisly (even after weekend cheat meals).