How to maintain weight after exercise?

So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited December 2016
    4kg in 2 weeks! unless you have a lot to lose that seems too much too quickly. If you don't have much to lose 0.25-0.5kg would be plenty to aim for each week.

    If you cut back on exercise you would need to also then cut back on the calories consumed. To stay the same weight we have to eat at maintenance calories, so the calories you would maintain at while exercising will be a higher figure than without.

    To explain further, I'm at maintenance and my calories to maintain average 2000-2100 because I'm active in general (5ft 2"/47yrs). If I was to be sedentary those could drop to 1500 calories, perhaps a bit less (I am never sedentary to know how much less I would have to eat and still maintain).
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    edited December 2016
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Are you new to running? If so, 9 miles in 60 minutes is 6 min 40 second mile or so pace per mile, not something most beginners will achieve.

    Be careful not to overestimate your calorie burn. Good luck.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Maintenance is simply a calorie balance with food on one side and activity/exercise on the other.
    Find your balance by tweaking either, or more likely, both sides of the equation.

    This site allows you to modify your goals and will give you a guideline but remember it assumes you will eat back the exercise calories your burn. If you don't want to do that set your goal using a TDEE calculator and manually set that number on here.

    If you are going for an extreme but short lived deficit then make sure you eat plenty of protein.
    I do wonder what the rush is though!
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I have always eaten healthy, but there are times in my life I have eaten too much. This site is great at helping you accurately count your ins and outs. If you are that committed to exercise, I'd suggest a fitness meter that gauges your heart rate and distance to get a good estimate of your calorie burn. Then log. You'll change your goal when you hit your weight. Research suggest that for losing, it's all about intake. For maintaining, not eating too much and exercise. But the exercise makes it easier to his your calorie goals. Two pounds a week is a LOT if you're exercising that much. The reason that exercise doesn't help most people lose is that they are hungrier and eat more than they burn.

    Accuracy and honesty is key.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    [Eating healthy and exercising are great, but weight control is about calorie management. You can exercise and eat healthy and still gain weight, just like you can be sedentary and eat crap and not gain weight.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    So you are running 9 miles in an hour daily?

    Anyway, that aside, how you maintain is figure out your maintenance calories with the exercise you plan to do and stick with it. Using a TDEE calculator based on the exercise you plan is a good place to start and then adjust.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    edited December 2016
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Are you new to running? If so, 9 miles in 60 minutes is 6 min 40 second mile or so pace per mile, not something most beginners will achieve.

    Be careful not to overestimate your calorie burn. Good luck.

    ^^No kidding, that is cruising. How much longer could you keep that pace up? Have you ever thought about trying out for the Olympic 20K team?
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Are you new to running? If so, 9 miles in 60 minutes is 6 min 40 second mile or so pace per mile, not something most beginners will achieve.

    Be careful not to overestimate your calorie burn. Good luck.

    ^^^No kidding. That's cruising for seasoned runners. Depending what country you're in, you could have a serious shot at your Olympic team(s).
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Okay, stop right here.

    1. You want to lose 8 pounds in two weeks. Not doable, and dangerous to your health.

    2. If you are running that pace in that time, you are already at a healthy weight, or underweight. There is no way a person who is overweight can run that fast for an hour. I know, I've been an overweight runner before.

    3. A big red flag has shot up for an eating disorder.

    Now, that I've put that out there, you maintain weight by eating enough food to maintain weight.
  • angelxine
    angelxine Posts: 4 Member
    RGv2 wrote: »
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Are you new to running? If so, 9 miles in 60 minutes is 6 min 40 second mile or so pace per mile, not something most beginners will achieve.

    Be careful not to overestimate your calorie burn. Good luck.

    ^^^No kidding. That's cruising for seasoned runners. Depending what country you're in, you could have a serious shot at your Olympic team(s).
    Haha yes I have trained in the past and I take a 10minutes break in between so it's not that impressive.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    angelxine wrote: »
    So I have recently just started a weight loss routine.I do 60mins of treadmill running at 9mph and 1.5 incline plus healthy eating and aim to lose 4kg in 2 weeks.After that I would like to maintain my weight but I was wondering how I could maintain my weight without having to exercise everyday like I did before or if it is possible to just go for jogs perhaps 3-4 times a week instead of running everyday but i will still continue to eat healthily.

    Your activity level is one of the factors in your maintenance calorie targets...you simply eat to a level of maintenance calories per your activity and other stats...the more you exercise, the higher your maintenance calories will be...the less you exercise, the lower they will be...in either case, when you exceed those targets on a consistent basis, you will put on weight.

    You can do whatever you want...you can exercise every day...you can exercise a few days per week...you can do no exercise at all...you just have to adjust your diet to compensate for your activity or lack thereof.