What happens when you finally reach your goal?

discommodious

discommodious

New member
Let's say your weight loss journey starts with you at 2000 calories and 1 hour of exercise a day. Then over time, you gradually lower the calorie intake to 1200 and your exercise time to 3 hours a day.

My question is: When you reach your goal weight (meaning the point you don't feel you need to lose anymore), do you have to continue doing the 1200 calories and 3 hours of exercise a day to maintain it? Or can you settle for something more normal and not worry about gaining anything back? Or do you have to build toward a normal, non-losing routine again?

Can someone explain this?
 
Good question, I`d also like to know
 
I am sure there is a calculation someone will have here to help you out with an exact figure but it depends on your weight, BMI, and activity levels. I'd say if your trying to get to a level where your maintaining, unless its impossible change only one thing at a time. Change the food or turn down the exercise, but not both at the same time, you risk making things very complicated.

I think FitDay has an online calculator but remember that all the figures on exercise are rough estimations, for example when I work out things like an aerobics class or running, fitday will always be about 100kcals out one way or another so take everything as a rough estimate and work using your own experiences rather then assuming its all spot on!
 
No you don't need to continue doing 1200 cals and 3 hours of exercise a day which isn't really healthy anyways.
To use me as an example, when I hit my goal I was eating 1500 a day + going to the gym 3 times a week (I used to run on off days then got tired of it).
However my maintenance calories, if I'm sedentary, are around 2000 calories, thus I can eat 2000 a day if I do nothing, and more if I go to the gym or go running, let's say around 2300-2500.
So basically, when you hit your goal weight, you can stop eating at a deficit and eat at maintenance, if you are losing weight at 1200 but your maintenance is 1800 and you hit your goal weight you can stop eating at 1200 and eat at 1800. You don't have to exercise as much anymore either, a good cardio sesion once a week will keep you in shape. If you stop lifting weights you will eventually go back to being soft again though.
The mistake a lot of people make is they hit their goal weight, and then go back to eating the way they did before, and gain it all back rather quickly..
 
Let's say your weight loss journey starts with you at 2000 calories and 1 hour of exercise a day. Then over time, you gradually lower the calorie intake to 1200 and your exercise time to 3 hours a day.
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If you're exercising 3 hours a day on 1200 calories, then you need medical help. ONe you are suffering from obsessive compulsive behavior, and two, there's no way you can sustain 3 hours of exercise on that few calories unless you weigh about 80 lbs soaking wet.

Maintenance is a balance between eating enough calories to maintain your weight and exercising enough to burn off additional calories.

It's pretty simple math. If eating 1500 calories causes you to lose weight, then you add calories until you stop losing weight. If you want to eat more, then you work out a little more to burn a few more calories.

It's not much more complex than that. It's just finding the number that works for you.
 
What happens when you finally reach your goal?
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KaraCooks said:
If you're exercising 3 hours a day on 1200 calories, then you need medical help. ONe you are suffering from obsessive compulsive behavior, and two, there's no way you can sustain 3 hours of exercise on that few calories unless you weigh about 80 lbs soaking wet.

Maintenance is a balance between eating enough calories to maintain your weight and exercising enough to burn off additional calories.

It's pretty simple math. If eating 1500 calories causes you to lose weight, then you add calories until you stop losing weight. If you want to eat more, then you work out a little more to burn a few more calories.

It's not much more complex than that. It's just finding the number that works for you.
Click to expand...

Of course I wasn't considering three hours a day to be realistic. I came up with random numbers for the purpose of providing an example. Thanks though, for the advice. I figured as much, but wasn't sure if there was any conditioning involved, such as your body getting so used to the amount of exercise and calories that it'd no longer be used to a normal routine that someone of average weight would partake in.
 
Tamago said:
No you don't need to continue doing 1200 cals and 3 hours of exercise a day which isn't really healthy anyways.
To use me as an example, when I hit my goal I was eating 1500 a day + going to the gym 3 times a week (I used to run on off days then got tired of it).
However my maintenance calories, if I'm sedentary, are around 2000 calories, thus I can eat 2000 a day if I do nothing, and more if I go to the gym or go running, let's say around 2300-2500.
So basically, when you hit your goal weight, you can stop eating at a deficit and eat at maintenance, if you are losing weight at 1200 but your maintenance is 1800 and you hit your goal weight you can stop eating at 1200 and eat at 1800. You don't have to exercise as much anymore either, a good cardio sesion once a week will keep you in shape. If you stop lifting weights you will eventually go back to being soft again though.
The mistake a lot of people make is they hit their goal weight, and then go back to eating the way they did before, and gain it all back rather quickly..
Click to expand...

Thank you. Your response was helpful!
:)
 
lol @ "You win the prize" :p
 
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