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Maintaining Weight Loss: How Much Exercise is Required?

By Mike Howard

So you've lost some of those extra pounds you've been carrying around since you started college/your career/a family/addiction to reality TV... Congratulations! Now get on that treadmill.. for an hour! A new (and not terribly surprising) study has shown that it takes about an hour a day to maintain at least a 10% weight loss. I'll breakdown the study and offer some opinions/advice.

Study Breakdown

Participants: 201 overweight or obese women (BMI 27-40) age 21-45

Participants were assigned to 1 of 4 behavioral weight loss intervention groups
Groups were randomly assigned to groups based on caloric expenditure (1000 vs. 2000 kcal/week) and intensity levels (moderate vs. vigorous).

Results

Individuals sustaining a loss of 10% or more of initial body weight at 24 months reported performing more physical activity (1835 kcal/wk or 275 min/wk) compared with those sustaining a weight loss of less than 10% of initial body weight.

My Analysis

This is consistent with other research on the subject and corresponds with the National Weight Loss Registry's observations regarding physical activity.
I don't have access to the full study but if I did, I would see what kind of exercise people were assigned to and at what intensities they were working at.
I would also like to see if the exercise intensities made a difference in overall weight loss
Weight training doesn't often appear to be prescribed in these kinds of studies, which is a shame as this would most likely make a difference in the results.
It's difficult to say whether or not exercise was the sole factor in the success of the best maintainers. Those who maintained above 10% losses also adhered to better eating habits and engaged in more regular phone contact with the intervention team.

Take Home Message

Exercise is good
It takes more exercise to maintain weight loss than it does to lose it in the first place.
Try to engage in exercise daily, combining intentional exercise with lifestyle-based exercise (ie. walking more).
Within your intentional exercise sessions, try and push the intensity a little. Try interval training.
Resistance train. Try and partake in weight training at least twice per week and preferably 3.
Don't stress too much about clocking exactly an hour of exercise per day. Just fit as much in as you feel comfortable with. Remember you can bump up the intensity and you won't have to do as much. You may have to build your way up to even 15 minutes of activity. That's okay - one step at a time.
Don't have an extra hour a day? (You do, but that's beside the point). Break it up into smaller chunks - it's just as good.
On the "you do have time" thing - 1 hour is only about 4% of your entire day. After working and sleeping, you still have about 8 hours to work with. Even with obligations, cooking, cleaning, etc. most people would still be able to get some activity in. If you truly feel you have no time, where can you make time?
Don't let complacency set in. Keep working at what you've achieved. Health is a lifelong process, not a destination.

Now stop reading this and do some wind sprints! (I'm timing you)

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40 Comments

Steve Parker

I'd have more time to exercise if I stayed off the Internet.

-Steve

Thats because a lot of people truly don't have the time to work out. I hate how everyone thinks there's enough hours in peoples busy work days to compensate for even 30 minutes to an hour of exercise. Some people such as the lower class work and work and work busy long days. Maybe even 2 jobs per day and when they get done, they are entirely worn out. What do you expect them to do? Exercise after hard, long shifts? That's entirely absurd. If you ask me, it's not all laziness - there's a lot of buy people out there too. Just think about it.

sevenatenine

@me
No one expects you to do anything, what you do is your choice. But don't spend time on the internet reading about fitness then complain that you don't have time to exercise. If exercise is a priority then yes you will exercise after two shifts when your tired, it seems internet is enough of a priority for this, so just shift priorities a bit.
Do you think the people working out at 5am because its the only time they can fit it in before working a 12 hour shift aren't tired?
There's doing it, and there's not doing it, as far as I'm concerned everything in between is just BS. If you want it, make it a priority and do it.

*busy

sevenatenine

QFT lol

Excellent post.

It's really a shame that studies like this even need to be done, yet all too often in this age of "I don't have time to workout" and "Lose all the weight you want with this pill" people are getting lots and lots of bad information.

On a side note, I recently wrote an article smashing the "I don't have time to workout" excuse to bits (plus lots of other helpful articles).

Check it out here:
http://www.fatlosstogo.com/How_To_Lose_Fat_If_You_Don%27t_Have_Time_To_Workout.html

Barry

Total garbage.

I went from 210 to 165. I sure as hell don't do cardio seven days a week.

For a long time I only lifted weights three times a week. I've only added some HIIT jump roping on off days to see how it impacts my physique.

The key to long term weight loss is not chronically eating above your total daily energy expenditure.

If you can stand the hunger you don't have to do ANY exercise, though for other obvious reasons I wouldn't recommend it.

Staying fit is easy and should never take up more than three hours of your time each week. If it does you're either doing something wrong or you've got super human goals.

JimK

"The key to long term weight loss is not chronically eating above your total daily energy expenditure."

Can we just start pasting this sentence in for like...everything that anyone ever says about dieting and exercise? Barring a unique medical condition, is it EVER not the exact, most correct and simplest answer?

Star Slim

I'll breakdown the study and offer some opinions/advice.

Ali from TheOfficeDiet

Great take homes, Mike. I found that cycling for 45 mins a day, and going to the gym for a 45 min session 3 times a week, worked well for me.

The only times I've consistently lost weight and maintained the loss, I've done at least an hour's exercise a day ... but I think this is partly because when I'm exercising, my food choices tend to be healthier. (I tell myself "All that sweating in the gym will be wasted if I scoff a giant chocolate bar..." ;-))

Regina Wilshire

Vigorous Intensity/High Duration

Baseline 87.4kg [energy intake = 2096 calories]
6 months 77.9kg [energy intake = 1454 calories]
12 months 78.3kg
18 months 80.1kg
24 months 81.6kg [energy intake = 1454 calories]

Maximum weight loss at 6-months [-9.5kg]; weight rebound of +3.7kg over 18-months.

Moderate Intensity/High Duration

Baseline 87.9kg [energy intake = 2147 calories]
6 months 79.7kg [energy intake = 1551 calories]
12 months 79.6kg
18 months 81.5kg
24 months 83.2kg [energy intake = 1553 calories]

Maximum weight loss at 12 months [-8.3kg]; weight rebound of +3.6kg over 12-months

Moderate Intensity/Moderate Duration

Baseline 87.4kg [energy intake = 2039 calories]
6 months 80.1kg [energy intake = 1551 calories]
12 months 80.9kg
18 months 82.7kg
24 months 83.9kg [energy intake = 1689 calories]

Maximum weight loss at 6 months [-7.3kg]; rebound of 3.8kg over 18-months

Vigorous Intensity/Moderate Duration

Baseline 87.9kg [energy intake = 2200 calories]
6 months 80.4kg [energy intake = 1551 calories]
12 months 81.0kg
18 months 82.6kg
24 months 85kg [energy intake = 1628 calories]

Maximum weight loss at 6 months [-7.5kg]; weight rebound 4.6kg over 18 months

Mike H.

Thanks for that breakdown Regina!

Regina Wilshire

You're welcome...if you need the PDF of the full-text, email me, OK? The graphs and graphics are really interesting to see!

Fran

I have database access through uni and just looked up the article - interesting reading. I saved it - if you're interested, I can mail you the PDF, leave a comment if you'd like.

Mike H.

Hi Fran! I would love to take a look. Could you email it to me if it's not too much trouble?

coreconcepts@shaw.ca

Thanks so much!

Fran

Mike, I just emailed it to you. I sent it from hotmail so if it doesn't come up in your inbox, check your junk mail ... hotmail is a bit crap like that.

Trent

I think the things that helped me maintain weight loss were:

- I learned to like water. I also try to run before dinner, which makes me want to drink more and not eat as much.

- I learned to differentiate between true hunger (which is painful) and false hunger ("Hey, I'm watching a movie...wouldn't it be great to be eating, too?").

- Improved my eating habits overall. I eat very little pre-made food. Most of my intake is cereal for breakfast, sandwich and apple for lunch, and usually chicken w/ frozen-veggies for dinner.

- Indulge every once in awhile. I go to a sushi buffer every other week. Knowing that I have that to look forward to makes the other stuff easier.

Jade

#It takes more exercise to maintain weight loss than it does to lose it in the first place#
It sounds scarry for me, if it is true. But, I wish it would not be true - I want to maintain my weight loss, but I am not going to spend some more time exercising.

figsandolives

they are assuming the subjects were eating the SAME calories as when they first started i.e. when they were heavier.. remember, you should be eating fewer calories when you lose weight.

But it will definitely take MORE exercise tom maintain if calories in are not adjusted... that's my take.

Regina Wilshire

It takes more exercise to maintain weight loss than it does to lose it in the first place.

As an "n of 1" take it for what it's worth - since 2001 I've maintained an 80-pound weight loss (30% loss of body weight baseline) - gained in pregnancy and lost again - and didn't and don't have a specific formal exercise routine, did not include exercise to lose the weight and have not specifically included exercise to maintain the weight loss. Seven years later, I can say that for me, I have not had to exercise more to maintain weight than I did to lose the weight.

That said, I am fairly active...and was when I started my weight loss - but what I do today for active "fun" isn't really all that different than what I did when I was 80-pounds heavier.....it's not as tiring to be active now, but the level of activity isn't really all that different, it's just easier when you're not as heavy.

Recently I started some resistance training (3x a week), not for weight maintenance or loss, but just because the data is good that it's good for you. Sadly though, I'm now on a hiatus with that since I'm in an AFO brace since I somehow managed to injure my peroneal nerve in my left leg.....not from the resistance training, but from scrubbing my floors! LOL

Mike H.

I think that's great and goes to show there are different roads towards success. I think keeping active doing "fun" things instead of "structured" is fantastic - especially if it gets you to the same place.

That's an unfortunate injury - how's the recovery going? Is it an entrapment? Are you going to wait it out or are you condsidering a decompression surgery?

On the bright side, at least "no scrubbing floors" is part of the treatment plan :)

Regina Wilshire

Thankfully the morning after the top of my foot started to feel numb and I was experiencing 'foot drop' my husband got me into a neurologist (colleague of his) who did nerve conduction tests and electromyography (EMG)...determined the nerve was stressed, not terribly damaged yet, and immediately had me cast for the brace and had me in a temporary one same day....good thing too, since I found out that what I'd planned to do (wait a few days, maybe a week, to see how it was before going to the doctor) is what causes more damage usually - since I was braced immediately it was hoped that I'd have no more than six weeks of recovery (unlike some who need to stay in the brace a year to 18-months and then sometimes still need surgery)....I've been in it about 4-weeks now and it's pretty much healed up already, I'm just keeping the brace on until my appointment as 'ordered' by the doc....once he gives the green light I can keep it off, it's off!

And yeah, bonus - no more doing the floors! WooHoo!

What I found most interesting about this study was that the women who exercised the most were also eating the least. On average, they ate 444 less calories than the women who exercised the least.

http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/07/29/exercise-how-much-is-enough/

After crunching the numbers, this group was eating 3108 less calories per week than the slacker group. And then when you add in the fact that they were also burning 1100 more calories per week, it’s no surprise that they did better than their chubby sisters.

blah

Yoni Freedhoff took a look at the data and came to the conclusion that it wasn't the exercise that directly led to keeping the pounds off, but the fact that those who exercised the most also ate the least:

Looking more carefully at the data we can see that on a weekly basis the folks who exercised the most burned only 1,145 more Calories than the folks who exercised the least (illustrating that exercise really doesn't burn boatloads of Calories given that to burn those additional Calories those folks on average exercised 3.5 hours more a week). That's only an average of 163 Calories more burned daily - not much to write home about.
No, for me the story is elsewhere in the data.

Looking at those who exercised the most, on a daily basis they were consuming 444 Calories less than those exercising the least. Extrapolating that and those folks were eating 3,108 fewer Calories a week! That's almost a full pound of Calories less a week! They also had much better scores on an eating behaviour inventory meant to assess weight control eating behaviours.

Translation?

The folks who exercised the most, ate the least and controlled their eating the best and in fact the magnitude of their dietary interventions at 24 months were 3 fold higher in Caloric impact than their exercise interventions.

My conclusion?

Exercise works and is integral to most for weight maintenance, but not via its direct Calorie burning capacity (which is small), but rather through its remarkable ability to cultivate healthy attitudes about weight management and in so doing, support dietary restraint and thoughtfulness for the long run.

http://bmimedical.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-exercise-necessary-for-weight.html#comment-form

If he is correct, then it seems that many who are reporting on this study have not been drawing the right conclusions.

RedPanda

That makes sense. People who are healthy and work out a lot are very conscious of the effect food has on their workouts, their mood and their overall sense of well-being.

Anyway, I have to log off and get dressed for my hike!

Claire P.

I don't understand why it would take more exercise to keep it off than to lose. Can't you just figure out the number of calories to maintain, and then eat that? I mean, I exercise on a regular basis for my health, but I sure don't do an hour a day. It's just confusing to me how people seem to think you have to starve and exercise like crazy to maintain a weight loss. I haven't found that to be true. Perhaps if you cut calories too much and damaged your metabolism...

NeoVitin

Most of us would like to believe that weight loss is a one time deal. We have to exercise and eat right for a little while, and we will lost weight and keep it off. Unfortunately, sustained weight-loss requires a lifestyle change, and it takes a lot of focus, and a strong commitment.

Spectra

I definitely know that exercise has helped me maintain my weight loss for the long-term. I don't know if I have to necessarily exercise MORE to maintain my weight loss than I did in the initial loss, but I do exercise more intensely now than I did before. I also do cardio for about an hour (sometimes more) 6 days a week, plus strength training. And if that sounds like a lot of time, it really isn't...I just don't watch as much TV as some other people, I guess. It's all about priorities...if it's important to you, you'll make time for it.

RedPanda

My experience has been similar to Spectra's. I've maintained a 90-pound loss (40 % of my body weight) for nearly five years. I exercise less now than I did to lose the weight, but now that I'm a lot fitter I exercise far more intensely.

And yeah, I watch very little TV.

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