If you haven't yet, check out the Qs & As with Anne Fletcher (author of Thin For Life) on the 3FC home page. Good stuff. The first question she answered was about maintenance and in her answer she said:

I'm curious what you all think about her statement and whether it's true for you? If you are an exerciser, want to share what you do?

I think exercise is definitely key!! I slacked off between around August and December and it really showed (in my body makeup, and a little in my weight). Plus I just feel better about myself, my body, and my weight when I am in shape. I almost feel like exercise is more of a mental thing -- when I'm exercising, I feel good, and want to eat well. When I'm not exercising I feel crappy and eat crap, therefore I gain weight.

My exercise plan is...
- MWF: 5 minute warmup, 30 minutes of intense elliptical/stairclimber, 5 minute cooldown, stretch out legs, crunches and back/core work, stretch back and abs
- T(Th): 10 minute warmup, then weights, then cooldown/stretching. So far I've been doing legs on Tuesdays. Plan is to do upper body on Thursdays but my arms are injured and I haven't managed to make it to the gym on a Thursday yet. Once my arm isn't in a splint anymore I plan to take group classes on some of these days.
- If the weather is good on the weekend, I love to go hiking or for long walks.

This exercise "plan" has changed a number of times. The summer before last, I was in the best shape of my life, and this is what I did:
- M: warmup, jog about 2.5 miles/30 minutes, cooldown/stretch
- T: one hour circuit training class (strengthening: legs/back)
- W: warmup, interval training (running), cooldown/stretch
- Th: one hour circuit training class (strengthening: arms/abs)
- F: warmup, jog about 3+ miles/45 minutes, cooldown/stretch OR warmup, timed mile run, 15-20 mins elliptical, cooldown/stretch
- (S): jog 3+ miles

My knees didn't love running as much as I did unfortunately! I am still crossing my fingers that some day I will be able to do that again because it felt GREAT and I always felt really accomplished being able to track my personal records and goals with running. There's not much goal tracking when you are doing "30 minutes elliptical."

Oh, yes, nothing would be the same without exercise. I think the muscle I've built really helps rev up my menopausal metabolism, and keeps me from gaining outrageously if I've had a misstep (umm, disaster) with food.

I generally do 35-60 min. of cardio 6 days a week--elliptical, bike, water aerobics, rowing machine, running. I change it up. Then I have three weight lifting programs that I alternate, again 6 days a week (I take Sunday off completely unless it's nice out, then I walk). I usually do the programs for about 6 weeks, then my trainer changes them. Plus I stretch every day and do ab work every other day.

I totally agree, and one thing I've noticed on this forum is that there seem to be a high proportion of maintainers who regularly post on the exercise threads. I've not got any numbers, it's just how it seems to me.

For me exercise the key is to "living normally". It gives me a bit more room for movement with my eating, and it gives me goals that I can achieve (or not!) regardless of my weight on any particular day. It helps keep me fit, healthy and sane rather than simply focussing on the scale as a measure of my success.

I wouldn't even be a maintainer if it wasn't for exercise, and I certainly wouldn't have maintained my loss for nearly a year.

I am a recovering Lifetimer LOL. I maintained for 3 years and I am POSITIVE it's because of how active I was. Once I stopped exercising (I went through a pretty low period in my life and also started drinking and emotionally eating) the weight came back and HARD.

That's why I decided that I WILL get to my goal weight again, no matter what or when, but EXERCISE is VERY important as far as I'm concerned, NOW and to maintain.

When I was maintaining I went to the gym at least 4x a week (had a pers. trainer 1x a week), rode my bike or walked everywhere (to work was 7km, but I rarely drove or took public transport as it was only about 25 minutes to walk to the centre of town), I swam 1x a week and I did all sorts of "little" exercises every morning - pushups, situps, hand weights, etc.

I lost 62lbs with WW. I'm now at my starting point again and I'm through the very dark period in my life so it's only DOWN from here (on the scale) and UP as far as the happiness and goodness I feel


by the way, you ladies are AWESOME and totally inspiring!! I hope you don't mind that I do lurk in here!

Velveteen, don't just lurk - feel free to post too. You don't have to be at goal to post here. Besides, you're a recovering maintainer and belong here anyway, so please don't be a stranger.

Just like Helen, I know for certain that I couldn't have lost the weight without exercise and absolutely wouldn't be able to keep it off without exercise. The funny thing is that I was convinced for 46 years that I despised exercise. And now I'm a personal trainer? The world works in bizarre ways!!

I was 46 when I lost the weight and am 52 now, post-menopausal, and hypothyroid. Talk about three strikes against weight loss and maintenance! I'm absolutely convinced that there isn't any way to keep my calories low enought to keep the weight off without daily exercise. Otherwise I'd seriously have to be eating under 1000 calories per day and that just isn't going to happen.

Plus I agree with Paperclippy that exercise has a big mental component. It forced me to look in the mirror and become aware of how my body moved, looked, and felt. After ignoring everything below my neck for twenty years, exercise integrated my mind and body back together and made me a whole person. And wow, the mental aspect of being strong! It's (dare I say it?) empowering.

Exercise has paid off big-time for my health. My various test numbers are out-of-this-world good and my doctor has told me that only exercise can get someone to where I am (my HDLs are twice as high as my LDLs). I have severe arthritis in my knees and back (thanks to 20 years of weighing more than 200 pounds) but my doctor says I'm the fittest and most flexible patient he's ever had. And the muscles I've built are protecting my joints and preventing more pain. So even though I'm paying the price for years of obesity, exercise is keeping me going.

I'm currently trying to lose five pounds so I'm in all-out weight loss mode with my exercise. I do an hour of cardio every day, mostly on the elliptical, at a fairly high intensity. I lift weights on a five day split (back, chest, arms, legs, and shoulders) and do an extra day of shoulder rehab exercises. And to try to strengthen my lower back, I do 15 minutes of core exercises a day. Good thing I'm an early morning person because I can get most of it done before breakfast and then pop back into the gym in the afternoon for a quick cardio session.

Meg, thanks - it's nice to know I'm welcome here.

and you and paperclippy are so right, the mental aspect of being strong and empowered... it's amazing!

Welcome Velveteen! I too am a recovering maintainer. And I KNOW for certain that exercise kept the weight off for me. An injury and a job change caused the beginning of my downfall, but like you I'm back in the losing mode.

My current exercise includes 3-4 days of cardio, mostly elliptical, though I add biking in the warmer weather. And 2-3 days of weights. I've been neglecting - okay avoiding - doing ab work and have made it a goal for the rest of this month. Once I do it deliberately for that long, it should be a regular part of my routine.

I contribute my weight loss and maintenance ability more to my exercise than to my eating. I was so sedentary before that the lbs. really dropped quite quickly when I started moving a little. I normally use my treadmill for 2-3 miles a day, 5 or 6 days a week. I use my new elliptical for 1 mile usually at least 4 times a week. I do some old work-out videos to change up my routine occasionally. I jump rope sometimes and use an exercise ball sometimes.

I am also one that follows my eating plan much more carefully when my exercise is on track. I also thought that I hated exercise, until I had an ankle injury and had to go a few months without exercise. It drove me crazy and I couldn't wait to get back to my routine.

I am the lazy exception - I exercised sporadically during my actual weight loss. Last year, I had an injury that gave me the much needed "excuse" to stop exercising. I have recently started doing some cardio at the gym (my friends drag me kicking and screaming), but I don't go as regularly as I should.

I haven't had any difficulties losing/maintaining my weight loss.

Intellectually, I know that exercise is something I *SHOULD* be doing. Cardio is good for the heart, building some muscle would be great! I will also never lose the last "wiggly" bits (thighs, belly) without exercise. My goal is 45 minutes on the elliptical 3 times a week.

It's more than just laziness, I really hate exercising - especially strength training. I never feel good like other people say they do, I hate sweating, I hate painful sore muscles the next day. (I know, waa waa waa). I tell myself that I do a lot of stuff I hate all the time (waiting in line at the DMV, flossing, taxes), but it's really hard to get motivated to work out.

Of course, as smug as I can be about my eating habits, if I ever get the exercise thing rolling, I will be basically unliveable!!!

I think exercise is perfect for maintaining, although I have pretty much given up any pretense of strength training in the last couple years, due primarily to lack of time, and the fact that I love the triathlon disciplines so much. I find when I am exercising regularly it is nearly impossible for me to gain weight, even if my eating is off spectacularly.

But, if I want to lose, exercise alone will not do it for me. I really have to be disciplined about eating. And that is a struggle for me, because I still want to eat 4000 calories a day, even after all these years.

Anne

I struggle to get my exercise in and think that if I want to go lower I may have to up what I'm doing, but I think it's been essential -- not just for weight loss, but mental health. And, for the first time in my life, I am becoming aware of my body and what I can do!

Tonight we were trying this new move in yoga, and my first thought was "there's no way I can do that". But amazingly, I certainly could ... well, sort of. I could sort of hold the pose. Not a perfect position, no, but much better than my mental image of what I could do!!

I agree. I've been letting my exercise slide since it got cold, and an hour of yoga and an hour of walking in a week just isn't enough to maintain, for me. I need 2 hours of yoga and 3 hours of walking to hang on by my fingernails, while carefully watching what I eat. More exercise than that = even better rapport with my body, and easier maintenance.

It's not just the calories burned, but I have a better sense of my body when I'm moving more. I know my strength, and I take better care if me.

-Amy

I was remembering this thread this morning as I was driving home from the gym, where I took my first water aerobics class in three weeks! I can't tell you how much I missed it and how good I felt afterward. In fact, if I COULD tell you, I bet you'd all run out and sign up for a class nearest you. But as we know, it's so hard to articulate that glow you get from a great workout.

What's not hard to articulate are the benefits of exercise, and even though I don't have anything new to add to everything that's been said, I would like to add an enthusiastic endorsement.

Simply put, I cannot maintain my weight without exercise. For one thing, I'd starve to death. Regular workouts give me "bonus calories" that I can dip into on most days. Without exercise, I'd also be many sizes larger; at this point in my life, it's all about the inches more than about the pounds.

Even more important, regular exercise gives me a quality of life that nothing else can. I have an active faith life. I enjoy my work. I love my husband. I have great passionate interests. They all make me what I am, but it's the exercise that is at the very heart of my being. Because I can't enjoy any of the other facets of my life if I don't feel good, and I don't feel good when I don't exercise. Thanks to exercise I feel better, I walk taller, I can control (to a large degree) my sundry aches and pains, and I certainly think better. My blood pressure is low, my skin is good and, at 58, these are all increasingly important. My memory's shot, but that's another post ...

If you are thinking about dipping a toe into a fitness routine, I implore you to give it a go. In addition to twice-weekly water aerobics classes, I also try to strength train twice a week, and I hop on the treadmill 3 to 4 days a week. When all else fails, I get on that treadmill for a minimum of 30 minutes. It's like a tonic.

And I'll add just one more thing: maintenance gets tougher as the years roll along. Exercise makes it ever so much easier.

I do an hour of cardio 5 days a week. I either do 30 mins recumbent bike and 30 mins elliptical or if I get a walk in (usually 3-5 miles) I only do 20 mins of each of those. Then I strength train 3 days a week. I take Saturday and Sunday off from my routine, but I do usually walk on those days and keep really active. But 5 solid days of exercise every week. When I strength train it's usually 20 - 30 mins. For the times I can't get down to my basement (where my home-gym is located), I do 100 jumping jacks, 40 push-ups and use my resistance bands. It's my 30 - 45 min emergency plan. I have been doing this for at least a solid year. It's in my blood. If I miss a day, I don't beat myself up about it, but I don't feel the same without it.