When You've Lost Enough Weight, How Do You Stop?

[options]

I had my daughter last May and have made it a point to get back into just as good shape as I was pre-pregnancy. I have succeeded and am back at the endurance and speed levels I was before I was pregnant, and I am actually a few pounds lighter than I was.

I LOVE to exercise and the more I do it, of course, the more I challenge my body with greater speeds, longer times, different types of workouts. I am not really trying to lose any more weight, but at the rate I am going, I probably will. My question is, when you are at your peak fitness level and continue to challenge your body, is there really any real way to prevent losing additional weight, short of eating more?

[Leslie_C]

I think the only way if u dont want to eat more is to add in a few more calories such as using full fat salad dressing, advocado, using olive oil, eating nuts.....u could eat a few more calorie dense foods in place of the lower calorie ones. Most ppls bodies have a set point where their weight seems to like to stay so u may get that naturally. For example after I had lost a lot of weight before, I was teaching aerobics and still doing my regular workouts too. My weight pretty much stayed the same but over a few months time my body fat percentage had dropped quite a bit. Your body adapts to the amount of activity you do.

Be careful with it because if u lose the desire to be so active u may gain weight. I got busy with life in general, moved to a new town, got back with my ex, and started nursing school along with working part time all around the same time. I lost the time and energy to work out like I was used to and the weight rapidly piled on. My life is getting back in order and I graduate at the beginning of September so Im trying to get back to my old lifestyle and get the weight back off once and for all. By the time I finish school and start working Ill have more time and be less stressed out so I can get back into being active on the regular. I used to love working out and I hope I get back to that point.

[Ipanema]

That’s what I’m trying to figure out since I am back to my pre-pregnancy size also & wondering how to not focus on weight-loss. I think maybe your body may hit a plateau, and instead of trying to bust through it, you just keep eating & exercising at the same level for maintenance. I think if you keep challenging yourself, though, you’ll have to add calories. I remember hearing about some swimmer in the Olympics, and he had to eat 7000 calories to maintain his weight. :shocked: He was pretty muscular.

[toinette]

That’s what I’m trying to figure out since I am back to my pre-pregnancy size also & wondering how to not focus on weight-loss. I think maybe your body may hit a plateau, and instead of trying to bust through it, you just keep eating & exercising at the same level for maintenance. I think if you keep challenging yourself, though, you’ll have to add calories. I remember hearing about some swimmer in the Olympics, and he had to eat 7000 calories to maintain his weight. :shocked: He was pretty muscular.

yup, i think that was michael phelps. 7000 cals a day is unimaginable.