Can you maintain weight/shape by exercise alone?

[OrmIrian]

Struggling with not being on a diet atm. Don't want to be 'careful' all the time anymore and I am really enjoying eating a little bit of everything but am nervous of putting weight back on. I can't afford and don't want a gym membership so I'm running about 2 miles three times a week, doing some abs work at home and 20 mins of yoga most mornings. This is mostly to enable me to keep up with the others at my new karate class! But also because I want to keep in shape without dieting.

So if I keep up my reasonably mild exercise regime and try to eat moderately, can I maintain weight and shape? I really really don't want to diet anymore. Been there, done that and I've had enough! Giving up dieting is almost as hard for me as giving up chocolate (weird or what) which makes me feel I have to do it...if that makes sense. Anyone else successfully doing this?

If I wanted to remain at my current weight, then yes, I could successfully do what you are doing as long as I did not overeat or eat large portions in general. I think that is the key. You can do a lot of exercise but if you overeat, you will put on weight because you are consuming more calories than you are using up. On the other hand, if you do no exercise but don't overeat, you will not put on weight.

At the moment, I want to lose 10lbs so I'm exercising and dieting in earnest!

If you are running, doing karate etc, you will have no problem in maintaining your weight so enjoy your food!

I think it's much better to eat what you want, in moderation, of course, and maintain your weight by exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise go so far beyond merely stopping you getting flabby!
Just look at the Atkins diet, for example - you may not be obese if you follow it, but boy it's not a healthy diet at all. Far better to have a bit of what you fancy and be fit as well!

The other thing to remember that elevating your heart rate by exercise means that you keep burning up calories several hours after exercising. Also, muscle consumes more energy than fat so that is another reason to tone up and replace flab with muscle. Also muscles occupies less volume than fat so you will look trimmer even though you may not have lost any weight.

There are so many good, healthy reasons to exercise so keep on doing what you are doing.

I don't weigh myself anyway - I check seeing how my jeans fit! Scales freak me out! I can tell that although I've lost weight I'm flabbier than I was as I cut back my exercise about a year ago and that's what I want to change.

satine - I will have to agree to disagree about atkins (or low-carb in general) . It isn't neccessarily unhealthy if you follow it properly. Howewve I am done with diets of any kind for now. ...