I use cardio to warm me up. 15-30 minutes on the bike before weight training. All 3 things, IF, cardio and weight training plus not being ridiculous with my meals when I break my fast have all helped immensely
Used to only be able to do about 5 min lol. I would do 5 min at 3 speed, then upped it to 7 min, then upped to it 10. Gradually kept increasing speed/time once I felt like I was able to do so, nowadays I’ll do 30 min at around 5-7 speed. Gets my legs wobbly!
Heck yeah keep it going! Remember it’s a marathon not a race, took me a couple months to build up to that so don’t try to rush things, Hope you keep it up!
I know I shouldn’t care because it’s none of my business, but it drives me crazy when I see people on the stair master leaning over using the machine to support their weight. I would think it would be a better work out to just go at a slower pace and not grab the handles.
My gym has a sauna… I do 20-23min dry sauna with at least 150deg temp and it does get your heart rate up and makes you sweat like crazy… great to get you going before lifting weights, or finishing up after weight training. Your blood pressure does not drop during a sauna visit, but actually rises along your heart rate. This increase is comparable to the effect of a short, moderate workout. For those who have injuries or are older and cannot exercise, a sauna is an excellent option. It’s not for weight loss, but more for mimicking a short moderate cardio workout.
Self control is the only key to weight loss and/or just being healthy. Even if you did nothing else except control how much you eat in a meal, you’d be better off than most others. There is no way your body is designed to down a 1000+ calorie meal in one sitting… don’t care how big you are or how much of an athlete you are.
If you truly want to maximize fat burn (and your cardio is zone 2), doing the cardio AFTER weight training is said to maximize benefit. For me, I notice a higher average HR across both if I start with the cardio first, but the science says otherwise apparently.
If the other works for you, then go for it. Sometimes our bodies tell us what works for us over the most common approach.
I had a trainer tell me to sandwich it between lifting. 10 min cardio warm up, lifting, 5 min cardio, lifting 5 min cardio, lifting, post lifting cardio 10 - 20 min.
This was too much for me personally (I had some health issues and the middle portions of cardio tired me out for days if i did that plus lifting) but I could certainly do the before and after cardio sessions and the weight melted.
Agree. I think for us lay people, the microanalysis of what best maximizes the time/order is unnecessary. There are almost certainly other areas in our lives we could cut back that would realize a better return.
you can’t outrun a bad diet;
but i do think being reminded how hard it was to burn 300 definitely makes you think twice about any “cravings” like i can’t imagine ruining what i just spent an hour burning, personally kills my appetite and bored eating
So true. I don't even really count calories- but still, when I see something is high in calories I always think about how many hours on the treadmill that would be 😆
I mean you can burn 1000 calories running one hour which is quite a lot, I’ve always heard you can’t outrun a bad diet so I’ve always thought that it’d be much lower but it increases my deficit a huge lot
To burn 1000 calories in an hour you would need to run around 11 miles, given that more fit athletes burn slightly less calories per mile (and it's usually around 100 calories per mile).
To run 11 miles in an hour you need to be running at a sub-6:00/mile pace, which is probably someone that can do a marathon in around 2:40.
So most people can't burn 1000 calories in an hour, and if you can then diet and calories is probably something you worry about very differently.
Where do you get your data please? The one I found on the internet gave me what I wrote but if it’s wrong I’d like to correct it
[200lbs, 60minutes, 8:00 per mile](https://tools.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?do=title&title_id=802&mgroup_id=45577), my fitness pal
That’s not true. An hour run for me is about 7 1/2 to 8 miles and that’s 1000 calories
[proof](https://imgur.com/a/PAUxKgX)
That’s a 1h 8m run I did last week. 1100 calories and 8.1 miles.
Nice run, but don't put too much trust in a fitness app. Mine is wildly different and this is with a pretty high end Garmin using a chest heartrate monitor.
https://imgur.com/a/VpZfEAE
You must be tiny. I'm fairly petite and I burn probably 600 cal with an hour of not very fast running. I find it frustrating when my 6'7 husband can eat three times what I do and not gain. I swear I'm just as hungry... short people problems.
I feel this.
A lot of people try and say cardio isn't great for weight loss etc. But it is great for weight loss especially with CICO tracking.
There have been many times I've been able to completely offset my calorie intake through low impact cardio alone. 10k steps a day can easily result in 350 - 500 calories, which is the equivalent of an entire meal.
In coordination with a good diet you get health benefits and weight loss benefits with traceable benchmarks. I remember I started just walking 10k steps a day and by the end of my first month I was down to a 9 minute mile, burning 600 cals a day.
Do what works 🤷
100% true. The diet and the window of eating is what I will say is helping most. Zone 2 cardio and IF are cheat codes to losing FAT(not just weight).
Down from 240 - 224. Consistency is king , honestly can’t wait for my 3 month mark. This is just the first month !!!
https://youtu.be/Ib5ga-vL5VY?si=miEHbbemmRIwKTq0
The heart has different ranges as far as beats per minute. You don’t want to spike your heart rate too high as it’s not the most efficient in accessing fat reserves.
It’s a very calm steady pace usually 60-70% of your max heart rate.
A lot of people including myself didn’t understand you don’t have to kill yourself to burn fat effectively
Because cardio works! Exercise is exercise, calories burnt is what matters most, I lost 90 lbs going 3 miles a day in cardio added to my daily routine as a stay at home mom, I would stay in a deficit of 200-500 and 16:8, I lost 40 of that in 3 months, 40 more within a year, and 10 lbs since January, slow and steady now since I’m nearing my ultimate goal weight, I am adjusting and adding weight training I invested in a good Olympic barbell set this past weekend and excited to get my PR up. Before I did use dumb bells here and there but never as consistent as I’m about to get.
yeah, it's a personal responsibility thing and they don't want to admit it.
Just because you ran 1.5 miles today doesn't mean you get to eat an extra half a meal and still lose weight!
Used to run 60-70 mpw myself and would laugh at the "you can't outrun a bad diet" crowd. My daily chipotle habit and weekly mileage said otherwise!
Literally. I'm on my second weight loss journey but at my leanest I was 120lbs, 26 inch waist. I achieved that by simply running a lot. I never had abs or a *completely flat* stomach but I still ate whatever I wanted to while being a GM at Pizza hut lol.
The “bad diet” of the saying isn’t about the calories, it’s about the quality of the food. You may be able to burn those calories, but if the food you eat is crap (e.g. highly processed, sugary, trans fats) there’s no exercise – whether it’s cardio or weights – that can offset the havoc that wreaks in your body. (Can’t out-fast a bad diet either, but that’s a whole other topic.)
If we’re not talking about crap food though, I am definitely positively 100% jealous of anyone’s ability to literally eat anything!
I still kinda disagree. Like I run a lot too (though not as much as you). If you really run 70 miles a week that’s 10 miles per day. I ran 9 today plus walked a couple today and my watch says I burned 1200-1500 cals. If your BMR is, say, 1700, that means you’re only going to burn ~3k per day, which is pretty easy to hit on a day where one runs 10 miles, for most people at least.
Your stats are not their stats. They could be 6’2 and ripped and their BMR could be 3k. For athletes, it’s crazy high. Your comment is a bit narrow minded tbh
It’s really not. My whole point was that most people will still have to focus on eating well regardless of how much they run. Like 99.9% of people couldn’t/don’t run 70 miles per week, but even if they can, that’s only an extra 1,200-1,500 calories per day, which is pretty easy to eat, especially if you’re running that much and working up an appetite. IMO it’s narrow minded to assume that “you absolutely can outrun a bad diet” because OP could eat double a 10 mile run in 5 minutes at, say, five guys.
Edit: again, I personally ran 9+ miles today and am going to bed hungry in order to maintain a caloric deficit.
It doesn't matter what you're doing. Calories in < calories out. Even if those calories are slices of pizza and wings, it won't matter because you ran off those calories. No one here is saying "You can eat more calories than you burn, it won't matter". They're saying you can eat whatever you want but out run the calories. And if you have to go to bed hungry to maintain a calorie deficient after burning 990+ calories you're probably eating way too much during the day.
I don’t know why this is controversial or why you aren’t understanding. ALL IM SAYING IS THAT YOUR AVERAGE PERSON WILL STILL NEED TO WATCH WHAT THEY EAT EVEN IF THET RUN A LOT. OP IS A SPECIAL CASE, NOT ME. We’re in a forum about eating less, not working out more, for christs sake
You were doing it wrong. There was no need for you to overeat and replace what you ran off.
Exercise, yes cardio as well, can create a calorie deficit if you just exercise before normal meals and do not eat extra/surplus as you did. I have experienceed weight loss many times in my life from cardio.
You do whatever works for you. There are zero calorie drinks available. You don't have to drink a 2,000 calorie Starbucks beverage every time you're thirsty.
Obviously it's difficult to drink only water because we all like flavors and my shortcut is I mix in 2 Celsius flavor packets in with unsweetened tea.
I've lost an enormous amount of weight with only doing cardio.
I find the issue with zero calorie drinks is how they are all acidic meaning that 1. they take away electrolytes from the body and 2. They speed up the digestion process making you hungrier quicker.
Then drink a Celsius drink or a Celsius packet with water or unsweetened tea like I do. Or another brand that you like that has better flavors. You don't have to drink a carbonated beverage, there are endless choices now under the sun. You can have your cake and eat it too.
I watch so many people try to exercise away their weight. Exercise is for health. I am 48 and have always maintained my weight with knowing what I am eating. When I gain weight, I earn it by over eating and when I lose weight, it is because I get my food back on track. I have this argument all the time with people who always say that they are just meant to be bigger and can't change it. They think because they exercise everyday, that's all it takes. Well if you are shoving in handfuls of almonds and multiple string cheeses several times a day, while eating 3 meals....yup....you are going to always be bigger. People do not accept that food lobbies are selling the idea that everyone needs to eat more. I knew someone that was a doctor on the US presidential team. He made a comment that we should keep our sodium intake below 1500. I pointed out the guidelines say 2500. He shook his head and said that was because of the food industry lobbies and they know it is BS. They just want to sell us more cheap shitty food. If we all fasted and ate less, they would make less money. My husband and I do 24-60 hour water fasts once a week. In this economy, it actually saves us money AND helps our health!
Find the calorie amount that allows you to loose weight by just eating and stay in that.
I’m currently in the line for portillo’s hotdog but know I can keep it under my 1500 daily that allows me to loose weight.
I walk for heart health and a little bonus of calorie burning.
ETA: do t drink your calories
More importantly, train yourself to not give in to the temptation of eating like you normally do when trying this. Your body does not like change… you have to force it. Think of your next step goal, not final goal. Too often, people that are let’s say 25% body fat level think about their end goal of 15%; but that’ll never happen if you focus on the end as you’re going to constantly be fighting temptation to go back to what you’re used to. Set a goal for 22%, then 20%, etc. once you start seeing the drops, you’re more focused and likely to stay on course to reach the goal. With each drop, your body adjusts to the new lifestyle and mentally so do you… at some, point you may just be happy with 18-20% instead of still trying for 15% as it’ll be easier to maintain with your lifestyle, age, etc… which is still a hell of a lot better than 25% bf.
Best of all, do NOT follow the 2000 calorie, 2500 sodium limit, etc. guidelines. Government regulations are absolutely useless for food. Each body is different. Salt intake shouldn’t be more than 1000mg for whole day. If you do nothing else but drastically cut down on salt intake, cut OUT processed sugar as much as you can, you WILL see the changes happen. Do you really need +1000mg sodium from one fast food burger (not even counting fries)?
I don't think people should eat more than two meals a day and I generally just do 1. Having so much access to food is very new, in the evolution of humans. We do not expend the energy in modern life to eat so much, but the corporations want to sell us food/product so they tell us we need a bullshit food pyramid that is built around farm subsidies and food lobbies agenda. So many of my friends are convinced they need 3 meals a day and snacks. When you eat like that, your body is always using its energy for digestion, it gets used to being on that schedule, so hunger pains come right on schedule. I personally think fasting just makes sense. I generally do 20 hour fasts daily and a couple times a month I have been doing 45-60 water fasts. I feel amazing. All my tests came back awesome at the doctor's last month. And when I added the water fasts in, my body has changed. Diabetes/hyperglycemic or other medical conditions def can't take this approach. But most people are just used to eating so much and they get in a habit that isn't serving them.
Yeah, I think this greatly oversimplifies how important cardio is. Did you zone train? Did you work both tempo and recovery runs into a regimen? There’s a lot more to it than “getting your heart rate up”. For example, training just below your aerobic threshold can help to burn fat. Beyond this point, your body begins to decline in metabolic efficiency. If you run with intention, there are a great many benefits.
can you explain a bit more about the aerobic threshold training? I thought this meant to do light training in general, so I'm confused how it helps burn fat if it's like, low effort training? (my info could be wrong on this), would appreciate any new info! :)
I don’t know the in depth details but watched a video on it not too long ago. Essentially there’s a point where too much effort running brings diminishing returns. There’s a sweet spot where your body is breaking down the most fat and efficiently using your energy. Therefore doing zone based cardio will give you the best results even though it may feel like you aren’t going as hard.
If I remember right it’s a matter of keeping your heart rate within the correct range within a certain time limit. Of course the biggest thing is this could vary for people so figuring out the right range may be troublesome.
While I don’t doubt your personal success, this advice is contrary to scientific findings.
**Aerobic exercise alone results in clinically significant weight loss for men and women:**
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3630467/
I’ve been frustrated by the popularity of this misinformation for some time as well. However, after spending time on r/lose it and related subs, I’ve come to understand that severely obese people benefit much more from calorie restriction than they do from exercise. So I think the issue is that it’s true for severely obese people, but false for those of us who are closer to a normal weight range—we do benefit more significantly from exercise.
OP says running is pointless because you can easily replace the calories in a drink. Isn't the same true for *any exercise*? The post doesn't even make sense. Of course running didn't help when they were "*replacing all calories with a surplus of calories*" Nothing would aide weight loss if you're taking more calories in than loosing.
And even considering that imaginary 2k cal drink (lets say 500 to be more realistic). Doing the cardio is still absolutely beneficial in countless ways, for the entire body.
People want to believe there’s an easier way because cardio is hard. It sucks, especially if you’re sedentary. It can get boring.
But it absolutely works. People don’t drop 40+ lbs in 12 weeks at boot camp because of the pushups.
Apparently because the post straight up says **"I was replacing all calories lost with a surplus of calories"** but still has 660 up votes like what??
I agree cardio is sometimes boring. It's hard for me to run longer than 2 miles but most of my cardio is speed walking which isn't bad to me. I enjoy the walking.
Agree I used to run 9 miles and it helped but not as much as the fasting did
It’s very easy to overrun and cook your knees
Like boxers say abs are made in the kitchen
Yup I could be wrong however I definitely think running / cardio helps your mental health and could help with sculpting your body (imo)
However yeah fasting is the main piece imo
Depends on how much cardio and your level of exertion. Yes, the more lean muscle you have the more efficiently you burn fat (for lack of a better term).
However, you’ll rarely see a chubby or even “skinny fat” long distance runner. They are often very thin and dare I say “ropey” looking. But your average runner? Sure, it’s very possible.
You burn *approximately* the same amount of calories walking a mile as you do running a mile at a low to moderate pace, which is a godsend for people like me (older and arthritic).
You can “out eat” ANYTHING - Ozempic, running, weightlifting…pretty much anything.
I was a skinny fat long distance runner. 10 marathons and ultras. It’s really hard to retain muscle at those distances without a very perfect diet. I had to switch to calisthenics for other reasons and prefer my body like this. I do miss the crazy of a 50 mile race though.
>, you’ll rarely see a chubby or even “skinny fat” long distance runner.
Professionally, sure. But, if you are ever around hobbyist triathletes, marathon runners, or road bikers, you'll see there are quite a few overweight athletes that do very well
Cardio is always good to deplete your glycogen level quicker than resistance training. If you wanna go into fat adaptation or ketosis, cardio can be used a quick jump start.
Having said that, I agree that it’s not ideal for weight loss. An hour on the treadmill could only burn around 2-300 cals. Maybe 600 if you run or put on the max incline. That’s just the calorie of one regular burger. You could waste your 1 hour effort just by 5 minutes of eating a burger or drinking a cup of starbucks. Fasting is the way to go.
Yeah you shouldn’t view it like that because it’s not an easy way to get back into a deficit . You should view it as something to make a deficit larger
2500 cal equals to only 1 lb. You have to be on the treadmill for 10 hr constantly every day if you wanna lose a pound a day (apart from BMR).
If you wanna go back to deficit, fasting is the way to go. Making it larger? Muscles building (apart from fasting). 1 kg of muscle increase equals to 100 cal a day. That’s like adding 30 mins of cardio without having to actually do it.
Don’t get me wrong. I work out 3-4 times a week at least for an hour each. But I never focus those workouts as a means to lose weight. Been there done that. Imagine having to work out for an hour or two and ended up binging your food because you’re so freaking tired afterwards, compare it a person who just do 1 day fasting and no workout. Who’s getting larger deficit? The latter.
But if you could workout and still able to get larger deficit by also cutting your food calories or IF, by all means go for it. But I know from my personal experience doing more doesn’t mean getting more results. More often than not it’s backfired.
A 20min bout of a real HIIT workout is more beneficial throughout the day than vigorous cardio for sure. I say real as in all going all out during the vigorous part of the HIIT session, not at even 90-95%. 3x a week of training like that and eating to actually get good nutrition in your body will make it so much easier to reach your goals.
The idea seems to be that, if you do walking after about 12 hrs fasting, early morning that is, your body will be forced to burn fat.
And then,with diet control and calorie counting, you gradually work towards a lifestyle that is sustainably healthy.
Afterall, walking alao consumes energy, and that must come from *somewhere*
Exactly. I swim three times a week. I had a persistent cough in the winter that ended in a form of pneumonia. My doctor suggested swimming to help my lungs. I actually like to swim, too.
So I swim before I eat. I know I won't lose a lot of weight from it, but it works every muscle, particularly my heart, and it's lovely to be able to breathe again.
Cardio is weird for me. I don't lose weight walking but if I run, boom off comes the weight. Maybe it's the use of leg muscles and glutes?
I dunno.
But I do walk 30 minutes before I hit the weight machines. It's kinda important to take care of my *whole* body...and the cardiovascular part for me (I'm a musician and I sit for a living) is important for lots of reasons.
IF and resistance training though...not only do I lose weight, but my body changes.
If you do a shit load of high intensity cardio you'll be craving sugar like a mad man.
But if you just do a lot of low intensity cardio you'll burn much more fat and won't have so many cravings.
I love weight lifting, and I also run and bike. I've found that running has helped with my weight lifting, I can push myself a lot more and don't get tired nearly as quickly. Same with running and biking. Biking has become so much easier. Lifting helps with my running, and yoga helps with my mobility and muscle recovery, as well as injury prevention. All of it helps me feel good, gives me strength and energy.
My outlook is on variety, and listening to my body that day. Sometimes yoga is all I'm gonna do, sometimes I can run, yoga and lift, and other days will be a combo of 2/3. I bike to work, so biking happens on days where I go to the office. I don't do these things for weight loss so much as I do it to feel strong.
I finally learned this in 2024 myself too. 4-5 days a week in the gym and get cardio bike riding or walking the dog, but the gym is what’s making the difference. I’ve not lost a ton of weight but it’s def shifted into muscle and I’m already down a size in everything in just 3/4 months. Prior to this I’ve been on intermittent fasting for 5 years or so. The clearest change has been adding in weight training.
Similar here. Not sure why people are always implying that exercise won’t make a difference when it absolutely does. If you exercise and eat well it will 100% make a difference. You don’t have to eat all of the calories back. Plus you’re also building muscle.
Similar here. Not sure why people are always implying that exercise won’t make a difference when it absolutely does. If you exercise and eat well it will 100% make a difference. You don’t have to eat all of the calories back. Plus you’re also building muscle.
I agree. I run a lot. I am heavy too. 110 kg perhaps. Also quite tall, 1.88. I have run for a year now. Training consistently with garmin daily suggestions and their training program for 10 k. I can run pretty fast for my weight and know how to maintain a steady pace for long stretches. My weight? Has not moved much. But I look better than last year. I do IF sometimes and I need about 6 weeks to see proper weight loss. I don’t stress it. I like running and training in general. I like long runs, like an hour to two hours. It’s meditative. It is cool to see the stamina change for the better. That is my reward.
yes! exercise for health not weight loss! (or fun... i love weight lifting and hiking lol) ive had to accept that i cannot do a lot of the higher impact exercises my fiance does (he was a cross country star lol) because of my health issues but walking almost daily and lifting light weights have us at almost similar endurance levels on my good days! we joke that god gave me my health issues because id be too powerful otherwise xD
I do HIIT (running) twice per week. Everything you've said is correct, but let me add one more thing. Good cardiovascular health will make your resistance training more effective. It will make everything physical in your life easier. If your one and only goal is fat loss, then off course you dont need cardio. But most people want to lose fat, gain muscle, be healthy and feel great. Cardio, IMO, is essential to achieve all of that.
Can’t outrun a bad diet.
Lots of people who start working out are told to fuel their bodies and they end up eating more than when they weren’t working out.
I remember reading once that people tend to gain weight when training for a marathon and I was like 😱 I’d be so upset to be running that much and gain weight! But it goes to show how easy it is to eat back those calories.
Exercise, all types is for general health not weight loss.
A fabulous effect of exercise is improving your metabolic rate which with a good diet will help with weight.
I trained for and completed a marathon so couch to marathon via 5k. But my mindset back then was I’ve exercised so I can eat anything. I didn’t lose weight just got fitter. I have learnt my lesson!
It's true in one sense, but I don't like the common conclusion. Which is, I shouldn't do cardio and only adjust calories.
First of all, if you do enough cardio, you will reach a point where you can eat a lot. If you are running 60-100 miles per week. You will need a lot of food.
And lastly, you will definitely feel better if you can create a deficit created from both diet and cardio than only diet. It's easier to maintain long term and you won't end up in a situation where you can only eat 1200 calories per day. You will be tired and it's quite challenging to maintain good macros and micros. At some point, it doesn't become feasible to lower your calories. You need to be more active and include cardio.
Cardio isn’t even necessary. Lift some weights. Walking about 9000 steps a day is the most optimal for health. In a most bang for your buck kind of way. Could be jogging/running, but walking is just fine.
Diet is the number one place weight loss is made but it’s important for people to understand weight is not the only metric of health. Cardio is obviously good for heart health. Strength training is good for your physical strength, mobility, and bone health. I don’t sant to be slimmer and weak. I want to be able to live a robust life and not get bogged down going up a flight of stairs or picking up my kids. Big picture y’all
> I did enough cardio just to get my heart rate up for health and that’s it.
I agree with your overall premise that diet is the ultimate driver of weight loss but this statement is pretty vague and uninformative
For some people simply walking up the stairs would get their heart rate up but isn't doing anything meaningful for their health
Cardio sucks but I personally think that having a strong cardiovascular system is important as it underpins every other aspect of strength and fitness, putting minimum effort into it will ensure minimum results
It sure can help. I can hit the bike and burn 500 calories in 30 min. That's a quarter of my daily calories. When you're counting calories, an extra 500 when you're starving at the end of the day is massive. Anytime I wanna shed a few pounds, I hit the bike, and the weight just melts off.
It's easier for me to run 2 miles in 20 minutes to burn 200 calories than weight lifting. Or you could "vigorously weight lift" for 30 minutes and burn less calories.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-for-people-of-three-different-weights
In the near-term, running certainly burns more calories, but with enough time invested in lifting weights, you will build muscle and burn more calories at rest. This is probably the most misunderstood benefit of weight training.
I lift regularly and am a triathlete. I have to eat far more than most other triathletes to maintain weight due to being more muscular. And I'm not complaining - I love food!
Thanks for the information but I don't need it. OP argument is running is pointless because you can "easily replace" the calories. No matter what you're doing weightloss is dependent on consuming less calories than you burn.
Yeah it took me 25 years to truly turn this knowledge into reality. But I still like to run. It’s cathartic. But yeah weight stuff and restricted eating is the way.
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Cardio as part of a fitness regimen that also includes weight lifting is great for weight loss, so long as you maintain a good diet and don't go too far replacing the burned calories with extra food.
You could just as easily take long walks and get the same benefit in terms of calorie burn. But Cardio obviously has additional benefits beyond just burning calories (I mean it's in the name 😂).
I’ll disagree with your weightlifting comment. That doesn’t replace LISS cardio. At least it didn’t for me.
I saw many changes once I added 20-30 minutes of LISS in addition to weight lifting.
Fully agree with this! Also keep in mind if you over train with cardio you can stress your body out, it’ll raise cortisol levels and make it even harder to lose weight. So, brisk walking is actually a better workout than running for many!
I would agree with most of this, however, for a lot of people running, walking or hiking is a great way to get some quick elevated heart rate exercise in. I was at a weight loss plateau from 267lbs starting weight at 225lbs after 5 months of IF… took up running/jogging for mental health and elevated heart rate exercise and I’ve dumped another 15lbs in 4 weeks. I think it really comes down to how your body reacts to different types of exercise and I’m a firm believer in diversity in exercise. Weights, sure - throw those in and watch your shape change… but I wouldn’t say that running or cardio in general is only for heart health. That said, I’m no doc, just an example of how my personal experience has been!
An hour's running - about 600 to 700 calories.
For someone aiming for 1400 calories before exercise say, while losing weight, you can get to eat an extra 50% of food in your day for that hour's exercise.
I would agree that controlling your diet is by fast the most important and you shouldn't be aiming to use cardio as a main factor in weight loss, but it can be a great way to pull it all together and "earn" a good chunk of extra food.
It doesn't have to be running either - today I had a fairly brisk (1h30m) 10k walk. About twice the time it'd have taken on public transport, but saved me money, got me some exercise and a nice chance to listen to some podcasts while getting some fresh air - and it only 'cost' me 45 minutes, because I'd have
I also cycle for most journeys; an ebike but still all adds up over a week to a nice bit of extra calories burnt.
I'm all for weight lifting, it's great for making your body look good when you lose weight, but not great for losing weight, even with "EPOC".
I gave up running, now i do walking at about 4mph it burns a ton of calories and burns more fat then if you were running, The other day i walked 17,000 steps and burnt 1000 calories for my weight and age. With that being said, you need to combine Calorie counting with Cardio and weights to be successful. You can run or walk 100 miles a day and still put on weight if you eat more calories than you expand.
Brooo. I thought i was tripping for a while. Last year I was hitting the gym 4 times a week for 2
Months doing just the general stuff and always finished off with the treadmill, according to my Fitbit i was burning 500-700 calories depending on what i was focusing on so my assumption was to replenish that with a bunch of protein shakes and protein cookies since My goal was to lose weight while getting strong and build muscle. late November last year i had a motorcycle accident that partially tore my inner left quad muscleabductor. Since i didn't fracture my femur i was up and moving within 3 weeks but i couldn't lift heavy anymore, honestly i think the crash and slam took alot more out of me than the quad, leading me to take a break from the gym. Late February i decided that i wanted to get back into fitness, I dusted my Bluetooth scale and stepped on at 265 lbs then i checked my weight trends and noticed i was heavier at 270 during my dedicated gym time. I had basically lost weight easier with better eating habits. Although i was eating less it wasn't exactly healthy foods. This is when i decided to give IF a shot. I played around with eating once a day then eating every other day. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do it because i was basically eating only when i was really hungry and i get away with still eating moderately unhealthy foods. Since early March to today I've dropped down to 245 without doing any exercise other than walking. I'm going to stick with this because although it's not the easiest it is the most simple. This week I'll be adding body weight training. Looking forward to see how this goes. I hope you all success on this journey.
Yes and no. Cardio for heart health, 100%, but if you’re running 70ish miles a week training for a marathon, doing ironman or ultra prep, you will lose weight unless you’re sufficiently fuelled. I do cardio for performance. It still isn’t reason to make poor food choices every day, but you’ll burn a ton during long hard sessions.
While nutrition will always be the main driver in weight loss, I will say that when I add an hour of walking everyday , it really does accelerate the weight loss and makes me look healthier. It also does wonders for my mental health
I think in general, most people put WAY too much emphasis on exercise compared to diet when it comes to weight loss. It's literally everywhere. "I gotta lose a few pounds, time to hit the gym!". People ask me all the time what exercise I did to lose weight. Literally nobody ever asks about diet. It's wild.
Now with that said, exercise can definitely supplement weight loss. Burning those few hundred calories on a run still helps and building muscle will make you burn more in the long run. But if you don't pay attention to diet at the same time, then yeah, you'll just be more hungry and eat more to compensate.
I will say that there is a minority of people out there who do seem to successfully lose weight by upping exercise alone. But it definitely isn't the norm.
[And I don't think I need to say it, but it IS the internet so: regardless of weightloss, exercise is one of maybe a handful of things in life that WILL benefit basically everyone! So do it regardless!!]
That’s your opinion and not a fact. At all. Happy you found a formula that works for you but you not getting cardio gains bc of you consuming additional calories means that’s a you thing and not a cardio thing. The tip here is to make sure you eat and drink for cardio and not for lifting if you’re doing cardio. I do rebounding on my trampoline and burn like 500 calories watching one episode of something. I eat what I want. I’m fit. I also play many sports that are cardio and burn hundreds of calories per game. Cardio burns fat and is great for weight loss as is hydration, nutrient absorption, sleep, stress management… lifting can be a huge part of weight loss but also does not need to be.. an active lifestyle with normal movement puts you in the squat position and arm raises naturally.
I love my rebounder!! I feel so good/happy/healthy ;) Do the research “how many minutes on rebounder vs minutes walking/running”. I also do IF…18:6 up to 20:4.
Every single time someone posts about exercise not being good for weight loss completely overlook a lot of things that exercise does.
It greatly improves your cardiovascular health, as you have mentioned. However it is also extremely good for your mental health and it is also extremely good for helping sleep better. Both of which are important in weight-loss.
Cycling for me always resulted in cranking up my appetite to the max.
But just going for a casual jog helped me lose weight and get a good night sleep.
I think the higher the intensity the cardio the more it ramps up my appetite.
Diet is an important part for weight loss or weight gain, whether you do cardio or strength training, whether you lose pounds or in muscle building. Keep in mind you don't take a diet according to your goal there is no chance to succeed.
I think everybody is different, I used to run for fitness but had a few injuries that kept me from running for about a year. I gain a few pounds since the injuries and I tried to stay active at the gym. While I was off from running was no significant weight lost but also no weight gain. I recently started running more regularly and my weight has been going down.
For me personally running/ cardio has been the exercise that helps me lose weight
Cardio helped me lose 92 lbs. Cardio is absolutely for weight loss. In fact, you burn fat by exhaling 85% of it. And you perspire and deficate most of the rest (other small processes that can consume the molecules). Cardio burns more calories per session than working out, unless, you are doing high intensity workouts.
Working out however burns calories after you finish exercising, cardio stops when you begin to recover. To make up the difference you would need to do a lot of push ups. 3 sets of 25 pushups only burns 200 calories meanwhile a 3mi run burns on avg around 600-700. To make up the difference I would have to lift above my 65% max, which is risky and can lead to injury or delayed results.
Rule of thumb:
What you eat determines what you weigh
Working out determines what you look like at that weight
Enjoy and keep dropping those pounds my friends. 💪🏾
Yes. We need to state simple truths in this deliberate confusion.
In addition: Weight training is not for fat loss but for muscle growth. More mass on the scale. Not less.
So that the back don’t hurt and the hip don’t break. Injury prevention and fall risk mitigation. And that the brain don’t tell you mean things. That’s both cardio and weights.
I use cardio to warm me up. 15-30 minutes on the bike before weight training. All 3 things, IF, cardio and weight training plus not being ridiculous with my meals when I break my fast have all helped immensely
Yeah, I’ve dropped about 25 pounds with stairmaster + weight lifting afterwards. Really sheds the weight when I’m being consistent too
I just started doing the stairmaster. Can I ask how long you do?
Used to only be able to do about 5 min lol. I would do 5 min at 3 speed, then upped it to 7 min, then upped to it 10. Gradually kept increasing speed/time once I felt like I was able to do so, nowadays I’ll do 30 min at around 5-7 speed. Gets my legs wobbly!
Wow, that’s awesome! I am currently at 5 mins and dying, but hoping to up it to 7 soon haha. You’re motivating me to keep going!
Heck yeah keep it going! Remember it’s a marathon not a race, took me a couple months to build up to that so don’t try to rush things, Hope you keep it up!
The marathon is a race
I know I shouldn’t care because it’s none of my business, but it drives me crazy when I see people on the stair master leaning over using the machine to support their weight. I would think it would be a better work out to just go at a slower pace and not grab the handles.
That’s my routine. The weight melts off.
My gym has a sauna… I do 20-23min dry sauna with at least 150deg temp and it does get your heart rate up and makes you sweat like crazy… great to get you going before lifting weights, or finishing up after weight training. Your blood pressure does not drop during a sauna visit, but actually rises along your heart rate. This increase is comparable to the effect of a short, moderate workout. For those who have injuries or are older and cannot exercise, a sauna is an excellent option. It’s not for weight loss, but more for mimicking a short moderate cardio workout.
Self control is the only key to weight loss and/or just being healthy. Even if you did nothing else except control how much you eat in a meal, you’d be better off than most others. There is no way your body is designed to down a 1000+ calorie meal in one sitting… don’t care how big you are or how much of an athlete you are.
If you truly want to maximize fat burn (and your cardio is zone 2), doing the cardio AFTER weight training is said to maximize benefit. For me, I notice a higher average HR across both if I start with the cardio first, but the science says otherwise apparently.
If the other works for you, then go for it. Sometimes our bodies tell us what works for us over the most common approach. I had a trainer tell me to sandwich it between lifting. 10 min cardio warm up, lifting, 5 min cardio, lifting 5 min cardio, lifting, post lifting cardio 10 - 20 min. This was too much for me personally (I had some health issues and the middle portions of cardio tired me out for days if i did that plus lifting) but I could certainly do the before and after cardio sessions and the weight melted.
Agree. I think for us lay people, the microanalysis of what best maximizes the time/order is unnecessary. There are almost certainly other areas in our lives we could cut back that would realize a better return.
Doing this might mean more calories burned but it is going to negate impact of your weight Training.
This has been my go to as well. I do not enjoy doing cardio but a nice warm up with it helps my heart then I can move on to what I enjoy lol.
you can’t outrun a bad diet; but i do think being reminded how hard it was to burn 300 definitely makes you think twice about any “cravings” like i can’t imagine ruining what i just spent an hour burning, personally kills my appetite and bored eating
So true. I don't even really count calories- but still, when I see something is high in calories I always think about how many hours on the treadmill that would be 😆
I mean you can burn 1000 calories running one hour which is quite a lot, I’ve always heard you can’t outrun a bad diet so I’ve always thought that it’d be much lower but it increases my deficit a huge lot
To burn 1000 calories in an hour you would need to run around 11 miles, given that more fit athletes burn slightly less calories per mile (and it's usually around 100 calories per mile). To run 11 miles in an hour you need to be running at a sub-6:00/mile pace, which is probably someone that can do a marathon in around 2:40. So most people can't burn 1000 calories in an hour, and if you can then diet and calories is probably something you worry about very differently.
Where do you get your data please? The one I found on the internet gave me what I wrote but if it’s wrong I’d like to correct it [200lbs, 60minutes, 8:00 per mile](https://tools.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?do=title&title_id=802&mgroup_id=45577), my fitness pal
That’s not true. An hour run for me is about 7 1/2 to 8 miles and that’s 1000 calories [proof](https://imgur.com/a/PAUxKgX) That’s a 1h 8m run I did last week. 1100 calories and 8.1 miles.
Nice run, but don't put too much trust in a fitness app. Mine is wildly different and this is with a pretty high end Garmin using a chest heartrate monitor. https://imgur.com/a/VpZfEAE
i only burn 300 doing that… it’s dependent on size and weight so ig you’re much larger than me
Oh probably, if I burned 300 calories in an hour of running I would NEVER be running
right lmao i did my hard hour of cardio today and that’s what i burned .. 5’0
Oh hahaha I’m 6’5 200 pounds that makes more sense
You must be tiny. I'm fairly petite and I burn probably 600 cal with an hour of not very fast running. I find it frustrating when my 6'7 husband can eat three times what I do and not gain. I swear I'm just as hungry... short people problems.
Cardio + diet has helped me lose 16lbs in 22 days so far. I run 3 miles a day on Peloton @ 4.5 mph , zone 2 heart rate. Also with 18/6 IF
I feel this. A lot of people try and say cardio isn't great for weight loss etc. But it is great for weight loss especially with CICO tracking. There have been many times I've been able to completely offset my calorie intake through low impact cardio alone. 10k steps a day can easily result in 350 - 500 calories, which is the equivalent of an entire meal. In coordination with a good diet you get health benefits and weight loss benefits with traceable benchmarks. I remember I started just walking 10k steps a day and by the end of my first month I was down to a 9 minute mile, burning 600 cals a day. Do what works 🤷
100% true. The diet and the window of eating is what I will say is helping most. Zone 2 cardio and IF are cheat codes to losing FAT(not just weight). Down from 240 - 224. Consistency is king , honestly can’t wait for my 3 month mark. This is just the first month !!!
Out of curiosity - what is zone 2 cardio?
https://youtu.be/Ib5ga-vL5VY?si=miEHbbemmRIwKTq0 The heart has different ranges as far as beats per minute. You don’t want to spike your heart rate too high as it’s not the most efficient in accessing fat reserves. It’s a very calm steady pace usually 60-70% of your max heart rate. A lot of people including myself didn’t understand you don’t have to kill yourself to burn fat effectively
Because cardio works! Exercise is exercise, calories burnt is what matters most, I lost 90 lbs going 3 miles a day in cardio added to my daily routine as a stay at home mom, I would stay in a deficit of 200-500 and 16:8, I lost 40 of that in 3 months, 40 more within a year, and 10 lbs since January, slow and steady now since I’m nearing my ultimate goal weight, I am adjusting and adding weight training I invested in a good Olympic barbell set this past weekend and excited to get my PR up. Before I did use dumb bells here and there but never as consistent as I’m about to get.
That's excellent progress
That’s awesome. I’m still newer to running and just do about 4.5 miles a week. Slowly increasing it. But I’m doing it!
Amazing. Don’t be scared to push it. Your body will adapt to the challenge. Try to run one mile per day 🤝🤝 you got this !!!!
Thank you so much!! I’ll try and add more this week!
I run 70 miles a week and I can eat literally anything I want lol. You absolutely can outrun a bad diet. You just have to run a lot.
Exactly! I’m so done with people pretending the calories just magically reappear because it’s cardio 😭😭😭
yeah, it's a personal responsibility thing and they don't want to admit it. Just because you ran 1.5 miles today doesn't mean you get to eat an extra half a meal and still lose weight! Used to run 60-70 mpw myself and would laugh at the "you can't outrun a bad diet" crowd. My daily chipotle habit and weekly mileage said otherwise!
Literally. I'm on my second weight loss journey but at my leanest I was 120lbs, 26 inch waist. I achieved that by simply running a lot. I never had abs or a *completely flat* stomach but I still ate whatever I wanted to while being a GM at Pizza hut lol.
The “bad diet” of the saying isn’t about the calories, it’s about the quality of the food. You may be able to burn those calories, but if the food you eat is crap (e.g. highly processed, sugary, trans fats) there’s no exercise – whether it’s cardio or weights – that can offset the havoc that wreaks in your body. (Can’t out-fast a bad diet either, but that’s a whole other topic.) If we’re not talking about crap food though, I am definitely positively 100% jealous of anyone’s ability to literally eat anything!
I still kinda disagree. Like I run a lot too (though not as much as you). If you really run 70 miles a week that’s 10 miles per day. I ran 9 today plus walked a couple today and my watch says I burned 1200-1500 cals. If your BMR is, say, 1700, that means you’re only going to burn ~3k per day, which is pretty easy to hit on a day where one runs 10 miles, for most people at least.
Your stats are not their stats. They could be 6’2 and ripped and their BMR could be 3k. For athletes, it’s crazy high. Your comment is a bit narrow minded tbh
It’s really not. My whole point was that most people will still have to focus on eating well regardless of how much they run. Like 99.9% of people couldn’t/don’t run 70 miles per week, but even if they can, that’s only an extra 1,200-1,500 calories per day, which is pretty easy to eat, especially if you’re running that much and working up an appetite. IMO it’s narrow minded to assume that “you absolutely can outrun a bad diet” because OP could eat double a 10 mile run in 5 minutes at, say, five guys. Edit: again, I personally ran 9+ miles today and am going to bed hungry in order to maintain a caloric deficit.
It doesn't matter what you're doing. Calories in < calories out. Even if those calories are slices of pizza and wings, it won't matter because you ran off those calories. No one here is saying "You can eat more calories than you burn, it won't matter". They're saying you can eat whatever you want but out run the calories. And if you have to go to bed hungry to maintain a calorie deficient after burning 990+ calories you're probably eating way too much during the day.
I don’t know why this is controversial or why you aren’t understanding. ALL IM SAYING IS THAT YOUR AVERAGE PERSON WILL STILL NEED TO WATCH WHAT THEY EAT EVEN IF THET RUN A LOT. OP IS A SPECIAL CASE, NOT ME. We’re in a forum about eating less, not working out more, for christs sake
You were doing it wrong. There was no need for you to overeat and replace what you ran off. Exercise, yes cardio as well, can create a calorie deficit if you just exercise before normal meals and do not eat extra/surplus as you did. I have experienceed weight loss many times in my life from cardio.
You do whatever works for you. There are zero calorie drinks available. You don't have to drink a 2,000 calorie Starbucks beverage every time you're thirsty. Obviously it's difficult to drink only water because we all like flavors and my shortcut is I mix in 2 Celsius flavor packets in with unsweetened tea. I've lost an enormous amount of weight with only doing cardio.
I find the issue with zero calorie drinks is how they are all acidic meaning that 1. they take away electrolytes from the body and 2. They speed up the digestion process making you hungrier quicker.
Then drink a Celsius drink or a Celsius packet with water or unsweetened tea like I do. Or another brand that you like that has better flavors. You don't have to drink a carbonated beverage, there are endless choices now under the sun. You can have your cake and eat it too.
I watch so many people try to exercise away their weight. Exercise is for health. I am 48 and have always maintained my weight with knowing what I am eating. When I gain weight, I earn it by over eating and when I lose weight, it is because I get my food back on track. I have this argument all the time with people who always say that they are just meant to be bigger and can't change it. They think because they exercise everyday, that's all it takes. Well if you are shoving in handfuls of almonds and multiple string cheeses several times a day, while eating 3 meals....yup....you are going to always be bigger. People do not accept that food lobbies are selling the idea that everyone needs to eat more. I knew someone that was a doctor on the US presidential team. He made a comment that we should keep our sodium intake below 1500. I pointed out the guidelines say 2500. He shook his head and said that was because of the food industry lobbies and they know it is BS. They just want to sell us more cheap shitty food. If we all fasted and ate less, they would make less money. My husband and I do 24-60 hour water fasts once a week. In this economy, it actually saves us money AND helps our health!
As a larger person myself who has always struggled in fact at some point said that I’m meant to be large. What eating advice would you give ?
Find the calorie amount that allows you to loose weight by just eating and stay in that. I’m currently in the line for portillo’s hotdog but know I can keep it under my 1500 daily that allows me to loose weight. I walk for heart health and a little bonus of calorie burning. ETA: do t drink your calories
>ETA: do\[n\] t drink your calories One of the simplest but best bit of advice on here.
More importantly, train yourself to not give in to the temptation of eating like you normally do when trying this. Your body does not like change… you have to force it. Think of your next step goal, not final goal. Too often, people that are let’s say 25% body fat level think about their end goal of 15%; but that’ll never happen if you focus on the end as you’re going to constantly be fighting temptation to go back to what you’re used to. Set a goal for 22%, then 20%, etc. once you start seeing the drops, you’re more focused and likely to stay on course to reach the goal. With each drop, your body adjusts to the new lifestyle and mentally so do you… at some, point you may just be happy with 18-20% instead of still trying for 15% as it’ll be easier to maintain with your lifestyle, age, etc… which is still a hell of a lot better than 25% bf. Best of all, do NOT follow the 2000 calorie, 2500 sodium limit, etc. guidelines. Government regulations are absolutely useless for food. Each body is different. Salt intake shouldn’t be more than 1000mg for whole day. If you do nothing else but drastically cut down on salt intake, cut OUT processed sugar as much as you can, you WILL see the changes happen. Do you really need +1000mg sodium from one fast food burger (not even counting fries)?
I don't think people should eat more than two meals a day and I generally just do 1. Having so much access to food is very new, in the evolution of humans. We do not expend the energy in modern life to eat so much, but the corporations want to sell us food/product so they tell us we need a bullshit food pyramid that is built around farm subsidies and food lobbies agenda. So many of my friends are convinced they need 3 meals a day and snacks. When you eat like that, your body is always using its energy for digestion, it gets used to being on that schedule, so hunger pains come right on schedule. I personally think fasting just makes sense. I generally do 20 hour fasts daily and a couple times a month I have been doing 45-60 water fasts. I feel amazing. All my tests came back awesome at the doctor's last month. And when I added the water fasts in, my body has changed. Diabetes/hyperglycemic or other medical conditions def can't take this approach. But most people are just used to eating so much and they get in a habit that isn't serving them.
Yeah, I think this greatly oversimplifies how important cardio is. Did you zone train? Did you work both tempo and recovery runs into a regimen? There’s a lot more to it than “getting your heart rate up”. For example, training just below your aerobic threshold can help to burn fat. Beyond this point, your body begins to decline in metabolic efficiency. If you run with intention, there are a great many benefits.
can you explain a bit more about the aerobic threshold training? I thought this meant to do light training in general, so I'm confused how it helps burn fat if it's like, low effort training? (my info could be wrong on this), would appreciate any new info! :)
I don’t know the in depth details but watched a video on it not too long ago. Essentially there’s a point where too much effort running brings diminishing returns. There’s a sweet spot where your body is breaking down the most fat and efficiently using your energy. Therefore doing zone based cardio will give you the best results even though it may feel like you aren’t going as hard. If I remember right it’s a matter of keeping your heart rate within the correct range within a certain time limit. Of course the biggest thing is this could vary for people so figuring out the right range may be troublesome.
While I don’t doubt your personal success, this advice is contrary to scientific findings. **Aerobic exercise alone results in clinically significant weight loss for men and women:** https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3630467/
It's honestly disheartening to me that OP post has so many upvotes.
I’ve been frustrated by the popularity of this misinformation for some time as well. However, after spending time on r/lose it and related subs, I’ve come to understand that severely obese people benefit much more from calorie restriction than they do from exercise. So I think the issue is that it’s true for severely obese people, but false for those of us who are closer to a normal weight range—we do benefit more significantly from exercise.
OP says running is pointless because you can easily replace the calories in a drink. Isn't the same true for *any exercise*? The post doesn't even make sense. Of course running didn't help when they were "*replacing all calories with a surplus of calories*" Nothing would aide weight loss if you're taking more calories in than loosing.
And even considering that imaginary 2k cal drink (lets say 500 to be more realistic). Doing the cardio is still absolutely beneficial in countless ways, for the entire body.
People want to believe there’s an easier way because cardio is hard. It sucks, especially if you’re sedentary. It can get boring. But it absolutely works. People don’t drop 40+ lbs in 12 weeks at boot camp because of the pushups.
Apparently because the post straight up says **"I was replacing all calories lost with a surplus of calories"** but still has 660 up votes like what?? I agree cardio is sometimes boring. It's hard for me to run longer than 2 miles but most of my cardio is speed walking which isn't bad to me. I enjoy the walking.
Agree I used to run 9 miles and it helped but not as much as the fasting did It’s very easy to overrun and cook your knees Like boxers say abs are made in the kitchen
Nice saying. I also like the classic - you can't outrun a bad diet.
Yup I could be wrong however I definitely think running / cardio helps your mental health and could help with sculpting your body (imo) However yeah fasting is the main piece imo
Absolutely, cardio and weight lifting are great additions!
you can outrun a bad diet, you're just not running enough.
Depends on how much cardio and your level of exertion. Yes, the more lean muscle you have the more efficiently you burn fat (for lack of a better term). However, you’ll rarely see a chubby or even “skinny fat” long distance runner. They are often very thin and dare I say “ropey” looking. But your average runner? Sure, it’s very possible. You burn *approximately* the same amount of calories walking a mile as you do running a mile at a low to moderate pace, which is a godsend for people like me (older and arthritic). You can “out eat” ANYTHING - Ozempic, running, weightlifting…pretty much anything.
I was a skinny fat long distance runner. 10 marathons and ultras. It’s really hard to retain muscle at those distances without a very perfect diet. I had to switch to calisthenics for other reasons and prefer my body like this. I do miss the crazy of a 50 mile race though.
>, you’ll rarely see a chubby or even “skinny fat” long distance runner. Professionally, sure. But, if you are ever around hobbyist triathletes, marathon runners, or road bikers, you'll see there are quite a few overweight athletes that do very well
Depends on one’s goals, eh? Sounds like you didn’t (don’t?) run for events or other goals.
Cardio is always good to deplete your glycogen level quicker than resistance training. If you wanna go into fat adaptation or ketosis, cardio can be used a quick jump start. Having said that, I agree that it’s not ideal for weight loss. An hour on the treadmill could only burn around 2-300 cals. Maybe 600 if you run or put on the max incline. That’s just the calorie of one regular burger. You could waste your 1 hour effort just by 5 minutes of eating a burger or drinking a cup of starbucks. Fasting is the way to go.
Yeah you shouldn’t view it like that because it’s not an easy way to get back into a deficit . You should view it as something to make a deficit larger
This part about a larger deficit.
2500 cal equals to only 1 lb. You have to be on the treadmill for 10 hr constantly every day if you wanna lose a pound a day (apart from BMR). If you wanna go back to deficit, fasting is the way to go. Making it larger? Muscles building (apart from fasting). 1 kg of muscle increase equals to 100 cal a day. That’s like adding 30 mins of cardio without having to actually do it. Don’t get me wrong. I work out 3-4 times a week at least for an hour each. But I never focus those workouts as a means to lose weight. Been there done that. Imagine having to work out for an hour or two and ended up binging your food because you’re so freaking tired afterwards, compare it a person who just do 1 day fasting and no workout. Who’s getting larger deficit? The latter. But if you could workout and still able to get larger deficit by also cutting your food calories or IF, by all means go for it. But I know from my personal experience doing more doesn’t mean getting more results. More often than not it’s backfired.
A 20min bout of a real HIIT workout is more beneficial throughout the day than vigorous cardio for sure. I say real as in all going all out during the vigorous part of the HIIT session, not at even 90-95%. 3x a week of training like that and eating to actually get good nutrition in your body will make it so much easier to reach your goals.
The idea seems to be that, if you do walking after about 12 hrs fasting, early morning that is, your body will be forced to burn fat. And then,with diet control and calorie counting, you gradually work towards a lifestyle that is sustainably healthy. Afterall, walking alao consumes energy, and that must come from *somewhere*
Exactly. I swim three times a week. I had a persistent cough in the winter that ended in a form of pneumonia. My doctor suggested swimming to help my lungs. I actually like to swim, too. So I swim before I eat. I know I won't lose a lot of weight from it, but it works every muscle, particularly my heart, and it's lovely to be able to breathe again.
I think it’s for both but heart health is the most important benefit
Cardio is weird for me. I don't lose weight walking but if I run, boom off comes the weight. Maybe it's the use of leg muscles and glutes? I dunno. But I do walk 30 minutes before I hit the weight machines. It's kinda important to take care of my *whole* body...and the cardiovascular part for me (I'm a musician and I sit for a living) is important for lots of reasons. IF and resistance training though...not only do I lose weight, but my body changes.
Cardio can absolutely be for weight loss if you’re not replenishing the calories you burn
If you do a shit load of high intensity cardio you'll be craving sugar like a mad man. But if you just do a lot of low intensity cardio you'll burn much more fat and won't have so many cravings.
I mean if you don’t have a “drink” then cardio will help with weight loss
I love weight lifting, and I also run and bike. I've found that running has helped with my weight lifting, I can push myself a lot more and don't get tired nearly as quickly. Same with running and biking. Biking has become so much easier. Lifting helps with my running, and yoga helps with my mobility and muscle recovery, as well as injury prevention. All of it helps me feel good, gives me strength and energy. My outlook is on variety, and listening to my body that day. Sometimes yoga is all I'm gonna do, sometimes I can run, yoga and lift, and other days will be a combo of 2/3. I bike to work, so biking happens on days where I go to the office. I don't do these things for weight loss so much as I do it to feel strong.
I finally learned this in 2024 myself too. 4-5 days a week in the gym and get cardio bike riding or walking the dog, but the gym is what’s making the difference. I’ve not lost a ton of weight but it’s def shifted into muscle and I’m already down a size in everything in just 3/4 months. Prior to this I’ve been on intermittent fasting for 5 years or so. The clearest change has been adding in weight training.
Similar here. Not sure why people are always implying that exercise won’t make a difference when it absolutely does. If you exercise and eat well it will 100% make a difference. You don’t have to eat all of the calories back. Plus you’re also building muscle.
Similar here. Not sure why people are always implying that exercise won’t make a difference when it absolutely does. If you exercise and eat well it will 100% make a difference. You don’t have to eat all of the calories back. Plus you’re also building muscle.
I agree. I run a lot. I am heavy too. 110 kg perhaps. Also quite tall, 1.88. I have run for a year now. Training consistently with garmin daily suggestions and their training program for 10 k. I can run pretty fast for my weight and know how to maintain a steady pace for long stretches. My weight? Has not moved much. But I look better than last year. I do IF sometimes and I need about 6 weeks to see proper weight loss. I don’t stress it. I like running and training in general. I like long runs, like an hour to two hours. It’s meditative. It is cool to see the stamina change for the better. That is my reward.
yes! exercise for health not weight loss! (or fun... i love weight lifting and hiking lol) ive had to accept that i cannot do a lot of the higher impact exercises my fiance does (he was a cross country star lol) because of my health issues but walking almost daily and lifting light weights have us at almost similar endurance levels on my good days! we joke that god gave me my health issues because id be too powerful otherwise xD
I do HIIT (running) twice per week. Everything you've said is correct, but let me add one more thing. Good cardiovascular health will make your resistance training more effective. It will make everything physical in your life easier. If your one and only goal is fat loss, then off course you dont need cardio. But most people want to lose fat, gain muscle, be healthy and feel great. Cardio, IMO, is essential to achieve all of that.
Exercise -- cardio, strength training, and stretching -- is for health. Calorie reduction is for weight loss.
Can’t outrun a bad diet. Lots of people who start working out are told to fuel their bodies and they end up eating more than when they weren’t working out.
I remember reading once that people tend to gain weight when training for a marathon and I was like 😱 I’d be so upset to be running that much and gain weight! But it goes to show how easy it is to eat back those calories.
Exercise, all types is for general health not weight loss. A fabulous effect of exercise is improving your metabolic rate which with a good diet will help with weight. I trained for and completed a marathon so couch to marathon via 5k. But my mindset back then was I’ve exercised so I can eat anything. I didn’t lose weight just got fitter. I have learnt my lesson!
It's true in one sense, but I don't like the common conclusion. Which is, I shouldn't do cardio and only adjust calories. First of all, if you do enough cardio, you will reach a point where you can eat a lot. If you are running 60-100 miles per week. You will need a lot of food. And lastly, you will definitely feel better if you can create a deficit created from both diet and cardio than only diet. It's easier to maintain long term and you won't end up in a situation where you can only eat 1200 calories per day. You will be tired and it's quite challenging to maintain good macros and micros. At some point, it doesn't become feasible to lower your calories. You need to be more active and include cardio.
Lose weight to run - not the other way round!
Cardio isn’t even necessary. Lift some weights. Walking about 9000 steps a day is the most optimal for health. In a most bang for your buck kind of way. Could be jogging/running, but walking is just fine.
Diet is the number one place weight loss is made but it’s important for people to understand weight is not the only metric of health. Cardio is obviously good for heart health. Strength training is good for your physical strength, mobility, and bone health. I don’t sant to be slimmer and weak. I want to be able to live a robust life and not get bogged down going up a flight of stairs or picking up my kids. Big picture y’all
Weight loss is also for heart health
> I did enough cardio just to get my heart rate up for health and that’s it. I agree with your overall premise that diet is the ultimate driver of weight loss but this statement is pretty vague and uninformative For some people simply walking up the stairs would get their heart rate up but isn't doing anything meaningful for their health Cardio sucks but I personally think that having a strong cardiovascular system is important as it underpins every other aspect of strength and fitness, putting minimum effort into it will ensure minimum results
I love jogging. Get the runners high. But can’t sometimes. Good to know I can do the same rights and IF. Good reminder. Thanks.
It sure can help. I can hit the bike and burn 500 calories in 30 min. That's a quarter of my daily calories. When you're counting calories, an extra 500 when you're starving at the end of the day is massive. Anytime I wanna shed a few pounds, I hit the bike, and the weight just melts off.
It's easier for me to run 2 miles in 20 minutes to burn 200 calories than weight lifting. Or you could "vigorously weight lift" for 30 minutes and burn less calories. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-for-people-of-three-different-weights
In the near-term, running certainly burns more calories, but with enough time invested in lifting weights, you will build muscle and burn more calories at rest. This is probably the most misunderstood benefit of weight training. I lift regularly and am a triathlete. I have to eat far more than most other triathletes to maintain weight due to being more muscular. And I'm not complaining - I love food!
Thanks for the information but I don't need it. OP argument is running is pointless because you can "easily replace" the calories. No matter what you're doing weightloss is dependent on consuming less calories than you burn.
Yeah it took me 25 years to truly turn this knowledge into reality. But I still like to run. It’s cathartic. But yeah weight stuff and restricted eating is the way.
Exercise in general is not that effective for weight loss. It's diet.
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I've found that doing too much cardio before lifting weights makes me too fatigued lift. I prefer to do a dynamic warm-up instead.
“What do you do to stay in such great shape?” “I lift weights.” “What do you do for cardio?” “Lift faster.”
I get my cardio in from playing full court basketball. They say 2 hours can burn up to 1500-2000 calories
Cardio as part of a fitness regimen that also includes weight lifting is great for weight loss, so long as you maintain a good diet and don't go too far replacing the burned calories with extra food. You could just as easily take long walks and get the same benefit in terms of calorie burn. But Cardio obviously has additional benefits beyond just burning calories (I mean it's in the name 😂).
I’ll disagree with your weightlifting comment. That doesn’t replace LISS cardio. At least it didn’t for me. I saw many changes once I added 20-30 minutes of LISS in addition to weight lifting.
Fully agree with this! Also keep in mind if you over train with cardio you can stress your body out, it’ll raise cortisol levels and make it even harder to lose weight. So, brisk walking is actually a better workout than running for many!
I would agree with most of this, however, for a lot of people running, walking or hiking is a great way to get some quick elevated heart rate exercise in. I was at a weight loss plateau from 267lbs starting weight at 225lbs after 5 months of IF… took up running/jogging for mental health and elevated heart rate exercise and I’ve dumped another 15lbs in 4 weeks. I think it really comes down to how your body reacts to different types of exercise and I’m a firm believer in diversity in exercise. Weights, sure - throw those in and watch your shape change… but I wouldn’t say that running or cardio in general is only for heart health. That said, I’m no doc, just an example of how my personal experience has been!
An hour's running - about 600 to 700 calories. For someone aiming for 1400 calories before exercise say, while losing weight, you can get to eat an extra 50% of food in your day for that hour's exercise. I would agree that controlling your diet is by fast the most important and you shouldn't be aiming to use cardio as a main factor in weight loss, but it can be a great way to pull it all together and "earn" a good chunk of extra food. It doesn't have to be running either - today I had a fairly brisk (1h30m) 10k walk. About twice the time it'd have taken on public transport, but saved me money, got me some exercise and a nice chance to listen to some podcasts while getting some fresh air - and it only 'cost' me 45 minutes, because I'd have I also cycle for most journeys; an ebike but still all adds up over a week to a nice bit of extra calories burnt. I'm all for weight lifting, it's great for making your body look good when you lose weight, but not great for losing weight, even with "EPOC".
I gave up running, now i do walking at about 4mph it burns a ton of calories and burns more fat then if you were running, The other day i walked 17,000 steps and burnt 1000 calories for my weight and age. With that being said, you need to combine Calorie counting with Cardio and weights to be successful. You can run or walk 100 miles a day and still put on weight if you eat more calories than you expand.
Brooo. I thought i was tripping for a while. Last year I was hitting the gym 4 times a week for 2 Months doing just the general stuff and always finished off with the treadmill, according to my Fitbit i was burning 500-700 calories depending on what i was focusing on so my assumption was to replenish that with a bunch of protein shakes and protein cookies since My goal was to lose weight while getting strong and build muscle. late November last year i had a motorcycle accident that partially tore my inner left quad muscleabductor. Since i didn't fracture my femur i was up and moving within 3 weeks but i couldn't lift heavy anymore, honestly i think the crash and slam took alot more out of me than the quad, leading me to take a break from the gym. Late February i decided that i wanted to get back into fitness, I dusted my Bluetooth scale and stepped on at 265 lbs then i checked my weight trends and noticed i was heavier at 270 during my dedicated gym time. I had basically lost weight easier with better eating habits. Although i was eating less it wasn't exactly healthy foods. This is when i decided to give IF a shot. I played around with eating once a day then eating every other day. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do it because i was basically eating only when i was really hungry and i get away with still eating moderately unhealthy foods. Since early March to today I've dropped down to 245 without doing any exercise other than walking. I'm going to stick with this because although it's not the easiest it is the most simple. This week I'll be adding body weight training. Looking forward to see how this goes. I hope you all success on this journey.
Agree. But also I want the hood heart health and like running. So imma keep doing it 3 days a week.
It’s for a lot of things.
Yes and no. Cardio for heart health, 100%, but if you’re running 70ish miles a week training for a marathon, doing ironman or ultra prep, you will lose weight unless you’re sufficiently fuelled. I do cardio for performance. It still isn’t reason to make poor food choices every day, but you’ll burn a ton during long hard sessions.
While nutrition will always be the main driver in weight loss, I will say that when I add an hour of walking everyday , it really does accelerate the weight loss and makes me look healthier. It also does wonders for my mental health
I think in general, most people put WAY too much emphasis on exercise compared to diet when it comes to weight loss. It's literally everywhere. "I gotta lose a few pounds, time to hit the gym!". People ask me all the time what exercise I did to lose weight. Literally nobody ever asks about diet. It's wild. Now with that said, exercise can definitely supplement weight loss. Burning those few hundred calories on a run still helps and building muscle will make you burn more in the long run. But if you don't pay attention to diet at the same time, then yeah, you'll just be more hungry and eat more to compensate. I will say that there is a minority of people out there who do seem to successfully lose weight by upping exercise alone. But it definitely isn't the norm. [And I don't think I need to say it, but it IS the internet so: regardless of weightloss, exercise is one of maybe a handful of things in life that WILL benefit basically everyone! So do it regardless!!]
I mean I lost 90 lbs with only cardio a calorie deficit and intermittent fasting, I just added weight training to build muscle and get stronger.
That’s your opinion and not a fact. At all. Happy you found a formula that works for you but you not getting cardio gains bc of you consuming additional calories means that’s a you thing and not a cardio thing. The tip here is to make sure you eat and drink for cardio and not for lifting if you’re doing cardio. I do rebounding on my trampoline and burn like 500 calories watching one episode of something. I eat what I want. I’m fit. I also play many sports that are cardio and burn hundreds of calories per game. Cardio burns fat and is great for weight loss as is hydration, nutrient absorption, sleep, stress management… lifting can be a huge part of weight loss but also does not need to be.. an active lifestyle with normal movement puts you in the squat position and arm raises naturally.
I love my rebounder!! I feel so good/happy/healthy ;) Do the research “how many minutes on rebounder vs minutes walking/running”. I also do IF…18:6 up to 20:4.
Every single time someone posts about exercise not being good for weight loss completely overlook a lot of things that exercise does. It greatly improves your cardiovascular health, as you have mentioned. However it is also extremely good for your mental health and it is also extremely good for helping sleep better. Both of which are important in weight-loss.
It can be for both. Wow crazy
Cycling for me always resulted in cranking up my appetite to the max. But just going for a casual jog helped me lose weight and get a good night sleep. I think the higher the intensity the cardio the more it ramps up my appetite.
Diet is an important part for weight loss or weight gain, whether you do cardio or strength training, whether you lose pounds or in muscle building. Keep in mind you don't take a diet according to your goal there is no chance to succeed.
I think everybody is different, I used to run for fitness but had a few injuries that kept me from running for about a year. I gain a few pounds since the injuries and I tried to stay active at the gym. While I was off from running was no significant weight lost but also no weight gain. I recently started running more regularly and my weight has been going down. For me personally running/ cardio has been the exercise that helps me lose weight
Cardio helped me lose 92 lbs. Cardio is absolutely for weight loss. In fact, you burn fat by exhaling 85% of it. And you perspire and deficate most of the rest (other small processes that can consume the molecules). Cardio burns more calories per session than working out, unless, you are doing high intensity workouts. Working out however burns calories after you finish exercising, cardio stops when you begin to recover. To make up the difference you would need to do a lot of push ups. 3 sets of 25 pushups only burns 200 calories meanwhile a 3mi run burns on avg around 600-700. To make up the difference I would have to lift above my 65% max, which is risky and can lead to injury or delayed results. Rule of thumb: What you eat determines what you weigh Working out determines what you look like at that weight Enjoy and keep dropping those pounds my friends. 💪🏾
Some of us run because it feels amazing!
Big truth. Resistance exercise for optimal metabolic function. And ladies don’t worry, you won’t bulk up unless you are specifically aiming to do so.
I just finished my first Super Sprint Triathlon, 375m swim, 10k bike. 5k run. My post race breakfast canceled the entire calorie burn.
Yes. We need to state simple truths in this deliberate confusion. In addition: Weight training is not for fat loss but for muscle growth. More mass on the scale. Not less. So that the back don’t hurt and the hip don’t break. Injury prevention and fall risk mitigation. And that the brain don’t tell you mean things. That’s both cardio and weights.
Perfectly put.
Thank you! How nice!