Cardio, is it enough?

[Gimpyrks]

Jecky - I had definetly turned into an egg person. I love eggs they are so easy to make and very tasty. I'm not much of a cook, or at least I dont feel like I always have the time but I'm slowly trying to change that.

 

Usually when I do have veggies with my meal it is the whole bag (haha) because I'm sometimes really bad at eating leftovers. But I figure veggies can't be all that bad for you.

Great ideas thank you!

[Snny]

Oh, I also never count calories. I know this sounds silly but I have always said I will never get to the point of counting calories.

That's part of your problem right there. I've actually lost a couple inches due to monitoring how much I consume. You have to measure it out base on your activity level of each day to notice changes. If you consume a higher amount of calories than you should, then you will gain weight.

 

Pasta is good for running... but not as an everyday meal. Lean meats are the way to go. And as others said... if you are just doing cardio, you are not exercising other parts of your body and the fat you're trying to lose will actually SHIFT to those areas that are being ignored. According to the American Heart Association, you only need 2 hours of cardio per week.

 

Do some core weight lifting to tone your othr muscles. Since you are on a budget I highly recommend investing in kettleballs and a kettleball fitness DVD. It will work out your back, your arms, your butt AND your abs. You are also a college student... you have access to an on-campus gym as well.

[SarahRose]

A good idea is also to figure out when you pack in a lot of weight. My boyfriend and I go grab tons of junk food at the grocery store twice a week. Ice cream, candies, cakes, croissants, chips, alcohol etc... We both tend to eat quite a bit of the food, and not really hold ourselves down to one portion. If you have any habits like this, then either try to get rid of them or work around them.

 

Thanks for mentioning this! The pounds can really pack on with a husband or boyfriend who can eat anything and never gain an ounce and they love fast food and sweets. Yeah he is 6 foot 5 and one of those tall string bean types and I am the shorty. He loves junk and will order pizzas and he'll order 3 and he will eat them and I eat 2 pieces at the most and pack on the pounds from it. He will eat practically 3 entire pizzas and never gain an ounce. It is so unfair! lol

[Mercurial Girl]

 

the fat you're trying to lose will actually SHIFT to those areas that are being ignored.

 

Whaaaat? No...fat does not run away from abs and immigrate into the country of the buttocks when you do sit ups but not squats.

[Thorshammer]

Whaaaat? No...fat does not run away from abs and immigrate into the country of the buttocks when you do sit ups but not squats.

 

^^^ True, you cant spot reduce fat. When you workout a body-part you are working on the muscle, you can have muscle underneath fat. Fat is burnt by the body, the body decides where it will strip it from.

[twentiesgirl86]

I'm kind of wondering the same thing about cardio. I start a weightloss competition at work next week. Normally I lift weights when I work out, but if I am going to be in a weightloss challenge then weight lifting isn't an option. All it will do is make me gain weight in muscle. So I am hoping I can do cardio and lose about 16 pounds. It's eight weeks, and so if I can do 2 pounds per week, or two and a half that should be enough. I actually want to lose about 20 but that might not be realistic in 8 weeks. That doesn't mean I won't stop trying to lose weight after the challenge. This is just a jump start to my weight loss, and hopefully after the challenge I will continue to lose weight and eat healthy. I am in a team of four people, so I have three people to help support me.

[Snny]

Whaaaat? No...fat does not run away from abs and immigrate into the country of the buttocks when you do sit ups but not squats.

 

It happened to me when I only did workouts that focused on abs only. My back and hips got "chunkier" because I was not working the muscles around those areas. It's why I went with a trainer who shows me how to do core workouts.

[Thorshammer]

If that were true than bodybuilders wouldnt work their biceps and chests for growth. Sprinters would have small legs, those ring gymnast would have small arms. None of them do, tension on a muscle forces it to grow, not decrease. Burning fat decreases fat, and your body decides where its burned (just like you cant decide where the fat goes to in the first place), otherwise people doing cardio like running, treadmill, would have boney legs and big upper-bodies.

 

So, there was probably another factor at play for losing abdominal fat (which is genetics, when i do any exercise that burns enough calories my abs poke out like rocks and i only started doing ab workouts 3 weeks ago), but science and research does not support spot-reduction (its a myth, something that sells videos for commerical reasons). There was one recent study that people like to quote for spot-reduction, but its not taken serious considering that the effect was minimal at best, and real world experience shows its not possible.

 

And it depends on what core workouts, you can hit your butt and hips with a lot of core workouts.

[nfusion]

You can do the elliptical, but try other machines such as the stairmaster, bike, treadmill, etc. I would add in some weight training too. I agree with Thorshammer, don't skip meals. Keep your metabolism working by eating 5-6 times a day, typically 3 meals, 3 snacks. Your diet is critical to losing weight, if you workout but don't eat well, it defeats the purpose.. Combining a good diet with consistent fitness, will help you reach your goal.

 

Good Luck.

[Gracelove]

A trainer told me that he and his friends basically never do cadio. They just lift weights. I don't remember everything he said, but I guess if you lift tons of weight and build lots of muscle you won't have to do cardio anymore.

[F63]

Hey everyone

I have finally decided that it's time to get into better shape. I am 5'8" and weight about 155 (last time i checked)

I wouldn't say i am overweight but I do have some body fat that isn't desirable haha. This morning I did 20 minutes on the eliptical on the fat burn option. Is 20 minutes 3-4 times a week going to be enough to loose some weight?

You can do all the cardio you want. However, if your diet isn't in check, you won't make any progress.

[F63]

It happened to me when I only did workouts that focused on abs only. My back and hips got "chunkier" because I was not working the muscles around those areas. It's why I went with a trainer who shows me how to do core workouts.

You can't spot-reduce fat.

 

EDIT: Also, no homo, but do you bodybuild, Thor?

[Angler]

Aside from working out, the best thing you can do to burn fat is to alter your eating patterns.

 

Eat the majority of your carbs 1-2 hours post-workout only.

 

The rest of the day is for veggies and protein. Minimize any carb intake pre-workout.

[pl3asehelp]

I think 40 min at least 4 times a week would be about the minimum you could do to see any benefits.

[cupcake22]

Cut down on carbs and you'll see results.

[F63]

Agreed on the carbs, but just make sure you don't cut them out completely. If you do, then you'll need to carb-load on weekends (see Keto diet). I've used Keto before with great results, and was planning on starting it up again next week.

[Thorshammer]

A trainer told me that he and his friends basically never do cadio. They just lift weights. I don't remember everything he said, but I guess if you lift tons of weight and build lots of muscle you won't have to do cardio anymore.

 

Thats because lifting weights changes your metabolism. Your body learns to feed the muscle for growth and use fat as the source of energy for that process (when otherwise, an un-fit persons body is doing the opposite).

[Thorshammer]

EDIT: Also, no homo, but do you bodybuild, Thor?

 

Nah, i am not at that level. I have been slacking off since i got my new job, its too demanding, but i have been picking it up in the last 2 months. But i look natural, not roided. Why, whats up?

[F63]

Nah, i am not at that level. I have been slacking off since i got my new job, its too demanding, but i have been picking it up in the last 2 months. But i look natural, not roided. Why, whats up?

 

Nothing, was just wondering.

[acfan]

FROM LANINAPeRDIDA( Sorry, I cannot figure out the quote thing)

I'm 25 so I'm not young, but I'm not old either

I am almost 46, trust me you are young.LOL