rainbowbutterflies
New member
@holly1211 You’re not wrong but I was trying to touch on OP’s use of the word “efficient”. Cardio, overall, isn’t efficient but that’s not to say it doesn’t work
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Is my cardio routine efficient for weight loss?
- Thread starter servant52
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- fitness after 30
heyitskatie
New member
@rainbowbutterflies 100% this.
@rainbowbutterflies You can get in shape AND lose weight. By your logic I can only do one or the other.
rainbowbutterflies
New member
@servant52 Yes to your first sentence, no to second. Re read it. They’re two separate acts, eating less will help you lose weight but not get in shape. Cardio is great but not the more efficient solution for losing weight (if that’s your goal)
@rainbowbutterflies I don’t need to. I already know eating less is important. Exercising along with eating healthier is what guarantees HEALTHY weight loss. I’m not just trying to lose weight alone. You’d have known that if you asked for clarification. I simply asked a question and you gave a response that didn’t even answer my question. Being active and eating healthy is what guarantees weight management also.
@servant52 Quite literally CICO is what guarantees weight management. Literally.
@monkeym24 Alone it definitely does not. Lol
The older you get the more important it is for you to stay active. Because your body loses its efficiency to burn calories as you age… You know the “heart health” you all are saying doesn’t have anything to do with weight loss?
It all works together. You have to be physically active also to maintain your weight.
The older you get the more important it is for you to stay active. Because your body loses its efficiency to burn calories as you age… You know the “heart health” you all are saying doesn’t have anything to do with weight loss?
It all works together. You have to be physically active also to maintain your weight.
@servant52 That difference is only 100 - 200 kcal a day. Easily achievable through eating less.
@servant52 Alone it quite literally does. Literally. The only thing that defines weight loss. You’re really missing the mark here. Calories in, calories out is the only factor. It’s why you’re getting downvoted and every reply is saying the exact same thing to you.
@monkeym24 Right cause saying LITERALLY verifies your claims.
@servant52 No it is not an efficient way to accelerate weight loss.
Cardio is likely not going to play a major role in your weight loss objective. The way people think about "adding" calories burned through exercise to your total daily energy burn isn't how things actually work. Guess it takes a while for the conventional wisdom to catch up to the science.
If you exercise regularly, your body will quickly adapt--specifically, it will downregulate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is your main source of calorie burn (up to 2000 kcal per day). Will also downregulate other stuff like NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Or in other words, your BMR goes down so that 300 calories burned exercising don't go as far in terms of getting you a calorie defecit. A lower BMR can reduce the net calories burned from exercise by between 30-90%. And if you're in a calorie defecit already because of your diet, your BMR is even further downregulated--pushing the net calorie defecit down even further.
Of course there's individual variation, so everyone's BMR compensation works somewhat differently. But the point is that the more you exercise--especially if you're already trying to lose weight by dieting--the more your body is working against you.
All the above is why people say you should rely on your diet to drive weight loss--the degree to which exercise contributes to weight loss is very difficult to predict. Making it even more complicated is that activity trackers are notoriously inaccurate--partly because of the metabolic compensation that's occurring, but partly because they're just crap.
Cardio is likely not going to play a major role in your weight loss objective. The way people think about "adding" calories burned through exercise to your total daily energy burn isn't how things actually work. Guess it takes a while for the conventional wisdom to catch up to the science.
If you exercise regularly, your body will quickly adapt--specifically, it will downregulate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is your main source of calorie burn (up to 2000 kcal per day). Will also downregulate other stuff like NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Or in other words, your BMR goes down so that 300 calories burned exercising don't go as far in terms of getting you a calorie defecit. A lower BMR can reduce the net calories burned from exercise by between 30-90%. And if you're in a calorie defecit already because of your diet, your BMR is even further downregulated--pushing the net calorie defecit down even further.
Of course there's individual variation, so everyone's BMR compensation works somewhat differently. But the point is that the more you exercise--especially if you're already trying to lose weight by dieting--the more your body is working against you.
All the above is why people say you should rely on your diet to drive weight loss--the degree to which exercise contributes to weight loss is very difficult to predict. Making it even more complicated is that activity trackers are notoriously inaccurate--partly because of the metabolic compensation that's occurring, but partly because they're just crap.
@servant52 What are your hunger levels like after doing intense cardio? Do you reward yourself after? It would be a better strategy to do low intensity (like walking) while cutting calories than insane cardio while letting your food intake go unchecked. For weight loss, that is. Cardio is still important, as stated.
@mrbentley My hunger is pretty good actually. I start my day pretty early. I go to the gym around 4am. I’m typically there for about 1.5 hours for cardio. I’ll do my stretches for about 10-15min then do my cardio routine. After that I go home (this is around 6ish) I’ll have some green tea along with fiber supplement I take for my fiber issue. I have to take it regularly. Then I head on out to do my 3 mile hike for the day. That takes about an hour to walk. Then come home and have my first meal of the day by 8-9am.
I’ve been able to lose 12lbs sticking to this routine and that isn’t including the weight training I’m doing. I’ve went through a major body recomp and even though I’m not very lean I’m seeing muscle definition so I’m super proud of that. I don’t want to lose what I’ve gained.
One of the things about me is that I’ve never been one who was so dependent on eating food by a certain time or needing to eat with intense hunger. I can manage and because I take fiber supplements I think consuming this also helps with suppressing my hunger. I also have low testosterone of which I did not mention in the details so I feel I really do have to incorporate more effort to burn calories.
I simply cannot stop exercising I’ll gain weight no matter how little I eat if I don’t couple that with exercising. I want to be healthy not just skinny (which is a near impossible feat to obtain having low testosterone) my body is already working against me in that regard. I also have protein shakes I have every day. I use water instead of milk to make them. I typically make Whey protein shakes.
I’ve been able to lose 12lbs sticking to this routine and that isn’t including the weight training I’m doing. I’ve went through a major body recomp and even though I’m not very lean I’m seeing muscle definition so I’m super proud of that. I don’t want to lose what I’ve gained.
One of the things about me is that I’ve never been one who was so dependent on eating food by a certain time or needing to eat with intense hunger. I can manage and because I take fiber supplements I think consuming this also helps with suppressing my hunger. I also have low testosterone of which I did not mention in the details so I feel I really do have to incorporate more effort to burn calories.
I simply cannot stop exercising I’ll gain weight no matter how little I eat if I don’t couple that with exercising. I want to be healthy not just skinny (which is a near impossible feat to obtain having low testosterone) my body is already working against me in that regard. I also have protein shakes I have every day. I use water instead of milk to make them. I typically make Whey protein shakes.
@servant52 If you are struggling with testosterone why not do cardio with weight training? Weight training will naturally raise testosterone levels.
savedchiefofsinners
New member
@servant52 CICO.
philosophicalbluster
New member
@servant52 Do you have a fitness watch or any type of heart rate monitor? It is very helpful to use one and track your heart rate. Resistance levels and intensity only matter in comparison to what your body can handle at the moment. Concentrate on finding out how your heart is behaving. If your heart is at 166 and we are in a 30+ fitness group that seems higher than what you can handle.
180-200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio per week have been shown to be the optimal for health purposes. Zone 3 minutes count twice. Check out the Huberman podcast on how to improve fitness and Peter Attia's guide on Zone 2 training. Consistency is key, you don't want to risk an injury.
Diet will do the work concerning weight loss. You can't outrun a bad diet.
180-200 minutes of Zone 2 cardio per week have been shown to be the optimal for health purposes. Zone 3 minutes count twice. Check out the Huberman podcast on how to improve fitness and Peter Attia's guide on Zone 2 training. Consistency is key, you don't want to risk an injury.
Diet will do the work concerning weight loss. You can't outrun a bad diet.
@philosophicalbluster Yes I’ve been staying in the zone three area. I have an Apple Watch I use religiously to track my over all health and fitness. Thanks for the feedback I’ll definitely keep this in mind.
@servant52 If you are worried about burn out or being tired just go for a walk. It burns calories and extremely easy to recover from. Example I can go for a 12 mile walk(granted will take me 4 hours) and do it again the next day with zero issues. I try to run 12 miles I will be out for a few days.
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