Cardio and fat loss

Zippidy

I have read a lot of conflicting information about cardio and fat loss. Some say it is no good, some say it is good.

This video explain how the body uses carbs and fat during cardio and is very informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cmuvsMzMks

El Horseboxo

Didn't watch the video but i can attest to cardio resulting in fat loss based on my experiences. I'm sure there are millions out there that can too. Of course i have a good diet and don't drink much at any stage when i am aiming for fat loss as i do with any fitness aim actually. If i just relied on weight training and trying to create a deficit by eating less it would take me a lot longer to strip fat and i probably wouldn't even reduce it as much as i have in the past. A nice balance of both works wonders for me. Not to mention it being good for my heart.

Hanley

In my experience, cardio + deficit = greater fat loss than a deficit alone.

Zippidy

I think so too and I will put it to the test.

For the past three weeks I have been eating approximately 1,900 calories daily (a deficit of approx 250), with consistent portions of carbs/fats/proteins. i have also been doing daily cardio, burning about 190 calories each time.

My daily deficit is therefore approx 440 calories per day or 3080 per week. On this routine I am losing only .4kg each week. This is consistent.

I will now increase my cardio to approx 600 cals daily and maintain my calorie intake from food at 1900, ensuring i get good proteins and balanced healthy foods.

This will bring me to a 900 calorie deficit per day, over 7 days = 6300 calorie deficit per week rather than my current deficit of 3080 per week. I should see the results next Monday when I weigh in.

Zippidy

Well, my sums were out! I lost 1.8kg over the past 7 days, which is almost 4lbs. I ate the same amount of food as in previous weeks, the difference was in cardio where I burned 700 cals each day rather than 200 as I had been doing. I also made sure to eat at least 1g of protein for every lb of bodyweight.

SanoVitae

Zippidy wrote: »

I think so too and I will put it to the test.

Putting things to the test is always the way to go. You have to use yourself as a guinea pig and find out what really works.

There are so many theories out there which totally contradict each other, you never know what to believe. It can be very confusing, especially for novices.

Hell, some posters on this board even contradict themselves with their recommendations!

A 4 pound loss over the course of a week is extremely good. You should be easily able to lose 1-2 pounds a week for quite a while, depending on how much weight you have to lose to begin with.

Keep us posted.