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Old 02-03-14, 09:42 PM  
primrosecat
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Cardio doesn't work?

I'm asking because I just read somewhere that some study in which people did something like one hour of cardio 5 or 6 days a week, and over a year's time only averaged about 3 or 4 pounds of weight loss. The article suggested cardio was not good for weight loss. At least, that's how I understood it. So I'm asking, has anybody here lost weight thru just d**t and 'cardio'? I'm doing alot of walking more so than lifting right now, but I don't want to just waste my time.
If you've lost weight using cardio, please let me know. TIA
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Old 02-03-14, 10:04 PM  
sunday
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Midwest's Best Kept Secret
Well, I actually get my best results from lots of cardio. I lost all of my weight through fusion, really, but the last stubborn ten pounds came off with just Leslie and a bit of yoga. I know my muscles have a nice shape, and I am always able to see them better when I diet and do lots of low impact cardio. Right now, for me, it's rebounding 30 min a day.

I don't really pay attention to what "studies" and whatnot say; I always use myself as my own best source of information.
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Old 02-03-14, 10:21 PM  
primrosecat
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
I'm so glad you posted. I needed to hear that because that article really blindsided me. The fact is I gravitate towards cardio in my workouts, so I just need the reassurance I guess.
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Old 02-03-14, 10:24 PM  
slysam
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
I personally think the best is to do some strength training even if it means a little less cardio. But with diet, strength training of some type and cardio I have lost weight at a moderate rate. I believe it is especially important to do some type of strength training 2-3 days a week to help your body hold on to the lean mass you have while dieting. Also, I think I have better loss results with a mix of weights and cardio than just cardio. By strength training I mean some type of challenging to you resistance training like weight lifting, body weight calisthenics, barre, vigorous yoga, resistance bands, pilates, whatever challenges your muscles. My best loss results were when I did daily cardio and some sort of strength training 3 times a week.

I think the conventional wisdom about losing weight with just cardio is a little flawed. You may be able to lose some weight by adding cardio if you were not already active, but the success of cardio alone for weight loss is often overstated. As you know, diet is the main thing especially if you have a lot to lose (not saying you do) or are already active and fit. Beyond that both cardio and strength training serve their purpose in supporting weight loss. Adding lots of cardio without being intentional about your diet might resulting accidentally eating more and eating all the extra calories burned. Sometimes people find some activities increase their appetite and other decrease it--but it seems to vary by the person. I think it is natural to want to eat ore the more active you are, so I think that is often part of the problem in studies where they have people do cardio without watching their diet. If just eating according to your hunger--most likely your weight should stay the same.
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Old 02-03-14, 10:46 PM  
BigBadBetty
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Madison, WI, USA
I don't lose any noticeable weight from cardio alone, but my boyfriend does. I think it depends on your body. I think you got to do what works for you. I am very jealous of boyfriend's ability to lose weight.
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Old 02-03-14, 10:52 PM  
sunday
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Midwest's Best Kept Secret
Quote:
Originally Posted by primrosecat View Post
I'm so glad you posted. I needed to hear that because that article really blindsided me. The fact is I gravitate towards cardio in my workouts, so I just need the reassurance I guess.
The best thing to do is just try it! Like I said, I experiment all the time; sometimes with good results and other times with meh results. I lost those last few pounds, which had been really sticking, doing ONLY Leslie and yoga daily, six days a week for both. Overall I lost more than 80 pounds, and I never have done heavy weights nor will. It's easy to get frustrated with all the different theories out there; best thing you can do is just try and find what works for you. When you do find something that works, it's really hard for someone to argue with the results, though they will try.
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Old 02-03-14, 11:15 PM  
Vee
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kuala Lumpur
I know many people who have lost significant weight and kept it off on a long term basis just by walking or machine cardio (treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical).

I don't care what experts say, I have seen cardio work for weight management, when combined with reasonably healthy eating.

I will concede that it may not always be the most effective exercise modality if we are considering just weight loss (cardio is great for heath).

1. Steady state cardio is most dramatic for weight loss (from my observation) for sedentary people who are starting out with fitness. After the body acclimatizes, this type of exercise works more to maintain weight loss and further weight loss can plateau. But by the time this happens, one may already have managed to achieve their weight loss goal. The good thing about steady state cardio is that it is less likely to make one ravenous compared to more intense exercise.

4. Even with just cardio, changing things up boosts results. Once a person experiences plateauing they can always try a new way of cardio (people who walk can dance or swim). Or someone who is steady-state walking can try intervals of higher vs lower intensity.

2. For myself, I see more effective results combining resistance training with cardio. If time to workout is is limited, I am better served doing just resistance training when fat loss is the goal. One of the reasons for weight gain is that we lose muscle mass if we dont exercise in ways that preserves muscle. When we loss muscle through dis-use, the body's caloric needs reduce. Even eating the same as in youth will lead to fat gain when that happens.

3. Every body is different. Some people do better with just cardio vs others. Even as far as resistance training goes, some people do well with approaches like barre/pilates vs others who find weight-training works better.

Somebody at VF has a signature that says it best - The best exercise is something you will do...or something like that.
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Old 02-04-14, 06:08 AM  
anne
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
The two times I've lost the most weight happened with different exercising:

The first time I did Firm workouts with light weights 6 or 7 days a week--Better Body & Buns, Fat Blaster, Maximum Cardio Sculpt, Volume 4, etc.--plus the zone diet. I was in my thirties when this worked.

The second time I added walking after step, zumba, and yoga classes--I walked maybe 4 evenings a week for about 45 minutes from cool spring evenings through hot summer evenings. This seemed to be a totally cardio based weight loss and I was very happy with the results especially in my legs. However, I haven't been doing much weight work or even body weight work for the past year or so and have noticed a loss of muscle (this could be because of my age though). I've also gained the weight back because of not enough exercise, too much food, and high stress. I wonder if I would have gained back as much weight if I had been doing more weighted work over the past year or two.
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Old 02-04-14, 07:09 AM  
Demeris
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
I wish someone would conduct a study on how age plays a factor regarding the interplay between diet & cardio/diet & weight training in fat loss.

In my yoot, I could slim down quickly with cardio alone (and I was a running fiend). My diet was cr@p.

At 56 (6 weeks shy of 57), I could cardio forever, and not one fat cell would budge without a concomitant attention to what I eat. I could do weight training (body or dumbbell) and get one or two fat cells to shape up, but with attention to diet, I can get rid of excess weight.
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Old 02-04-14, 07:41 AM  
dmlarue1
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: SC
I lost 20 pounds just doing walking 1 hour a day 5 times a week.
This wasn't intentional at the time, I lived near a friend and we always ended up walking more because we enjoyed our walk/talks.
At the time, I was watching what I ate as well. But I have also lost weight
Doing circuit type workouts, again watching what I eat.
For me watching what I eat is most important and then add in exercise I can do that is not exhausting or stressful, because I tend to overeat when I am tired or stressed. I do try to do 30 mins a day of something that gets my heart rate up, just for my cardiovascular system.
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appetite, calisthenics, cardio, cardio for weight loss, cardio results, cardio vs weights, weight loss, weights vs cardio

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