Is there no hope for "Cardio Hater"?

prisky780

So, I started going to gym 3 days a week. It's been 3-4 months now. I don't go on to cardio machine. I have a trainer who works me out with weight.

Question is am I never going to lose any body fat if I don't do cardio? What are my other option? I tried the calorie counting and I gave up half way. I eat mostly homemade good. red meats and vegetables. I don't eat processed food. I don't go out and buy lunch. I bring food from home.

I don't know how much more I can cut down on bad food? Yet my increased about 2 inches around my waist in that 3-4 months.

I'm so frustrated, it almost makes me want to give up and become fat and loathe myself for rest of my life.

Please help! What is the easiest workouts I can try? I knew I had to start somewhere so I joined the gym but seems to worthless now.

RGv2

Honestly, it doesn't matter how much you work out or what type of workout you do if you don't know how many calories are going in. A person increases about 2 inches on their waste due to a caloric surplus....and that surplus can come from ANY type of food.

malibu927

All you need to lose fat is a calorie deficit. For cardio, walking is probably the easiest thing. Start with 30 minutes, either around the neighborhood or on the treadmill, and start counting calories again. Just because you've cut out processed foods doesn't mean you aren't eating enough to gain weight.

happyfeetrebel1

You won't lose weight if you're not eating at a deficit. Period. Cardio has nothing to do with it. Even if you're eating what you consider 'healthy', if you're eating too much, you won't lose.

You need to invest in a scale, find your BMR or TDEE and eat according to those calories to create a deficit. Log what you eat, good or bad.

That will help you lose weight.

wkwebby

RGv2 wrote: »

Honestly, it doesn't matter how much you work out or what type of workout you do if you don't know how many calories are going in. A person increases about 2 inches on their waste due to a caloric surplus....and that surplus can come from ANY type of food.

+1 to this. Since you don't like calorie counting, just try cutting your meals in half. Drink lots of water, and don't eat until you're full, eat only until you are NOT HUNGRY anymore. This is a big difference. This is the first step only, once you start losing weight, you will eventually need to, but for now, you can start by just cutting down on the amount you eat.

If half portions aren't working, then maybe even 1/4 portions (since you don't measure, this gauge is relative). Research portion sizes and really try and stick to one servings of anything (except veggies). You need to restrict what you are eating though and sounds like the work you need to put in is getting to you. Try calorie counting on a system like Weight watchers. It is an oversimplified method of calorie counting, but if counting is what you cannot do, then weight will not come off easily. Sorry to say, the key is getting over your issue with counting calories (for now).

Holly_Roman_Empire

It's a cliche, and I hate it, but it's true--you can't outrun a bad diet. In this context, a bad diet refers to too many calories, not "bad food" as you say.

If you're not counting calories and don't know how much you're eating, it could take a hell of a lot of exercise to create a calorie deficit, cardio or not.

threnjen

You don't have to do cardio. You can stick with weights only. But you must eat at a deficit. That is all that matters. Exercise is irrelevant to weight loss. It is not, if course, irrelevant to health. But it is irrelevant to weight loss.

bmele0

The people above are right, the exercise and "clean eating" don't matter ( I mean they matter, but I think you get what I'm saying). A 500 calorie surplus of calories of clean food or junk food is the same amount of calories.

smantha32

RGv2 wrote: »

Honestly, it doesn't matter how much you work out or what type of workout you do if you don't know how many calories are going in. A person increases about 2 inches on their waste due to a caloric surplus....and that surplus can come from ANY type of food.

THIS

Lennox497

Yup. All said well in the above. Calorie deficit = Fat loss. Eat clean and work hard. Results will come. That being said I enjoy a good warm jog and run after my weight training sessions.

shadow2soul

Calorie deficit = fat/weight/inches lost
What you eat is more of a health benefit.
A calorie deficit can be achieved by:
-Diet alone: No change in activity level, just eating less than your Sedentary maintenance Calorie Burn
-Exercise alone: This is more difficult in my opinion. Eating what you would to maintain and exercising to create the deficit needed for fat/weight/inch loss
- Diet + Exercise: This allows you to eat more than diet alone. For this, just plug your stats into MFP, pick 1lb per week loss and eat back 50% or so of your exercise calories to maintain your 1lb per week deficit. Or Figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% or so to lose weight/fat/inches.

Exercise has health benefits. There are a lot of options when it comes to cardio:
-Dancing
-Running
-Walking
-High Intensity Intervals
-Swimming
-ect

If your looking for workout variety:
- youtube (plenty of free workouts)
- fitness blender

Muddy_Yogi

prisky780 wrote: »

So, I started going to gym 3 days a week. It's been 3-4 months now. I don't go on to cardio machine. I have a trainer who works me out with weight.

Question is am I never going to lose any body fat if I don't do cardio? What are my other option? I tried the calorie counting and I gave up half way. I eat mostly homemade good. red meats and vegetables. I don't eat processed food. I don't go out and buy lunch. I bring food from home.

I don't know how much more I can cut down on bad food? Yet my increased about 2 inches around my waist in that 3-4 months.

I'm so frustrated, it almost makes me want to give up and become fat and loathe myself for rest of my life.

Please help! What is the easiest workouts I can try? I knew I had to start somewhere so I joined the gym but seems to worthless now.

You don't want it enough. If you wanted it enough you would put in the work and effort to do it. In order to lose weight you MUST eat at a deficit. If you don't change your diet you will not lose. When you decide you really want it and are willing to count calories and pay attention to what you are putting in your body, that is when the fat will come off.

Debmal77

Everyone here is giving you good advice. Calorie deficit.

ErinG0517

I agree with what everyone is saying, you need to eat less to lose weight. I HATED cardio when I started working out, but now I love it. I went from barely being able to run 1 mile without walking about 4 times during the run, to now running 3-4 miles every other day, and last week I ran 6! I don't know when it happened, but I started to like cardio and running...never thought I'd be that person.

silentKayak

Calorie counting is far easier than guessing how much you can eat to lose weight. Don't think of it as restricting, think of it as knowing how much is in your daily budget. You can make smarter choices and still have room for treats. Red meat has a lot of calories and so does anything with starch (rice, bread). If you eat a lot of meat, you pretty much have to count calories to stay within a loss zone. There's lots of help here for how to count properly. It does get easier over time.

Weight training is great, but doesn't really help with fat loss (though it will help reshape your body in ways you'll like). Cardio is the fastest way to burn calories. I don't enjoy it either, but more movement give you more calories in your budget, so it's easier to stay on track (sort of like how you CAN stay out of debt if you don't make much money, but one solution to being in debt is to earn more).

You don't have to run hard or anything. I get on the treadmill or elliptical, set it to a fast walking pace, and watch movies on my ipad for an hour. It's not the most efficient way to burn calories, but it's better than nothing and gives me a slightly higher caloric budget - enough for a glass of wine at night.

slomo22

Everything everyone already said. Also, cutting out the red meat will help you be calorie deficient. You could try eating chicken which is much less calorie dense and it has lots of protein!

prisky780

I'm speechless seeing so many replies in such a short time. I really want to thank all of you. I guess it's the food I need to watch. I don't think I'm eating enough. So conserving more food than I need is not my problem. Half the time I'm starving because I'm running around at work or stuck at meeting where I can't even snack.

I have 2 meals a day, lunch and dinner. I try to eat one of those yogurt with low calories as a snack and that's pretty much my breakfast and snack before lunch. I really don't know how much food I can take out of my diet.

Also, I hate fruits because they are sweet. I'm more into really spicy food or sour or anything savory. If I were to make a meal plan what would you recommend?

lishie_rebooted

slomo22 wrote: »

Everything everyone already said. Also, cutting out the red meat will help you be calorie deficient. You could try eating chicken which is much less calorie dense and it has lots of protein!

Eating less red meat will do the same.
Why cut anything out?

mitch16

Any health issues? You say that you are eating less than you probably should--but if you are already at a deficit, you should already be losing weight. Check your logging--are you careful? Are you weighing everything? If not then it might be time to make a physical appointment with your doctor just to make sure there are no underlying conditions.

And walking is the easiest cardio out there--you don't even need to belong to a gym to do it, but you can always do it on the treadmill in inclement weather. I successfully lost weight in my 20's by eating at a deficit and walking an hour a day 4-5x per week.

malibu927

prisky780 wrote: »

I'm speechless seeing so many replies in such a short time. I really want to thank all of you. I guess it's the food I need to watch. I don't think I'm eating enough. So conserving more food than I need is not my problem. Half the time I'm starving because I'm running around at work or stuck at meeting where I can't even snack.

I have 2 meals a day, lunch and dinner. I try to eat one of those yogurt with low calories as a snack and that's pretty much my breakfast and snack before lunch. I really don't know how much food I can take out of my diet.

Also, I hate fruits because they are sweet. I'm more into really spicy food or sour or anything savory. If I were to make a meal plan what would you recommend?

If you weren't eating enough you would still be losing weight. You HAVE to start keeping track of your calories. Start with logging every bite and every sip (other than plain water) you take in your food diary. A food scale, while not a necessity, will help you to understand what a proper portion is.

999tigger

RGv2 wrote: »

Honestly, it doesn't matter how much you work out or what type of workout you do if you don't know how many calories are going in. A person increases about 2 inches on their waste due to a caloric surplus....and that surplus can come from ANY type of food.

+1 Honestly rule number 1 about this site and losing weight is the creation of a calorie deficit. You really are being rather damatic, whereas if youd read the stickies and understood how weight loss works then you wouldnt get yourself into such a tizz.

80% of losing weight is portion control and creating a calorie deficit. This is something you have decided to skip because you cant be bothered whereas the vast majority of people who lose weight calorie count.

Lean protein, fruit and veg is all well and good but if you are eating too much of it and more than your body needs then you put on weight. Get your deficit/ diet sorted out and you will lose weight.

You have the luxury of a trainer, he will focus on weights because you cna do cardio on your own. Pick your machine of choice or do 10mins on each, do what you can manage and gardually increase effort or duration. You will burn calories directly. keep pushing yourself each week. To lose 1lb from the gym youd need to burn 3500 calories, which is a lot, so more likely look at burning 250-500. Walk a bit as well.

You are the author of your own predicament and some good calorie counting plus reading the forums could have helped you avoid the negative feelings youve had. Imo people should do a balance of cardio and weights as they have different benefits.