I'm just starting out...again. Only Cardio?

MrsGreco

Hey guys,

I have 100+ pounds to lose. Currently at my heaviest weight of 277 I have been overweight my entire life. I have dieted several times and have always failed. I have always hated cardio but recently I have grown to really like the elliptical and cross-trainer machines at the gym.

My question for you guys is...

Do you think I can lose body fat by only doing cardio 5x (30 mins) a week? (Tuesday-Saturday (off sunday/monday)

Has anyone started their journey with only doing cardio? Has fast did the fat come off? (I'm not in a huge hurry to lose weight, just want it off and to stay off...no matter how long it takes )

Also according to MFP I should be consuming 1820 calories. Should I eat back my calories earned from exercise?
(deficit of 1000 calories a day,-2lb per week)

Thanks!!

*good vibes only please, I'm new to this (but I do lots of studying )

DopeItUp

You can lose fat with zero exercise at all. Some cardio will help burn some calories, sure. I started by only doing cardio too, but I quit in about 6 months once I realized that it was largely useless for my goals. I picked up the weights and never looked back. Your mileage may vary.

MrsGreco

DopeItUp wrote: »

You can lose fat with zero exercise at all. Some cardio will help burn some calories, sure. I started by only doing cardio too, but I quit in about 6 months once I realized that it was largely useless for my goals. I picked up the weights and never looked back. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking... What where your goals?

joepratt503

Doing cardio at your level (at 277) will absolutely help you even if you "eat back" the initial caloric burn. You will see better results and be able to sustain more effectively if you include some sort of weight training into your plan. I would suggest very low weight, high rep/volume, and treat it as an extension of your cardio (no more than 15-20 sec between sets).

Either way, you should not generally eat all of your calories burned back. Try to hit your MFP target and use the exercise as the calories you are burning as weight loss. If you find you are ridiculously hungry, then up the MFP target and take it a little slower.

Bottom line, if you want to keep it off, you have to take it slow to ensure you are changing your lifestyle, not just "dieting".

Just my opinion.

MrsGreco

joepratt503 wrote: »

Doing cardio at your level (at 277) will absolutely help you even if you "eat back" the initial caloric burn. You will see better results and be able to sustain more effectively if you include some sort of weight training into your plan. I would suggest very low weight, high rep/volume, and treat it as an extension of your cardio (no more than 15-20 sec between sets).

Either way, you should not generally eat all of your calories burned back. Try to hit your MFP target and use the exercise as the calories you are burning as weight loss. If you find you are ridiculously hungry, then up the MFP target and take it a little slower.

Bottom line, if you want to keep it off, you have to take it slow to ensure you are changing your lifestyle, not just "dieting".

Just my opinion.

Great info, thanks for the reply!

Deena_Bean

+1 to JoePratt in the sense that exercise is NEVER a bad thing. Regardless of the extra calories it allows, it is a tool to make your body more efficient. The more muscle you have in your body the faster it burns fat. Weight loss is absolutely CICO...and when you add exercise it's like the cherry on top (that you can eat because you burned extra calories). In all honestly, the first go-around for me was when my twins were 2.5 years old. I lost about 75 pounds doing nothing but monitoring my food. The only exercise I got was the movement it takes to keep up with 2 crazy toddlers. I lost the weight without exercise. It's possible, but I will always tell people that for the overall health benefit - exercise. Lift. Walk. Whatever. Use your body - it'll thank you later in life for that

JoRocka

Diet alone will get your your weight loss

Working out for your health and wellness.

I would highly suggest you not skip- wait- or skimp on weight training. I.E. if you're going to work out- don't do "cardio only"- you want to maintain/preserve as much muscle mass as you can while your losing.

Often people do no working out- or cardio only- hit their goal weight and find themselves deeply disappointed when they thought that once the number hit the scale they would be happy. It's because they just became a smaller version of what they were when they were over weight- you want to maintain- preserve or improve your body composition with lifting.

A well rounded fitness program will include a cardiovascular component and a resistance training component.

Do both. don't wait till your "not fat'- do it when you're just getting started.

kmorales_4

I saw this at the gym.

Dieting helps you look good in clothes.

Exercise helps you look good naked.

njitaliana

As long as you stick to the right calorie count, you will lose. If you're going by MFP for the exercise calorie count, I'd only eat back half of them. Cardio will be great for you at this point. I generally combine cardio, stretching and strength training, but just cardio is fine for now.

nivi_r

I started working out in Dec and lost 7 kilograms/15.4 pounds only through cardio. Did 30-45 minutes, 6 days a week on treadmill, elliptical trainer and exercise cycle. Had to take three breaks of almost a week because I was travelling/was sick.

SJax7192

What I did when I first started was cutting out soda completely. I cut soda in 2013 and I lost almost 20 pounds in a year by just drinking water. I also did most of Billy Blanks' stuff on YouTube with Taebo. That stuff REALLY burns calories and it's fun to do! Attached is my playlist of his stuff that I really like and hopefully it'll be helpful for you too! Don't worry about getting things right away. Just take your time and everything will fall into place!

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuS1CnXj6lWgmaVpsgA-C6kQ1loH1JYDE

maillemaker

I'm in about the same boat.

Diet almost always trumps exercise. As the saying goes, "You can't outrun a fork." You can sweat your butt off on the exercise bike for an hour and maybe burn 200 calories. It's far less effort to cut out 200 calories, especially when you are obese.

Exercise makes you healthy, but diet is where you will get the most bang for your buck in generating a calorie deficit, especially when you are very overweight.

But in the end, it's burn more calories than you take in.

If you are having willpower issues (I have failed numerous times over the years also) you might consider appetite suppressants under the supervision of a doctor.

ryry2169

.

ryry2169

I found that snacking was killing my diet. Now I follow the calorie plan on MFP and if I have the urge to snack (especially at night), I eat fruits or veggies. I'm almost 270 lbs and looking to get down to 210 lbs. I have quite a bit of muscle mass, but still need to lose body fat.

MrsGreco

Thank you guys! These are great. Think I'll stick to my plan and add some home workout videos to get those muscles active. Time to buy some weights!

MrsGreco

SJax7192 wrote: »

What I did when I first started was cutting out soda completely. I cut soda in 2013 and I lost almost 20 pounds in a year by just drinking water. I also did most of Billy Blanks' stuff on YouTube with Taebo. That stuff REALLY burns calories and it's fun to do! Attached is my playlist of his stuff that I really like and hopefully it'll be helpful for you too! Don't worry about getting things right away. Just take your time and everything will fall into place!

youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuS1CnXj6lWgmaVpsgA-C6kQ1loH1JYDE

THANK YOU!! You're awesome. I'm going to do one of these videos tonight.

DopeItUp

MrsGreco wrote: »

DopeItUp wrote: »

You can lose fat with zero exercise at all. Some cardio will help burn some calories, sure. I started by only doing cardio too, but I quit in about 6 months once I realized that it was largely useless for my goals. I picked up the weights and never looked back. Your mileage may vary.

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking... What where your goals?

To be strong, to look good, and to have a good enough metabolism to eat plenty of food. Cardio is pretty much the opposite of that. Plus I hated it so it was a no-brainer to drop it.

foursirius

You most certainly will lose weight with doing a 5x30 cardio routine. Just make sure to keep your diet in check and stay consistent. Getting fit is a lifestyle more than just a lose x pounds in y weeks. Good luck!

lingo10

I say do both. Cardio and Strength, best of both worlds makes for a pleasant combo. and 5 days a week is great, cross train it. As long as you meet your caloric needs and intake with having a healthy deficit, you should be fine.

scorpio516

I went from 220 to 180 over 3 months biking to work. I went from 180 to 150 over 3 more months running. The end.

kmstars

My highest weight was 212lbs. I started by eating 1,200 calories per day and doing cardio 5 days a week, sometimes more. I walked in the treadmill, did the elliptical and I used to rollerblade early in the morning. I lost 50lbs in 5 months! Then it started to slow down. That was 12 years ago. I've added weight training about about 3 years ago and lost 20 more lbs. Weight training helps me look better for sure! But cardio helped me lose the weight!