Is it okay only doing cardio to lose weight?

kathy9083

Hi, I recently began my weight loss journey and have lost 10 pounds so far. For my work out routines, I've been doing 50 minutes of cardio/ 5 days a week. Should I be doing strength training as well, and if so, how many days a week and for how long?

Also am wondering if there are strength workouts you can do at your own home without dumbbells or weights. Thanks!

MamaBirdBoss

You CAN do only cardio but will lose less fat and more muscle.

2x/wk is the minimum recommendation. Every other day is the max (unless you do only certain body parts--even then for beginners, every other day is good).

IsaackGMOON

Yes. But you are at a greater risk of losing more muscle.

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

You CAN do only cardio but will lose less fat and more muscle.

2x/wk is the minimum recommendation. Every other day is the max (unless you do only certain body parts--even then for beginners, every other day is good).

What? I always thought weight loss came from a caloric deficit? What part does cardio have to play? I'm interested.

jemhh

Look into bodyweight training. Two workouts that you can find online are the Nerd Fitness beginner bodyweight workout and the Start Bodyweight basic routine. Bodyweight training involves exercises like pushups and squats and takes you through various progressions to make them more difficult as you advance. Two books about bodyweight training are You Are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning.

ScubaSteve1962

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IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Yes. But you are at a greater risk of losing more muscle.

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

You CAN do only cardio but will lose less fat and more muscle.

2x/wk is the minimum recommendation. Every other day is the max (unless you do only certain body parts--even then for beginners, every other day is good).

What? I always thought weight loss came from a caloric deficit? What part does cardio have to play? I'm interested.

I lost 20 pounds, doing vigorous cardio 5 days a week, and light strength 2 days a week. Didn't change anything with my diet, maintained it for 2 years, (wasn't trying to loose anymore weight) recently lost another 15 due to illness, and maintaining that. Doing cardio will give you a larger calorie number for the day. which can lead to a deficit with out changing your diet.

solarfish

I lost 50 lbs in 5 months through diet and cardio, no weight training at all, that was 3 years ago. I don't believe I lost significant muscle but I guess it's hard to tell. Unfortunately I gained back about 20 lbs so I am now 3 months into a new fitness regime which includes weight training (5x5 three days a week) as well as cardio and cleaner eating rather than so much emphasis on calorie deficit. I have just returned to the lowest weight I had previously but there is no doubt I am more toned than I was before. I also 'feel' slimmer if that makes sense. So my advice, although you certainly can achieve weight loss with just cardio, in fact you can achieve with just calorie deficit and no exercise, you will most likely be far happier with the results if you include weight training.

kathy9083

Thanks everyone for the advice! I just wasn't sure if doing cardio alone was a good idea or not. Now I will try to look into more strength work outs I can try a few times a week.

mwyvr

I do bodyweight strength training a couple of times a week and build / maintain muscle fairly easily. I'm aiming for a lean-ish runner physique, as much as my medium frame will allow for, but I'm open to what the end result will be. Cardio -- running -- however is and has been my main outlet for exercise throughout 71 pounds to date of weight loss.

It wasn't the specific exercise that helped me lose the bulk of the weight I had to lose, it was the deficit created by a) the running and made possible by b) making smarter eating decisions than I'd made in my past.

If you like cardio, enjoy it all you want. Just be sure to mix it up with some strength training and be sure you are working on your entire body along the way.

MamaBirdBoss

IsaackGMOON wrote: »

Yes. But you are at a greater risk of losing more muscle.

MamaBirdBoss wrote: »

You CAN do only cardio but will lose less fat and more muscle.

2x/wk is the minimum recommendation. Every other day is the max (unless you do only certain body parts--even then for beginners, every other day is good).

What? I always thought weight loss came from a caloric deficit? What part does cardio have to play? I'm interested.

WEIGHT loss does. Where it comes from--fat vs. lean mass--is dependent on A.) total fat mass, B.) weight-bearing exercise, and C.) calorie deficit.

MamaBirdBoss

Actually...to totally blow your mind...there's less calories in a gram of muscle than fat. So you lose more WEIGHT on the same deficit when you're burning lean mass. It's just not the weight you want to lose. LOL.

IsaackGMOON

Lol I am such an idiot, it was late at night for me ok