HIIT for fat loss?

Joannefenton15
Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so I'm 18, female, 146lbs and 5'3". I'm overweight but not majorly. I used to be really slim until I got stressed last year in my final year of school and now no matter what I try I can't seem to lose the chub? I really want to lose about a stone in total as that will bring me down to a healthy weight but I don't mind how long it takes. I have my diet under control with my fitness pal. But what I'm wondering is, do you think it will be possible for my to lose my weight by doing 3-4 intense HIIT aspersions a week and the days I don't do HIIT I will go for a 5km cycle? I've already started this this week and I'm really enjoying it. It I'm just wondering do you think it will provide substantial weight loss?
I really don't like what I see in the mirror anymore and it's such a pity I can notice it in my thighs, stomach and face especially and want to be happy in my body again
According to MFP it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required means and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories. Would this show results?
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Replies

  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Exercise, of any type, does not provide weight or fat loss. Only a calorie deficit can do that. If you exercise regularly and log your food and stay at a calorie level less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you will lose weight and that will usually be in the form of fat. If you diet too extremely (as in too steep of a deficit) you could likely lose fat and muscle at the same time.

    The rule of thumb is eat less than you burn, exercise if you can (it's not mandatory) to lose weight.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    If you enjoy the exercise continue.

    Calorie deficit controls fat loss.
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    Exercise, of any type, does not provide weight or fat loss. Only a calorie deficit can do that. If you exercise regularly and log your food and stay at a calorie level less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you will lose weight and that will usually be in the form of fat. If you diet too extremely (as in too steep of a deficit) you could likely lose fat and muscle at the same time.

    The rule of thumb is eat less than you burn, exercise if you can (it's not mandatory) to lose weight.

    Thanks for your reply, you see in total it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required means and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    If you enjoy the exercise continue.

    Calorie deficit controls fat loss.

    Thanks for replying☺️☺️ as I said to the guy above.
    it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required means and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories. Would this show results?
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    I'm not clear on what you mean when you say your diet is under control. If your diet were under control, in other words if you were eating at a caloric deficit, you would be losing weight.

    As for HIIT, I like HIIT and use it myself, but a lot of things are called HIIT which aren't really. True HIIT is too intense for four sessions a week, it would wipe you out. But you can certainly do circuit training, which is what most of the routines calling themselves HIIT really are. Any form of exercise will use additional calories and make it easier for you to eat at a deficit. But it's your calories in versus out which will determine your weight loss.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    edited November 2017
    Exercise, of any type, does not provide weight or fat loss. Only a calorie deficit can do that. If you exercise regularly and log your food and stay at a calorie level less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you will lose weight and that will usually be in the form of fat. If you diet too extremely (as in too steep of a deficit) you could likely lose fat and muscle at the same time.

    The rule of thumb is eat less than you burn, exercise if you can (it's not mandatory) to lose weight.

    This^ and in particular HIIT is no more effective for burning calories than other forms of exercise. Done right, you can only do it for 15 to 20 minutes. It is a protocol that is used primarily for increase V02 max in athletes in burst sports like MMA, sprinters, Soccer players. And it is never meant to be done more frequently than a couple of times per week due to the impact on CNS and recovery. The rest is all marketing woo.
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    I'm not clear on what you mean when you say your diet is under control. If your diet were under control, in other words if you were eating at a caloric deficit, you would be losing weight.

    As for HIIT, I like HIIT and use it myself, but a lot of things are called HIIT which aren't really. True HIIT is too intense for four sessions a week, it would wipe you out. But you can certainly do circuit training, which is what most of the routines calling themselves HIIT really are. Any form of exercise will use additional calories and make it easier for you to eat at a deficit. But it's your calories in versus out which will determine your weight loss.


    As I stated I only started it all this week and so far it's going good. I couldn't imagine I'd notice results in about 4 days though!
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Exercise, of any type, does not provide weight or fat loss. Only a calorie deficit can do that. If you exercise regularly and log your food and stay at a calorie level less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight, you will lose weight and that will usually be in the form of fat. If you diet too extremely (as in too steep of a deficit) you could likely lose fat and muscle at the same time.

    The rule of thumb is eat less than you burn, exercise if you can (it's not mandatory) to lose weight.

    Thanks for your reply, you see in total it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required means and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories

    How many pounds a week did you tell MFP you wanted to lose when it gave you the 1500 calorie goal?
  • enyagoboom
    enyagoboom Posts: 377 Member
    You are going to hear this a lot, but I'll start it - you lose weight with calories in, calories out (CICO) - regardless of what exercise you do. If you have your eating sorted and are in deficit you will lose weight. Exercise helps :)

    HIIT can be awesome and it sounds like you've found things that you like doing, so yes, you should lose weight :) Good luck!
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    enyagoboom wrote: »
    You are going to hear this a lot, but I'll start it - you lose weight with calories in, calories out (CICO) - regardless of what exercise you do. If you have your eating sorted and are in deficit you will lose weight. Exercise helps :)

    HIIT can be awesome and it sounds like you've found things that you like doing, so yes, you should lose weight :) Good luck!


    Thank you for your reply☺️☺️according to MFP it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required meals and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories. I know you're probably not an expert but do you know how long red take to see results considering I'm only about 1stone over weight
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I'm not clear on what you mean when you say your diet is under control. If your diet were under control, in other words if you were eating at a caloric deficit, you would be losing weight.

    As for HIIT, I like HIIT and use it myself, but a lot of things are called HIIT which aren't really. True HIIT is too intense for four sessions a week, it would wipe you out. But you can certainly do circuit training, which is what most of the routines calling themselves HIIT really are. Any form of exercise will use additional calories and make it easier for you to eat at a deficit. But it's your calories in versus out which will determine your weight loss.

    I do up to 5 sessions a week of HIIT, plus circuit training. It can be done. It does, however, test me and my limits. Generally in the summer I won't do it as often, but winter when I'm stuck inside I use HIIT quite often for short workouts, 14-15 minutes each for somewhere around a 250 calorie burn per workout on my M5. I'll be honest, sometimes when I hit that 5th day I do something different because it wears me slick.
  • enyagoboom
    enyagoboom Posts: 377 Member
    I see you've posted this elsewhere and are getting some feedback there :)
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    I'm not clear on what you mean when you say your diet is under control. If your diet were under control, in other words if you were eating at a caloric deficit, you would be losing weight.

    As for HIIT, I like HIIT and use it myself, but a lot of things are called HIIT which aren't really. True HIIT is too intense for four sessions a week, it would wipe you out. But you can certainly do circuit training, which is what most of the routines calling themselves HIIT really are. Any form of exercise will use additional calories and make it easier for you to eat at a deficit. But it's your calories in versus out which will determine your weight loss.

    I do up to 5 sessions a week of HIIT, plus circuit training. It can be done. It does, however, test me and my limits. Generally in the summer I won't do it as often, but winter when I'm stuck inside I use HIIT quite often for short workouts, 14-15 minutes each for somewhere around a 250 calorie burn per workout on my M5. I'll be honest, sometimes when I hit that 5th day I do something different because it wears me slick.


    I find he Body Coaches HIIT workouts to be amazing. If you find you are doing four really intense Ones and want to take it easy on the final one you could do one of his beginner Ines just to take it easy on the final sessions of the week. Just wondering what results did you see from HIIT and how long did it take to notice a difference in the mirror for you?
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    edited November 2017
    enyagoboom wrote: »
    I see you've posted this elsewhere and are getting some feedback there :)

    I did indeed. Thanks for your reply :)
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    HIIT is massively over hyped. It's not fat loss magic, and it's bad for beginners to exercise.

    If you have a bike, longer rides than 5 km at a moderate pace will do more for your fitness she more for your calorie deficit.
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    HIIT is massively over hyped. It's not fat loss magic, and it's bad for beginners to exercise.

    If you have a bike, longer rides than 5 km at a moderate pace will do more for your fitness she more for your calorie deficit.

    I've been doing HIIT exercises for beginners and they're not too extreme and I plan to work my way up to more intense ones. Any other tips for fat loss?
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Not too extreme high intensity intervals? Isn't that a contradiction?
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    edited November 2017
    Not too extreme high intensity intervals? Isn't that a contradiction?

    I thought it'd be quite clear that it's still gonna be intense seeing as it's meant to be but naturally the beginner ones won't be as tough as regular HIIT. I was just giving my two cents as I was previously told that "HIIT is massively over hyped. It's not fat loss magic and it's bad for beginners to exercise"
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I started with the HIIT about two months into my journey back in 2015. The HIIT seemed to help, but I can't say it wasn't other things (I did a lot of walking as well, and was very accurate with logging and my deficit). I dropped 115lbs in 420 days, 126 overall by summer of 2016. One thing I did notice, the HIIT brought my resting heart rate down from 70's to 40's in that year.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    Okay so I'm 18, female, 146lbs and 5'3". I'm overweight but not majorly. I used to be really slim until I got stressed last year in my final year of school and now no matter what I try I can't seem to lose the chub? I really want to lose about a stone in total as that will bring me down to a healthy weight but I don't mind how long it takes. I have my diet under control with my fitness pal. But what I'm wondering is, do you think it will be possible for my to lose my weight by doing 3-4 intense HIIT aspersions a week and the days I don't do HIIT I will go for a 5km cycle? I've already started this this week and I'm really enjoying it. It I'm just wondering do you think it will provide substantial weight loss?
    I really don't like what I see in the mirror anymore and it's such a pity I can notice it in my thighs, stomach and face especially and want to be happy in my body again
    According to MFP it says I should eat approximately 1500 calories a day and in total I get 1200 and that's with all my required means and healthy Snacks and any exercise I do burns only 300-500 calories. Would this show results?

    I do HIIT workouts 3 times a week and they really help me. I don't do steady state cardio because I don't enjoy it but I find HIIT challenging. I also do weights and yoga everyday to keep me going.
  • Joannefenton15
    Joannefenton15 Posts: 12 Member
    edited November 2017
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You’re only netting 900 calories? That’s not good. You should be eating the amount that MFP gives you plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. This won’t keep you from losing, but if you keep to this amount you may see some effects on your health and ability to work out.



    No I'm getting 1200 calories? And burning about 300 on top of that. People have been telling me to burn more than I'm eating but I personally can't see myself burning 1200-1500 cals in a day
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited November 2017
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You’re only netting 900 calories? That’s not good. You should be eating the amount that MFP gives you plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. This won’t keep you from losing, but if you keep to this amount you may see some effects on your health and ability to work out.



    No I'm getting 1200 calories? And burning about 300 on top of that. People have been telling me to burn more than I'm eating but I personally can't see myself burning 1200-1500 cals in a day

    The people that told you to burn equal an amount of exercise cals to what you are eating are incorrect.

    You should be netting calories in MFP. Therefore to net 1200 you need to eat 1500 - 300 (exercise) = 1200. Currently you are netting 900 and over time this leads to side effects down the road that can be quite unpleasant and affect your overall health if done over a period of time.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You’re only netting 900 calories? That’s not good. You should be eating the amount that MFP gives you plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. This won’t keep you from losing, but if you keep to this amount you may see some effects on your health and ability to work out.



    No I'm getting 1200 calories? And burning about 300 on top of that. People have been telling me to burn more than I'm eating but I personally can't see myself burning 1200-1500 cals in a day

    Your body needs energy (calories) just to function. The recommendation of 1500 cals is what mfp calculates you need to lose weight, just going about your daily life, before you add purposeful exercise. When you exercise, you should eat more cals to compensate, so that your intake balances out with your output to be 1500.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You’re only netting 900 calories? That’s not good. You should be eating the amount that MFP gives you plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. This won’t keep you from losing, but if you keep to this amount you may see some effects on your health and ability to work out.



    No I'm getting 1200 calories? And burning about 300 on top of that. People have been telling me to burn more than I'm eating but I personally can't see myself burning 1200-1500 cals in a day

    You burn way more than 1500 calories just by living and going about your day. You should be aiming for at least 1200 calories AFTER exercise, if not your goal. Prolonged undereating can lead to muscle loss and a number of other serious health issues.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Whatever gets your HR up for the longest overall time in a way you can deal with is the best calorie burn.
  • Its_thetime
    Its_thetime Posts: 18 Member
    I have a heart rate monitor and hiit burns more calories in a shorter amt of time for me, plus I started losing inches from my butt and thighs, two problem areas for me, much faster as a result of hiit. Just do something you'll stick to, any exercise is better than none, but diet is king!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I have a heart rate monitor and hiit burns more calories in a shorter amt of time for me, plus I started losing inches from my butt and thighs, two problem areas for me, much faster as a result of hiit. Just do something you'll stick to, any exercise is better than none, but diet is king!

    Heart rate monitors are not accurate for HIIT. They are designed specifically for steady state cardio.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    You’re only netting 900 calories? That’s not good. You should be eating the amount that MFP gives you plus at least a portion of your exercise calories. This won’t keep you from losing, but if you keep to this amount you may see some effects on your health and ability to work out.



    No I'm getting 1200 calories? And burning about 300 on top of that. People have been telling me to burn more than I'm eating but I personally can't see myself burning 1200-1500 cals in a day

    You burn calories just by breathing, a bunch of them.

    You can lose weight without any exercise, because you burn so many just being alive.