Cardio or weights to lose body fat??

bex220712

Can someone tell me which is best thing to use in the gym to lose body fat?? I do alot of cardio and dont seem to be seeing much improvement on the scales

liz0269

A calorie deficit is the only way to burn body fat.
It doesn't matter if it comes from exercise or reducing what you eat.
It also doesn't matter what type of exercise you do.

bex220712

I'm already doing that. I do a hour of cardio 5 times a week and not seeing much improvement on the scale?

sardelsa

Calorie deficit to lose weight most importantly. Lifting weights can help retain muscle as you lose so the weight lost is more fat vs muscle and you end up with a more defined appearance and more optimal lowering of bodyfat %. Cardio is great for health and burning calories.

sardelsa

Are you weighing all your food with a food scale? If you are accurate with your logging you could be retaining water from a new exercise routine. Be patient.

liz0269

bex220712 wrote: »

I'm already doing that. I do a hour of cardio 5 times a week and not seeing much improvement on the scale?

Are you eating back your exercise calories?
When I ate back all of mine, I actually gained weight.
Now I eat back half of them and I am losing weight.
Also, are you sure you're eating in a deficit? Are you weighing your food?

bex220712

Yes I weigh my food. And I dont eat any of my exercise calories. Some days I struggle to eat my calorie intake. I have lost quite abit since Jan but was doing more swimming than gym. I also use the boditrax machine to weigh. My muscle has increased. I am quite strict on self so dont snack on bad things etc. Just baffles me how gym doesn't seem to be helping. I'm going to speak to one of the trainers and aww what they suggest

sardelsa

It sounds like you could be retaining water from exercise if you have just increased the amount and intensity since you were losing before. Patience

liz0269

I know when I first started, it took about a month before it started showing up on the scale. I lost two pounds but went from a size 14 to a 12. Are you measuring inches?

ogtmama

How long have you been doing this routine?

fr33sia12

bex220712 wrote: »

Can someone tell me which is best thing to use in the gym to lose body fat?? I do alot of cardio and dont seem to be seeing much improvement on the scales

When you say "don't seem to be seeing much improvement on the scales" what do you mean by that exactly. Are you losing any weight at all, how much weight do you need to lose, what are your stats? A lot of people say they aren't losing weight, when they are losing maybe 1lb a week but expecting to lose more. It can be a slow process when your close to your goal weight.

Lolalikeslolagets

Two years ago I started paying attention to how much protein I was eating and along with weightlifting I’ve been slowly shaping my body to how I want. I did CrossFit for 5 years before that and was very fit but looked the same as I always did. Weightlifting slimmed me down noticbly but I weigh 10 pounds more than I did 2 years ago. Usually it takes me 3 months to loose 5 pounds when I do a cut, and I’m about a month in to my cut now. Currently I don’t do any cardio but have recently restarted (well, I’m going to force myself) to see if my weight starts moving down. So I guess we’re in the same boat lol
*edited to add- sorry loud kids made me hit done by mistake!
If you lift weights it’s really good for you and way better if you want to change your shape. Try it but stick to a program for at least 3 months..

fr33sia12

I see you've posted about this problem a few other times, maybe not getting the answer you want instead of listening to the advice given. In other posts you say you've been counting calories since January but only came on MFP in April. Did you count on a different site or just guess? You also said you didn't realise how little you were eating, so maybe you could be eating more than you think if you don't realise how much you're eating. All things to consider.

Caralarma

Calorie deficit is key- but when it comes to exercise, resistance training such as weight lifting is more beneficial than cardio.

Panini911

How much do you have left to lose?
how tall are you?
how much is "not much improvement" what exactly is your trending rate of loss?

You previous asked if swimming or gym was better for weight loss. Pick something you ENJOY doing and likely to keep doing. Weight loss comes from a calorie deficit. what exercise you do doesn't matter big picture for weight loss, it matters for general health.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/43705954#Comment_43705954

If you are changing up your exercise routine you are likely seeing water retention as muscles repair themselves at each change.

Westbury84

Need to hit the weights