Had a fitness assessment, feel even more confused

dammitjanet0161

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

^^ This. High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

Azdak

The sole purpose of the "free" fitness assessment is to sell you personal training. It exists for no other purpose and the trainer is a salesperson. Relax, breathe, do the exercises you like to do. You got this!

Not at our center. Our first goal is to get people started on workout programs that are designed for them, and that are focused on meeting their goals.

And by doing the right thing up front, guess what? People feel confident and satisfied--and we end up selling a buttload of training packages.

Dogwalkingirl

I think the information you were given in generally pretty good advice. If you are new to the gym and lifting heavy scares you right away you do not have to do it (despite what others may say on here). However, in my opinion make sure you do get some strength training in because I think you will be very happy with the results (squat squat squat at home, do planks to strengthen your core and work on push ups etc).

If your main goal is weight loss fitness is of course VERY important to us, will make you feel better, aid you in a better lifestyle but your diet is number one. Most professionals say it is 80 percent of weight loss so watch what you are eating..make sure you log accurately, eat at your calorie goal (1200 is low for most people depending on your height and weight and you have already said you were not happy eating that).

As far as personal training sessions..that is up to you..in my opinion some gyms are just trying to make money out of you, other gyms I am sure the trainers are really helpful and it may make you feel more comfortable. Good luck!

Azdak

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

^^ This. High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

Hours? Hyperbole much? Unless your "steady state cardio" consists of mall shopping, a shorter HIIT workout will rarely burn more calories than a longer steady-state workout--even if you factor in the overhyped "afterburn".

There are benefits to HIIT training, but a big calorie burn is not one of them.

kshadows

That sounds like a great plan, that the trainer gave you. You need MUCH more than 1200 calories, and if you are eating ~1500, you should eat back at least some of your exercise cals too. You can lift no matter how much weight you have to lose. I am a 5'5 female, 150 lbs. I started lifting closer to 165 lbs. I lost several inches from my waist and hips almost immediately. I eat ~1600 cals a day plus exercise calories. I do LOTS of cardio (running) because I love it.

I highly recommend the sexypants thread. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=sexypants&page=9#posts-20472751

msf74

I want long term, sustainable results and maybe this is the way to get them, but it scares me.

You know what I think drives long term sustainable results more than anything? Enjoying what you are doing, having fun and having what you do give you a sense of achievement as it aligns with your goals.

If you don't want to do the HIIT then...don't (I have some qualms about a trainer suggesting to someone, who is by their own admission "seriously out of shape" jump straight into HIIT but we will leave that to a side.)

1. Get a good handle on your diet and eat at a calorie level which is challenging but not miserable.
2. Do 2-3 resistance training sessions a week that you like (doesn't have to be barbell training)
3. Do the type of cardio you like
4. Rest a bit
5. Profit

HBMairi

You have to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself, and I think you ahve been given good advice. Its worth a go, and if you dont like it then adapt it to what you are comfortable doing.

I started lifting and eating properly in November, Ive now lost 4.5 inches off my waist, dropped a couple of dress sizes, toned up and lost a fair amount of body fat. I try and log everything each day as it lets me see exactly where Im at with nutrition. Your diary is a bit empty. Mine is open if you want to look at mine, to see what I do.

Add me as a friend, I will give as much advice as I can xx

Hope you do well on your journey

PS: I used to do long slow cardio and never saw any drop in weight/results. Changed to High intensity cardio, and boom the weight loss started

JoRocka

EDIT: Bah my awesome graph failed.

I think the advice was reasonable/decent for the most part.


That being said, there is still plenty of room for personal preference in how you structure that training program. IE there are many ways to go about it but very generally the advice to lift ~3/week and do some cardio afterwards is pretty solid to me insofar as a general recommendation.


Finally, I think you should pause and ask yourself why you are upset over someone giving you information and guidance.

Big fat emphasis on the last bolded sentence

She gave you solid advice. You can tailor it a bit- but being that upset over something like that should cause some self reflection.

dammitjanet0161

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

^^ This. High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

Hours? Hyperbole much? Unless your "steady state cardio" consists of mall shopping, a shorter HIIT workout will rarely burn more calories than a longer steady-state workout--even if you factor in the overhyped "afterburn".

There are benefits to HIIT training, but a big calorie burn is not one of them.

Pardon me for maybe using a cliche. At least I was on topic - the OP didn't ask about her almond consumption, which you addressed in your previous response.

levitateme

EDIT: Bah my awesome graph failed.

I think the advice was reasonable/decent for the most part.


That being said, there is still plenty of room for personal preference in how you structure that training program. IE there are many ways to go about it but very generally the advice to lift ~3/week and do some cardio afterwards is pretty solid to me insofar as a general recommendation.


Finally, I think you should pause and ask yourself why you are upset over someone giving you information and guidance.

Big fat emphasis on the last bolded sentence

She gave you solid advice. You can tailor it a bit- but being that upset over something like that should cause some self reflection.

I agree. I wish I could go back in time to when I was 40 lbs overweight, slaving away doing nothing but cardio, and tell myself to add weightlifting into my mix.

y00b0y

What I would recommend is to do what that woman said (3 days of lifting with High Intensity cardio) and on off days do some low intensity steady state cardio, eg. go for a walk or a slow jog, ride a bike, or anything that will not tax your system much and that you can easily maintain for an hour or so.

rsoice

Beth, just a thought. You said that you've gained and lost, gained and lost and from the sounds of things you're primary activity was cardio. There's nothing wrong with trying something different and perhaps getting different results. Ultimately it comes down to commitment and a little physiology. Muscle burns calories. Not shocking I know but you aren't going to build as much muscle via cardio as you are lifting. I'd say give it a shot. Mix the two, lift and cardio and give it a real test (at least 30 days but more like 6 weeks to start seeing real results).

Azdak

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

^^ This. High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

Hours? Hyperbole much? Unless your "steady state cardio" consists of mall shopping, a shorter HIIT workout will rarely burn more calories than a longer steady-state workout--even if you factor in the overhyped "afterburn".

There are benefits to HIIT training, but a big calorie burn is not one of them.

Pardon me for maybe using a cliche. At least I was on topic - the OP didn't ask about her almond consumption, which you addressed in your previous response.

Not me. Different dog pic.

parkscs

So I had a fitness assessment this morning as a part of joining a new gym and left in tears. Not because I found out I am seriously out of shape, I knew that. But because I'm just so lost. MFP gives me 1200 calories but I know that is not sustainable for me. I've done that and lost and then crashed and burned and gained tons back. So, I allow myself 1500 with the mental agreement that I will burn at least a few hundred a day. Well the woman I met with was wonderful and she said I need to stop focusing on cardio so much and lift heavy. I know that is the popular thing these days and probably for great reasons and if I had 10 pounds to lose, maybe it would be right for me, but I have 40 to lose. I'm afraid of not doing cardio. She said I should be doing heavy weights followed by about 20 minutes of interval cardio. I'm just so scared to do that. That would be 3 days a week and I know I could do more cardio than she suggests but I just feel like I have no clue what to do. She also thinks I should set up some personal training sessions to at least get a start/program but I don't know, I'm just so lost and confused and afraid and feel like I need to cut down to 1200 calories if I am going to have any success. I want long term, sustainable results and maybe this is the way to get them, but it scares me.

Scared, crying, scared again... seriously, weight loss is fairly straightforward/simple (although that doesn't mean it's easy). You're making this way more difficult and dramatic than it needs to be.

In terms of feeling confused, weight loss all boils down to finding a way of eating and exercising that lets you achieve a caloric deficit. If you want to optimize things further, make sure you're hitting your protein macro every day and try to eat plenty of vegetables/nutrient-rich foods. But that's basically it when it comes to weight loss fundamentals, and everything else you should feel free to adjust to fit your personal preferences. Sustainability and consistency are key, so finding what works for you is very important (and requires some experimentation).

If you enjoy weight training, you should definitely do it because it's going to help with your body composition and overall health. If you have the time and would rather do more cardio, you're only lifting 3 days a week so you have plenty of time for additional cardio if that's what you prefer. But the first thing you need to do is relax.

davis978

You know what is the best exercise? The exercise you enjoy, look forward to, and make a consistent part of your life for the long term. I think you should try to get open to the possibility of doing some strength training (you can lift moderate - you don't have to lift heavy!) or at least to try to not be afraid of it, but it is totally possible to maintain a healthy weight on cardio alone. However, you will probably be happier with your body when you reach your goal weight if you do at least a little strength training.

I think food is your issue more than exercise.

Since you have done low calorie goals before and failed, and since you have less than 50 pounds to lose, I think you are a great candidate for the "eating for the future you" method. Calculate your TDEE at your goal weight, including the type and amount of exercise that you like to do, and start eating that number of calories today, and plan to eat that number of calories and do that amount of exercise every day for the rest of your life. That number will probably be more than 1500, and you won't feel so desperate. The down side is of this is that the last 15 pounds will take an eternity to lose. You will have to be patient. The up side is that you go about living your life, you make this a change for the long term, and you don't have to feel stressed about whether you are lifting or not.

There is more than one right way to do this. The right way for you is the way that gives you a rich, full life that you enjoy living.

elliej

It sounds like an awesome plan, if you don't want to give up your cardio do a heavy lift day then the next day or day after do a big run or cycle or whatever. I wouldn't do both on the same day personally.

Read up on Stronglifts or another program, they mostly let you have 'cardio days'

Azdak

I want long term, sustainable results and maybe this is the way to get them, but it scares me.

You know what I think drives long term sustainable results more than anything? Enjoying what you are doing, having fun and having what you do give you a sense of achievement as it aligns with your goals.

If you don't want to do the HIIT then...don't (I have some qualms about a trainer suggesting to someone, who is by their own admission "seriously out of shape" jump straight into HIIT but we will leave that to a side.)

1. Get a good handle on your diet and eat at a calorie level which is challenging but not miserable.
2. Do 2-3 resistance training sessions a week that you like (doesn't have to be barbell training)
3. Do the type of cardio you like
4. Rest a bit
5. Profit

^^good advice from a non-lemming.

JoRocka

it is good advice.

but it's pretty much what everyone else said.

The snark and name calling is completely unnecessary.

CupcakeCrusoe

Don't fear lifting. Just because you should lift doesn't mean you can't also do cardio.

I'm training for a half-marathon and doing stronglifts 5x5 on days I don't train. (I echo everyone's sentiment, I love stronglifts).

What's more, 1500 seems totally reasonable as a calorie amount, knowing nothing about you personally.

rides4sanity

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

I spent many years doing it "my way" which was mostly cardio... I'd drop weight, but having not built much muscle I had a very difficult time maintaining my loss. I am currently working with a trainer. For the first time I am trusting someone to guide me and actually doing what he says... It doesn't always make sense to me, but I trust him...

I have made more progress in the last 6 months than I had made in years of doing it my way... I am training for bike races. The first things he told me were. 1. Eat more, but differently. Focus on nutrition not just calories. 2. Cut your cardio back, you are overtraining. 3. Add weights. Increasing your muscle mass increases your RMR, so that it is easier to maintain.

I've dropped 12% BF and 15 pounds...

Take home message... Find someone you trust who has shown they know how to succeed, and give them a chance to help you. Put aside your ideas (they weren't working anyway) and commit to the program.

Best of luck, Nikki