calorie deficit from exercise/cardio alone

jasveersingh925

i've been wondering this for quite some time now and want to know how others have done. if you don't eat back your exercise calories and eat around maintenance, have you lost fat? if so, what was your exercise routine like and how many calories were you burning?

vismal

Calories in vs calories out works no matter which side of the equation you use to create a deficit. If you want to lose a lb a week you need roughly a 3500 calorie deficit. Depending on your height, weight, and gender this could be quite a lot of cardio. The other issue you must consider is that cardio has some diminishing returns. A couch sedentary person who never runs is going to burn more calories running 5 miles then someone of similar height and weight who trains for marathons.

So what you are suggesting can certainly be possible if you are willing to put in enough of the cardio to get it done. I'd recommend investing in a heart rate monitor if this is going to be your approach so you have a better idea of what you are actually burning.

yarwell

I never managed to pull that off, I seemed to auto-compensate for increased exercise by falling asleep in front of the TV or snacking more.

jasveersingh925

Thanks vismal! You've chimed in before on my questions on here and bb.com and you're always helpful. I vary it up between running and the elliptical machine and use a heart rate monitor to know what I'm burning. I burn around 600 calories on the elliptical and pretty much can do this every day. It really helps out a lot to know that I have these calories in the "bank". I also try to create a deficit through my diet, but due to the fact that I'm eating in social situations just about every weekend, I need a buffer to help out with inaccuracies. That's where the cardio comes in. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to stick to a calorie goal every day which is the ideal situation to go about this.