How do you REALLY lose weight/burn fat? So many opinions!

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  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
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    exercise has its benefits, but you REALLY lose weight/burn fat by controlling what you eat. I've lost 52 pounds so far this year with the following 3 phase program...

    1. for the first 2 months, I did WW and no exercise. I lost around 21 pounds.

    2. for the next 2 months, I added 30ish minutes of cardio exercise 3-5x/week (stair climbing at first and then some running/biking)...did a 3 week natural cleanse...and otherwise made better food choices. I lost around 18 pounds during this phase.

    3. during phase 2, I read a LOT of stuff about nutrition and exercise. I was very worried that I would gain back the weight I lost during the cleanse and wanted to have some options to try for when I was done with the cleanse. During phase 3, I intensified my exercise. I added resistance training, and HIIT with sprint intervals. During the first 4 months of phase 3, I've lost roughly 13 pounds...but my body has changed more than that. I've added some muscle definition, there's a lot of tightening up all over, and my conditioning has improved. I think the HIIT sprint intervals make a big difference. I do 4 different types of sprint intervals...and most of the workouts are 30ish minutes.

    at this time, a typical exercise week for me looks like...

    monday.... 1 hour boot camp (something I added about 5 weeks ago)..and on weeks I can't go to boot camp, I do a resistance training circuit at my house

    tuesday... rest day, jog, or bike

    wednesday... 30 minute resistance training, full body circuit in my home gym.

    thursday...rest day, jog, or one of these types of intervals...sprint/walk or sprint/jog

    friday....rest day, jog or bike

    saturday...sprint/bodyweight exercise HIIT or shuttle sprint/bodyweight exercise circuit HIIT

    sunday...rest day, jog or bike (typically I don't have time to bike during the weekdays so I try to carve out some time for biking on sunday).
  • ShannonBas
    ShannonBas Posts: 101 Member
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    I've lost (so far, still have more to lose) around 25 lbs doing a combination of Cardio & strength training while counting calories. :heart: It's the only way that I've been able to successfully lose weight. I can maintain doing only one or two of the three... but I have to have all 3 to lose. :drinker:

    But, like others have said, everyone's body works differently. What may work for one, may not work for another. Once you figure out what works, keep at it! :flowerforyou:
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Mine has been due to calorie currency, staying under my goals, eating whatever i like as long as it's in budget, and burning at least 600 calories 6 days a week.

    Hasn't been hard in the slightest for me.

    My shopping list would make some people on here shudder, but i know what I'm doing! I just like variety in my food!
  • kmcrey87
    kmcrey87 Posts: 422 Member
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    I just do what makes me feel good, strong, and proud at the end of the day! I am told I do way too much cardio.... but it makes me happy, so who cares?!

    I work out six days a week from anywhere from an hour - two and half hours and I include atleast three days of abs and weights in there.

    I say do what makes you feel good and what works for you!
  • Sweettart
    Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
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    bump
  • 123456654321
    123456654321 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    Burn more then you eat or eat less then you burn. For a normal healthy person, it's really as simple as that. Cardio is burns cals and is good for your heart and lungs. Lifting will burn cals, tone and preserve muscles if you are on a deficit /build muscles if you are eating a surplus. Since weight loss is generally just calories in vs calories out, it can be accomplished by doing just 1 of the above. Ideally, doing a good balance of all the above would be best for your overall health.

    For me, mine was mostly done with diet alone. Now that I am maintaining I am getting more serious about strength training and cardio. I do wish I would have been doing this all along. My workouts are currently no longer then an hour all together and I am getting toned with more energy for sure.

    Good luck!
  • nat102
    nat102 Posts: 118 Member
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    Follow the calorie recommendations listed on here, do not worry about anything BUT the calories...

    Do cardio as much as possible to lower your bfp, at least 5 days a week...

    Do weight training every OTHER day... I have not done this, but I know this to be the case.

    And as harsh as this sounds... when people are throwing out advice... take a look at their pics and their progress... that gives you a good idea whether or not they know what they are talking about ;)

    hahahah i do this subconsciously
  • solpwr
    solpwr Posts: 1,039 Member
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    These are non-negotiable things you have to do to lose weight:

    1) Maintain a calorie deficit on a weekly basis.
    2) Keep a food and exercise diary.
    3) Always ingest at least 1,200 calories every day.

    Beyond that its all personal opinion that could be based on fact, fiction, preference, experience, etc.

    Some posts have said cardio is bad. Some say its 90% diet. Both of those are personal opinion. Go back to the 3 non-negotiable things.

    Here is my personal opinion, worth no more than any of the others:

    Background
    I am a 52 year old man. In my 20's I was a bodybuilder and competitive arm wrestler. I had to stay active to not gain weight because of genetics. I also love food and drink.
    I always rode bicycles to do cardio, to enhance the calorie deficit.
    When I got married and became a father, I sacrificed my health to take care of day to day responsibilities. At one point (in my early 40's) I was 120 pounds overweight.
    I yo-yo dieted off and on my whole life.

    Currently
    I have lost 40 pounds since January 2011. I am within 10 pounds of my goal. I have a body fat percentage of 15.3%.
    I like to eat at least 2,000 calories each day. Below that I feel deprived. But sadly the math doesn't work for a 52 year old man who sits at a computer all day to eat that much without gaining weight.
    So guess what... I do cardio to allow me to eat 2,200 calories per day and still lose weight. Its worked fine for me.

    And I can still bench 280 and seated military 200. At 52, lifting only in the winter months when the daylight hours are few and I can't get outside. I've grown to hate the gym (or exercise indoors) for the most part, but it is a necessary evil certain parts of the year.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,243 Member
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    What works for me is 1) Moderate Calorie deficit; 2) Moderate Calorie deficit (did I already type that, well it bear repeating) 3) Exercising (Tae-bo, HIIT, Metabolic Resistance Training, and Weight Lifting--I have used and continue to use all these not really worrying about how many minutes a day or anything like that) 4) Rest enough to recover from the workouts. At this moment I am using a program from Craig Ballyntine's Turbulence Training called Body Weight Cardio 3 which has 4 workouts a week and the other days are rest days where I can do 15-30 minutes of light exercise. Above all a moderate calorie deficit is what is fundamental. Not a huge one.
  • mikeyrp
    mikeyrp Posts: 1,616 Member
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    All the advice here is excellent. Rather than repeat it - I'll ask you a question - what is your end goal?

    If you JUST want to loose weight - count calories. That is all.

    If you want to get fit and create a new lifestyle where you partake in exercise as part of your daily routine - do CV work. Personally I was pushed into running by my little sister who volunteered me for a 10K. I loved it - I love running, I love the club I run in and I'm looking forward to a half marathon in a few weeks and a marathon next year. I'm on maintenance now and whilst I'm doing this much training my only concern is that I eat enough and what I eat is healthy. Food = Fuel!

    With respect to the calorie counting - bare in mind that a half marathon distance burns 1600 calories - and I do a long run (between 10 and 13 miles) once a week now. I also do one or two short runs (6 miles - 800 cal) and a session with my club (500-800 cal) . So - a good way to loose weight quickly! I started MFP in Jan 2011 and hit target maintenance about the same time I did my first 10K race in July 2011. Have lost about 4lb since so I've moved from the top to the bottom of my maintenance range.

    If you want to get buff and show off your muscles - do weights. Personally I still do weights once a week - I it works my arms more than running and helps with core strength - its good complimentary training.

    Oh - and eating rubbish - even in your calorific range - makes you feel bad. Seriously - I had a couple of days working away last week and whilst I was on line for calories I felt sick - as if I had a cold coming on. Next day I insisted on eating right (chicken salad, yoghurt, water instead of soda - day after - felt great again). So - whilst I'm no food puritan, I do recommend a balanced diet.

    My goals were 'Healthy & Happy' - so far so good.
  • dannylives
    dannylives Posts: 611
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    Man, that's a lot of information. Give me a minute.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    What worked for me was eating very little and running a lot plus circuits and aerobics. At times it seemed like it wasn't working and I wasn't losing anything, but that was just impatience. I got to goal weight pretty quickly in the end.
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
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    Do what ever works for you!
    Me, I work out at least once a day 6 days a week. Most days I do 2 routines, one at home cardio-based program with DVDs and the at a gym class. I strive to go to one class a day and I alternate between cardio classes and strength classes (I do strength training 2-3 times a week). If I've had a crappy day, bored or just have spare time I'll go to an evening class or pop in another DVD for a cardio quickie.

    I also completed Couch to 5K and now jog 3 times a week.

    Other wise I log everything in MFP, drink 2 protein shakes a day to help build lean muscle & prevent soreness and have 1 cheat meal a week. The weight loss below is from May of this year.
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
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    im a pound shy of 30, so i dont count :grumble: AND :cry:
  • hamncheese67
    hamncheese67 Posts: 1,715 Member
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    Like most (everyone?) stated, calorie deficit for the weight loss. Then comes all the stuff for my health. I exercise for my health. I choose what I eat for my health. I'm not entirely sure what I am doing is optimal or perfect but do what I can.

    So for exercise, I wanted it to be regular because if it wasn't, I would eventually stop. That's why I started out with Power 90 and then moved onto P90X. Does it help with my weight loss? I like to think so, but I've lost weight before without it. It's also partly a mental thing that keeps me on track. I have this program that I'm doing, so in order to make it feel worthwhile, I feel like I should keep up healthy eating habits. Also, when I got sick once so far, I stopped exercising. Rest is important.

    As for what I eat, I follow along the avoid/limit fast foods and processed foods. I try to get enough protein so that I can do P90X, which seems to be around 150 g per day at minimum. Try to eat mostly lean meats, veggies, fruit, whole grains, and dairy (mostly yogurt and eggs). I try to limit added sugars but will have an occasional treat (ice cream). I try to eat in and cook my own meals as much as possible. I'm not particularly low-carb or low-fat, but try to eat what people say are the "good" types of each.

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