cardio vs weight lifting

missy5277

I do 5 days of cardio and 1 day of weight lifting every week for 45 min, my average calorie loss is 500 a day, however im not losing weight or inches and i'm not going over my calories. i want to switch up things so i'm trying to get advice from others.

abigail1977

Keep the cardio and increase the weight lifting. I am surprised you are not seeing results. What kind of cardio & how long? Also, a personal trainer would be very helpful if you are able to hire one.

elizabethblake

Also, what are you eating?

DannyMussels

I usually alternate, weights, cardio, weights, cardio . maybe every 4th day off.

Then switch it up whenever my bodys feeling adjusted (monthly) to the new routine, or whenever I'm feelin a little naughty.

missy5277

i rotate each day, so eliptical level 8 doing hill cascades, bike level 8 hill cascades, treadmill manual incline level 8, weight lifting going from machine to machine. Each month i up the level so i just started level 8. i have my goal set to lose 2lbs a week so i think i get like 1340 calories but when i add my excersize calories its like 1800 but normally i cant get past 1500 calories unless i put some candy in my mouth!!

slbeutler

Weight loss is 80% dependent on your diet. I workout like crazy, but if I don't keep my diet in check, I will not lose, even gain.

slbeutler

Also, I agree with others, you should do strength training at least 3 times a week.

missy5277

mon-fri i eat pretty much the same thing yogurt on the way to they gym, snack is some sort of fruit or yogart, lunch usually salad with only lettuce, egg and a low calorie dressing, next snack some sort of fruit or nut, at this time i still have over 900-1000 calories left to eat dinner usually racks up about 500 calories. So i dont know if i'm not eating enough or what. On the weekends i eat whatever but i still dont go over calories beacuse i do 1.5hrs of cardio so i burn around 1000 calories.

elizabethblake

It sounds to me like you're not eating enough, and probably not getting enough protein either. Add some grilled chicken to your salad.

Are you taking at least one day off from exercise? Your schedule sounds brutal!

j_courter

this site has some great tips on interval training for weight loss... there's even supposed to be a free lose belly fat fast workout, but i haven't tried it just yet.

http://www.intervaltraining.net/

hellen72

I find that MFP overestimates the calories burned so you might think you have a deficit but perhaps you only have a tiny one. That, combined with under recording which most people do means you are no longer in deficit

I would suggest reducing what MFP says by 20% ish or if you do 60 mins record it as 50 mins

Also, when you do cardio do intervals/ fast burst. Instead of pootling along on the cross trainer for 45 mins do some fast bursts. Start off with 1 min really hard 2 mins recover then repeat about 5-10 times. Interval training is meant to burn more cals

ahamm002

A few points:

1. Are you working out in your "comfort zone?" You have to keep challenging yourself if you want to keep making gains.

2. What kind of resistance training are you doing? Make sure to do COMPOUND exercises that work the big muscle groups. And don't lift the same thing every time. Slowly increase your reps, and then increase your weight with decreased reps. Then start increaseing reps again, rinse repeat. And no, you will not bulk up, that's incredibly hard to do.

3. Consider doing circuit training (aka metabolic resistance training) on your resistance days to increase your calories burned.

4. Do HIIT on some of your cardio days.

5. Eat lots and lots of protein. Never snack on processed carbs unless you just worked out.

EDIT: I just read that you were going for two pounds per week weight loss. Unless you're really overweight, trying to cut calories by 1000 per day can be counter productive. Aim for a 500 daily caloric deficit.