Spot training vs cardio/weight training

blueyegrl

*First, yes, I could probably search the forums to see if this has already been answered, but I find when I do that the answer doesn't always answer my question, so I want to ask anyway.*

I have lost 32 pounds, and want to lose a total of 55 more. I have not taken measurements, but my clothes are all getting much looser, I have gone down a bra cup size (from D to C, still getting over this as I love the "girls"), and though I see a difference overall I carry most of my weight in my stomach, inner thighs and triceps (the dreaded chicken wings). Last nightt while I was squeezing my stomach fat and loudly asking it to "just go away", my hubby to be mentioned doing crunches. I told him that "spot training doesn't work" but then shortly after that while online was inundated with "sexy ab" DVD's, and other spot training articles.

I currently only use my elliptical for one hour, just about every day (at least 4 x a week, usually more), burning anywhere from about 590 calories to 690 calories depending on the intensity. I have kettlebells that I haven't used in a while, and I'm wondering if doing cardio (elliptical) every other day, kettlebells every other day, and crunches either everyday or every other day, if this is a feasible workout plan for losing weight in my problem areas (stomach, triceps, inner thighs) or if I should just keep up the elliptical only for now until I lose more weight.

Also, on a side note, my mother, who I love, is driving me f'ing crazy. She had gastric bypass surgery about 10 years ago, whenever I mention that I'm getting "bikini" ready she states that there is no way my stomach will ever be flat enough to wear a bikini, that once you have the extra weight/skin, it never goes away on it's own unless you have surgery. I wasn't / am not THAT overweight to the point where I believe extra skin will be an issue. Is it possible to get a flat, bikini ready stomach after losing 87 pounds (the total I want to lose). I just want to prove her wrong and get there! lol She's such a negative person, and even when I show her the success stories on here, she just doesn't think I'll be able to get to that point.

So yeah, thoughts on all this would be greatly appreciated!!

Smuterella

Start doing weights now, don't just do cardio. Honestly, you will be thankful later. Also, there is no such thing as bikini ready. You are ready to wear a bikini now, don't worry about other peoples judgements. :-)

NatalieAnne11

I think it is a good idea to change up your routine and not do the same thing every day, not only for your body but it helps so that you dont get tired of doing the same thing everyday.

ninerbuff

*First, yes, I could probably search the forums to see if this has already been answered, but I find when I do that the answer doesn't always answer my question, so I want to ask anyway.*

I have lost 32 pounds, and want to lose a total of 55 more. I have not taken measurements, but my clothes are all getting much looser, I have gone down a bra cup size (from D to C, still getting over this as I love the "girls"), and though I see a difference overall I carry most of my weight in my stomach, inner thighs and triceps (the dreaded chicken wings). Last nightt while I was squeezing my stomach fat and loudly asking it to "just go away", my hubby to be mentioned doing crunches. I told him that "spot training doesn't work" but then shortly after that while online was inundated with "sexy ab" DVD's, and other spot training articles.

I currently only use my elliptical for one hour, just about every day (at least 4 x a week, usually more), burning anywhere from about 590 calories to 690 calories depending on the intensity. I have kettlebells that I haven't used in a while, and I'm wondering if doing cardio (elliptical) every other day, kettlebells every other day, and crunches either everyday or every other day, if this is a feasible workout plan for losing weight in my problem areas (stomach, triceps, inner thighs) or if I should just keep up the elliptical only for now until I lose more weight.

Also, on a side note, my mother, who I love, is driving me f'ing crazy. She had gastric bypass surgery about 10 years ago, whenever I mention that I'm getting "bikini" ready she states that there is no way my stomach will ever be flat enough to wear a bikini, that once you have the extra weight/skin, it never goes away on it's own unless you have surgery. I wasn't / am not THAT overweight to the point where I believe extra skin will be an issue. Is it possible to get a flat, bikini ready stomach after losing 87 pounds (the total I want to lose). I just want to prove her wrong and get there! lol She's such a negative person, and even when I show her the success stories on here, she just doesn't think I'll be able to get to that point.

So yeah, thoughts on all this would be greatly appreciated!!

You CANNOT spot reduce any area of the body with exercise. Fat is lost systematically in the whole body, meaning if you lose 1% body fat, it's lost evenly all across the body. While doing elliptical will burn calories when you do the exercise, it does nothing to raise RMR and that's where most people who don't lift weights miss out. Lifting hard and heavy raises your RMR and will make the body burn more body fat.
As for loose skin, my experience is that anyone with more than 80lbs to lose will usually have a little to deal with. Gender, skin elasticity, age and genetics will dictate if your skin will retract back enough.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

adriana_hackney

bump I'm curious to see the answers. I mean seriously...you and I have so much in common goal wise. and to be honest I have wondered the same thing.

MB_Positif

Lift lift lift! The most impressive success stories I have seen on the forums showing women who have lost significant weight AND have a nice flat stomach always attribute it to lifting! Since I started lifting regularly, I have barely lost 2 pounds in the last 2 months, but I have gotten more compliments on how much I have slimmed down. And this is not from people who never see me! It's people from my church who see me at least twice a week! I am close to my goal, so the pounds are definitely going down slower, but you absolutely can still lose fat while lifting. Don't worry about spot reducing. Even if it was possible, what if you got so hung up on and had a nice flat stomach but were still clinging to fat elsewhere on your body! We want to lose it evenly!!

blueyegrl

*First, yes, I could probably search the forums to see if this has already been answered, but I find when I do that the answer doesn't always answer my question, so I want to ask anyway.*

I have lost 32 pounds, and want to lose a total of 55 more. I have not taken measurements, but my clothes are all getting much looser, I have gone down a bra cup size (from D to C, still getting over this as I love the "girls"), and though I see a difference overall I carry most of my weight in my stomach, inner thighs and triceps (the dreaded chicken wings). Last nightt while I was squeezing my stomach fat and loudly asking it to "just go away", my hubby to be mentioned doing crunches. I told him that "spot training doesn't work" but then shortly after that while online was inundated with "sexy ab" DVD's, and other spot training articles.

I currently only use my elliptical for one hour, just about every day (at least 4 x a week, usually more), burning anywhere from about 590 calories to 690 calories depending on the intensity. I have kettlebells that I haven't used in a while, and I'm wondering if doing cardio (elliptical) every other day, kettlebells every other day, and crunches either everyday or every other day, if this is a feasible workout plan for losing weight in my problem areas (stomach, triceps, inner thighs) or if I should just keep up the elliptical only for now until I lose more weight.

Also, on a side note, my mother, who I love, is driving me f'ing crazy. She had gastric bypass surgery about 10 years ago, whenever I mention that I'm getting "bikini" ready she states that there is no way my stomach will ever be flat enough to wear a bikini, that once you have the extra weight/skin, it never goes away on it's own unless you have surgery. I wasn't / am not THAT overweight to the point where I believe extra skin will be an issue. Is it possible to get a flat, bikini ready stomach after losing 87 pounds (the total I want to lose). I just want to prove her wrong and get there! lol She's such a negative person, and even when I show her the success stories on here, she just doesn't think I'll be able to get to that point.

So yeah, thoughts on all this would be greatly appreciated!!

You CANNOT spot reduce any area of the body with exercise. Fat is lost systematically in the whole body, meaning if you lose 1% body fat, it's lost evenly all across the body. While doing elliptical will burn calories when you do the exercise, it does nothing to raise RMR and that's where most people who don't lift weights miss out. Lifting hard and heavy raises your RMR and will make the body burn more body fat.
As for loose skin, my experience is that anyone with more than 80lbs to lose will usually have a little to deal with. Gender, skin elasticity, age and genetics will dictate if your skin will retract back enough.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

blueyegrl

bump I'm curious to see the answers. I mean seriously...you and I have so much in common goal wise. and to be honest I have wondered the same thing.

Send me a friend request, always looking for motivated friends who are on the same track!

engineman312

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

Basal Metabolic rate and RMR are basically the MINIMUM you should be consuming (give or take, this isn't exact) to sustain your body.

if you are exercising as much as you say you are, eat more. eat those eercise calories. they are delicious.

and alternating between cardio and weights is a very good plan. kettle bells are an awesome work out. i try and do a kettle bell routine once every week to ten days.

blueyegrl

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

Basal Metabolic rate and RMR are basically the MINIMUM you should be consuming (give or take, this isn't exact) to sustain your body.

if you are exercising as much as you say you are, eat more. eat those eercise calories. they are delicious.

and alternating between cardio and weights is a very good plan. kettle bells are an awesome work out. i try and do a kettle bell routine once every week to ten days.

I know I'm going to get slack for this, but seriously, when I eat my exercise calories, I do not lose, at all. I either stay the same or show a gain. I do occasionally eat some of them, but never all anymore. I believe, in my heart, that once I'm closer to my goal weight, then yes, I will probably benefit from eating those calories, but seriously, I'm not lying, lol, I have tried, with no loss.

HotBodUnderConstruction

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

Basal Metabolic rate and RMR are basically the MINIMUM you should be consuming (give or take, this isn't exact) to sustain your body.

if you are exercising as much as you say you are, eat more. eat those eercise calories. they are delicious.

and alternating between cardio and weights is a very good plan. kettle bells are an awesome work out. i try and do a kettle bell routine once every week to ten days.

I know I'm going to get slack for this, but seriously, when I eat my exercise calories, I do not lose, at all. I either stay the same or show a gain. I do occasionally eat some of them, but never all anymore. I believe, in my heart, that once I'm closer to my goal weight, then yes, I will probably benefit from eating those calories, but seriously, I'm not lying, lol, I have tried, with no loss.

There is no way for you to accurately capture the effects of eating your exercise calories back by staring at the scale. You need a tape measure and start measuring yourself. Try calculating your body fat % as well. You should work with the lean body mass you have, not against it. In other words, you should care about preserving the LBM you have by eating properly, and less concerned about just "losing pounds." Your scale will reflect fluctuations in water, fat AND muscle loss. You want to lose as much fat as possible while preserving the lean body mass you have. Of course, you will ultimately lose some muscle mass along the way because it's not possible to retain 100% of your LBM on a caloric deficit, but you risk losing LESS of it by maintaining the proper caloric deficit (i.e., ~500 caloric deficit a day).

engineman312

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

Basal Metabolic rate and RMR are basically the MINIMUM you should be consuming (give or take, this isn't exact) to sustain your body.

if you are exercising as much as you say you are, eat more. eat those eercise calories. they are delicious.

and alternating between cardio and weights is a very good plan. kettle bells are an awesome work out. i try and do a kettle bell routine once every week to ten days.

I know I'm going to get slack for this, but seriously, when I eat my exercise calories, I do not lose, at all. I either stay the same or show a gain. I do occasionally eat some of them, but never all anymore. I believe, in my heart, that once I'm closer to my goal weight, then yes, I will probably benefit from eating those calories, but seriously, I'm not lying, lol, I have tried, with no loss.

i haven't lost weight since thanksgiving. my pants feel a lot looser, and i've had to add three notches to my belt.

the scale is a dirty lying *kitten*.

funkycamper

Alright, I admit it, had to go look up RMR. I used a online calculator and it says: Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is: 1660.4031818182

Does that mean I have to keep my overall calorie intake under 1660 to continue to lose weight? Sorry, probably a very stupid question. Also, I work out at home, so don't know about hard and heavy on the weights. But the kettlebells, every other day, with elliptical, every other day. Does that sound promising? Or should I suck it up, pull money out of my *kitten*, join a gym, and train like I mean it! lol Thank you for the info, I really appreciate it!

Basal Metabolic rate and RMR are basically the MINIMUM you should be consuming (give or take, this isn't exact) to sustain your body.

if you are exercising as much as you say you are, eat more. eat those eercise calories. they are delicious.

and alternating between cardio and weights is a very good plan. kettle bells are an awesome work out. i try and do a kettle bell routine once every week to ten days.

I know I'm going to get slack for this, but seriously, when I eat my exercise calories, I do not lose, at all. I either stay the same or show a gain. I do occasionally eat some of them, but never all anymore. I believe, in my heart, that once I'm closer to my goal weight, then yes, I will probably benefit from eating those calories, but seriously, I'm not lying, lol, I have tried, with no loss.

i haven't lost weight since thanksgiving. my pants feel a lot looser, and i've had to add three notches to my belt.

the scale is a dirty lying *kitten*.

Yup, in December I decided to stop *****-footing around with my weight training (was doing low weights/high reps) and made the switch to lifting heavy/low reps. Have only lost 1# on the scale since then but have gone down a whole pant size. Woot! I'll take inch losses over scale losses any day.

Oh, and this was also about the time that I started getting much better about eating my exercise calories. I have also, since then, upped my net calorie target. Like the OP, in the past, I always felt like eating my exercise calories made me gain but I think the heavy weights combined with more intense exercise is really turning up my metabolism....and I love it!