Should I just stick to Cardio

Perfectdiamonds1

whats your goal? to be skinny and scrawny or healthy and fit?

lift weights because having muscles helps speed up your metabolism and thus lets you eat more now and later on, it also means you are overall stronger and won't develop issues later on down the line.

cardio is good for heart health, getting a good calorie burn and losing fat.

the scale will go up and down as the water weight in your muscles shift back and forth but as long as there is a downward trend you are good.

Thank you so much for your reply. My goal is to be healthy and fit. OH NO, not skinny and scrawny :laugh: I do feel better doing the cardio 3 day per week for 60 to 90 minutes each time. The strenght training is on opposite days 3 times per week with a rest day on Sunday. I will continue my journey. Its only been 45 days. Maybe I'm just looking at the quick weight loses on here that have been achieved in a few months.

Perfectdiamonds1

definitely do both. it's relatively easy for me to gain muscle and bulk (i'm a former athlete that's how i know ) and i've been lifting heavy for several months as well as cardio. i've lost a lot of fat and been fairly consistent with the weight loss.

you want to continue to do weights because that will will help you keep as much muscle as you possibly can while losing weight. the more muscle you lose then the lower your metabolism will be, which you dont want.

oh and the people losing 20 pounds in 2 months probably are very very significantly overweight

Thank you for your reply. I will continue. Maybe this is just a bump in the road for me, It was just so disappointing when I was losing weekly. I just have to calm myself down and take my time.

I do walk 3-5 miles 3 times per week. I am on 1580 calories per day. I realize that I need to cut back on my daily cal. intake with the current weight lose according to MFP. So it now 1480.

kcoftx

The scale fluctuates. In the beginning it looks awful because you lose and gain back the same 3-5lbs. Over time you will see it being 4-8lbs, then 7-12lbs, etc. (It generally fluctuates 1-5lbs and during TOM, some report 10lb gains!). My point though is over time you will see the loss but over a month, it is harder because you are still seeing early losses and "gaining those back." It's not that you are gaining, you are seeing natural fluctuations due to other factors. You've read some of those factors already.

My advice, find multiple ways to measure. I have the scale, body fat calculators, pictures (seriously love these), and body measurements. Not all of them may show differences at once but seeing some kind of result out of all those measurements keeps me encouraged.

Also know that later, you might some weeks with no loss then suddenly drop the weight. That's normal too. It's not a linear process.

What you want to look at is progress over time.

Dieting though is 80% of the process. Do that right, you've won a significant part of the battle. Make sure you are measuring and logging consistently. Educate yourself on how much to fuel your body, particularly if you are adding exercise.

But yes, do both. Don't freak out over the scale.

fluffysexyme

I was doing just cardio in the beginning and lost 17 lbs. When I added weights and yoga I gained back 7 lbs, but I'm 4 inches smaller in my waist and over all I think I've lost like 11 inches in 2 months. It's hard to watch the scale act a fool when you know you're doing the work. I just figure she'll get her act together eventually, but as long as I'm slimming down I'm happy.
Plus, you'll want to make sure your activity level is correct in MFP to be sure you're eating the right number of calories. Prior to my weight gain I was stuck for over a month because I was in starvation mode. Fixed that and now the inches are back to falling off.
Good luck!

Perfectdiamonds1

The scale fluctuates. In the beginning it looks awful because you lose and gain back the same 3-5lbs. Over time you will see it being 4-8lbs, then 7-12lbs, etc. (It generally fluctuates 1-5lbs and during TOM, some report 10lb gains!). My point though is over time you will see the loss but over a month, it is harder because you are still seeing early losses and "gaining those back." It's not that you are gaining, you are seeing natural fluctuations due to other factors. You've read some of those factors already.

My advice, find multiple ways to measure. I have the scale, body fat calculators, pictures (seriously love these), and body measurements. Not all of them may show differences at once but seeing some kind of result out of all those measurements keeps me encouraged.

Also know that later, you might some weeks with no loss then suddenly drop the weight. That's normal too. It's not a linear process.

What you want to look at is progress over time.

Dieting though is 80% of the process. Do that right, you've won a significant part of the battle. Make sure you are measuring and logging consistently. Educate yourself on how much to fuel your body, particularly if you are adding exercise.

But yes, do both. Don't freak out over the scale.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, this is a lifestyle change for me for health reasons. I will stick to it. The replies have been so motivating and this is just a bump in the road for me. I just have to get over it and continue to do what I'm doing.

Perfectdiamonds1

I was doing just cardio in the beginning and lost 17 lbs. When I added weights and yoga I gained back 7 lbs, but I'm 4 inches smaller in my waist and over all I think I've lost like 11 inches in 2 months. It's hard to watch the scale act a fool when you know you're doing the work. I just figure she'll get her act together eventually, but as long as I'm slimming down I'm happy.
Plus, you'll want to make sure your activity level is correct in MFP to be sure you're eating the right number of calories. Prior to my weight gain I was stuck for over a month because I was in starvation mode. Fixed that and now the inches are back to falling off.
Good luck!

:laugh: Yes, the scale really acted a fool on me yesterday. She really showed out. I just have to remember this is a lifestyle and not a quick fix. I'm not scheduled for measurements for another two weeks. The scale is just a part of it and not the last word. Thank you for your reply