New and Struggling

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ksurya89
ksurya89 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
hey everyone... i'm new on the site so i'm sorry if this post is in the wrong place!

i'm having trouble trying to figure out a fitness plan- here's my sob story. i've been struggling with my weight for a while now. technically my BMI is at the top of the "acceptable" range and i've been active my whole life, but believe me when i'm say that i'm short and if you saw me you'd see why i'm trying to lose! i was a competitive dancer through high school and college, and now (at 23) i'm pretty used to regular, intense cardio. after i graduated college, however, i stopped.

my weight peaked at about 127- the heaviest i've ever been- by last summer. through some miraculous combo of diet and exercise, i brought myself down to 113. i looked great and felt great, but i got lazy and put weight on again- got back to 117. i started out 2013 intent on forming good habits. i figured the reason i "slipped" was a lack of exercise during finals, so i started doing all this intense cardio- doing zumba and going to the gym 5 days a week and running. however, i just weighed myself for the first time since january and i'm 124 lbs!

i obviously freaked and joined MFP to track my food and see if my diet was the issue (a few days of general tracking showed me that i haven't quite been eating clean!). my question to all of you is, what amount of cardio is the right amount? my cousin is a power lifter and he told me that i should just focus on strength training and forget the treadmill. as a dancer i've always seen my body at its most "toned" when i'm doing 3+ hours of practice a day... but i've always had a chubby belly and a bigger backside, and the newest number on the scale is scaring me. i'm starting to think my cousin may have a point, but i'm scared to eliminate cardio altogether.

any thoughts/suggestions would be really helpful! and again, sorry if this is in the wrong place!

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    A little cardio is fine but strength should be your focus. Do 6 months of 5/3/1 or SS or some other strength based program then reevaluate based on your progress.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
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    A little cardio is fine but strength should be your focus. Do 6 months of 5/3/1 or SS or some other strength based program then reevaluate based on your progress.

    That sounds great, but for us numpties out here what do you actually mean?? "A little cardio" I understand, but the rest is just numbers and letters for a period if 6 months!
  • arsan
    arsan Posts: 97 Member
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    First off, you post in this section is fine. Second, what might work for you cousin, might not necessarily work for you. I personally don't think you should eliminate cardio all together. Even in p90x it uses strength training and cardio. Maybe others will chime in and give you more feedback. Feel free to add me or others if you need some friendly support. Good luck and welcome.

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