Im 260 lbs how much cardio?

Hi,i am currently 260 lbs down from 340lbs. How much cardio do i need to do in a 24 hr period to burn weight but not gain too much muscle? i really wanna lose another 60 as soon as possible. currently on 1000 cals a day, does that need adjusting too?
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Replies

  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
    lol - 1000 cals a day! You wouldn't have the energy to do cardio.
  • i do. so far done 45 mins today. when i was at my fattest i ate less than this.
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    You need more calories...then do enough cardio tu burn FAT...usually more than 20 minutes.:drinker:
  • but surely if your eating more then how do you lose?
  • SueFromRI
    SueFromRI Posts: 206 Member
    Do you want to drop the 60 pounds ASAP or safely? Your calorie intake is dangerously low at 1,000 for your weight!
    Muscle burns more calories on a daily basis - more muscle means a higher calorie burn while you are sleeping.

    Exercise as much as you can as often as you can. Cardio, Strength Training, Flexibility Exercises, and Balance Exercises for an overall fitness.

    I'm curious. what is your average meal and snacks for a day???
  • send me a frends request and you can have a look, ill change it to friends only
  • u wont gain muscle in a deficit
  • Anewcrys
    Anewcrys Posts: 28 Member
    I used to be 263 and I would just do about 20-30 a day...but my starting weight was 263, and I would feel like I ran a marathon after that 20 min...
  • BEERRUNNER
    BEERRUNNER Posts: 3,046 Member
    Do you want to drop the 60 pounds ASAP or safely? Your calorie intake is dangerously low at 1,000 for your weight!
    Muscle burns more calories on a daily basis - more muscle means a higher calorie burn while you are sleeping.

    Exercise as much as you can as often as you can. Cardio, Strength Training, Flexibility Exercises, and Balance Exercises for an overall fitness.

    I'm curious. what is your average meal and snacks for a day???

    Sue is right on!
  • i dont wanna be muscley, just a bmi of 35. in order to fit nhs guidelines:grumble:
  • jeffies
    jeffies Posts: 2
    I agree with Anewcrys... 30 minutes a day is a good bare minimum... as long as your heart rate is constantly up you should be good at 30 minutes! but you need strength training!! It will tone your body and create more physical changes in your body shape. 5 pounds of muscle is way smaller and firmer than 5 pounds of fat! The number on a scale is just a number!!!! I dropped 30% body fat and went down 4 dress sizes but only lost like 8 pounds but put on a ton of muscle and it was a noticeable difference in my frame.... when you have more muscle your metabolism is higher and will continue burning off fat throughout the day...

    1000 calories isnt enough and surely you will be hungry. you need to make this a lifestyle change because once you go back to eating a normal diet again with higher calories the weight will come back on. check the internet for a TDEE online calculator to figure out how many calories your body needs on a daily basis to just maintain your current weight. you can then decide to remove 500 calories a day from that number or make sure you burn off 500 calories a day with exercise.

    another thing.. you need to make sure your protein is high to feed your muscles. your body will use almost everything with protein and leave nothing for waste to store as fat.

    food for thought :)
  • BlueObsidian
    BlueObsidian Posts: 297 Member
    You aren't going to accidentally get "muscley." Women who have defined, muscular looks work HARD to get that way. You also aren't going to build muscle at an extreme calorie deficit. You are not eating enough. You need to fuel your body properly and focus on exercise as being good for your health. Strength training and cardio both have many benefits besides weight loss.
  • jeffies
    jeffies Posts: 2
    i dont wanna be muscley, just a bmi of 35. in order to fit nhs guidelines:grumble:

    you can tone out the muscles to not look muscley... but you dont want the extra skin to just hang there either. you need to tone.. you need muscle... i was skeptical at first too but im so glad im doing strength training!
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    rule of thumb if you are eating 1000cals you need to burn 1000 cals that should be about 180 mins on a treadmill or elliptical
  • Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door
    Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door Posts: 735 Member
    try scoobysworkshop.com that should help you access the calories you need to eat. I would reccomend on the body fat reccomendation to aim for 20%. that is how I found my calories. it goes by age, height, work out level . they also have fat2fitradio.com

    you are welcome to friend me and I will look to see what your doing and see if I can help you.
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    There are lot of people here on MFP it just don't know how easy it is for a woman to put on muscle keep doing your cardio and everything will be fine
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    At 1000 cals you are going to get a lot of flack. I suggest eating the amount of calories you need to maintain the weight you want to be. When you get there, no change.

    When it comes to cardio, 3 hours a week is plenty, but if you can do 6, that's healthy. Remember this is a lifestyle not a diet.
  • __RANDY__
    __RANDY__ Posts: 1,036 Member
    I'm sure you already have very muscular calves you definitely don't need to do any weights to bulk those up anymore
  • Tanja_CHH
    Tanja_CHH Posts: 216 Member
    Surely if you can only lose on 1000 calories a day, you would want to build more muscle to be able to eat more to fuel cardio workouts?
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
    I do anywhere from 60-90 minutes of cardio a day.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    Building muscle takes A LOT of work. It doesn't happen on accident. Especially on such a huge deficit. Why not set MFP to 2 lbs lost per week, eat that number of calories, log your cardio (be it 0 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes), then eat those calories? I like doing 3 days of strength and 2 days of cardio.
  • FitNewEm
    FitNewEm Posts: 12 Member
    You would feel so much better and lose those pounds if you eat more.
    Lower your carbs and fat. Increase your protein.
    Eat 5 or 6 times a day. All your calories in 2 or 3 meals doesn't rev your metabolism.
    I know, I was skeptical too!
    And they are right, women just won't get that "man" muscle, unless you take steroids or testosterone.
    Just give it a try, you'll see results and be ready for any cardio that comes your way!
  • Figs318
    Figs318 Posts: 67 Member
    Haha, fat womens' fear of becoming muscular is just too ridiculous.


    I usually dont post anything but i saw this and became infuriated! How dare you call someone "fat". Who the hell are you to judge if someone is fat or not, im sorry do you have the perfect body? Pretty sure you dont! If you are not going to give some helpful advice why even bother typing anything at all? Ignorant trolls like you make me laugh!!
  • achantee
    achantee Posts: 18 Member
    You have to encorporate strength training and eat no less than 1200 calories or you will be eating away at your muscle, and that in turn eats away at your metabolism, which is what makes your body burn fat and calories. You need to be eating more quality food (lean proteins, veggies, and whole grains). Do strength training and at least 30 min of cardio 3-4 times a week. And if you are 260lbs, you won't get "muscley" by encorporating strength training. That takes a lot of long-term dedication with your workouts and diet. Good luck either way!

    Read this article:
    http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts

    "Lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after a workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover. That means you'll fry an additional 25 percent of the calories you just scorched during your strength session, Westcott says. "So if you burned 200 calories lifting weights, it's really closer to 250 overall." And if you lift heavier weights or rest no more than 30 seconds between sets, you can annihilate even more.

    And there's more good news when it comes to iron's fat-socking power. "For every 3 pounds of muscle you build, you'll burn an extra 120 calories a day -- just vegging -- because muscle takes more energy to sustain," Westcott says. Over the course of a year, that's about 10 pounds of fat -- without even changing your diet. Yes, please."
  • cjowell
    cjowell Posts: 41 Member
    I agree with what everyone else is saying. I was at 281(beg of December) and now down to 263 (Mid March), and I have been successfully losing 1.5-2 pounds a week. I eat 1530 calories a day, and do at least 45 minutes of cardio a day/5 times a week. I do strength training 2 times a week (mainly because I hate it :smile: ) but would like to up it.

    I found out that my workouts are better when I am eating my calories. I eat almonds 30 minutes before every workout.I have more energy for my workouts and I push harder during my workouts. I can tell during my workouts when I am not eating enough or not the right things. I log everything that I eat, the only thing I don't log are my vitamins and water (though I know I should).

    You can do this! Good luck!
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    What is your height, age, weight and how much do you move about in terms of fitness etc?
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    You, you definitely need to eat more than that, in order to give your body what it needs too sustain itself.

    As for cardio, it depends. I recommend doing enough so that it's challenging, but not pushing yourself so much that you are risking injury. For me, that's between 45-60 mins on the elliptical. You may be able to do more or less. Track your comfort and pain levels and see how you do.

    Oh, and eat back at least some of the calories you burn by exercising...again, giving your body what it needs to sustain itself.

    MFP should give you a calorie goal if you enter your stats and how much you want to lose....it'll probably give you 1200 if you say you want to lose 2 lbs a week, but that's commonly reported to not be enough. I just upped my calories to 1800, and, even though I don't manage to eat that many every day, I have been much more successful in losing weight than when I was restricting to 1300.
  • thecakelocker
    thecakelocker Posts: 407 Member
    I started at 274 lbs, I'm familiar with all of the stupid excuses people give themselves so that they won't have to try. Oh no loose skin. Bwaahhh muscles. Boo hoo my big ~bulky calves~
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    *face palm*
  • jenns1964
    jenns1964 Posts: 384 Member
    I was 260.8 in Dec 2012. I am eating 1500-1800 calories a day and losing about a pound a week. I am using ChaLean Extreme and have become much more compact and am building long lost muscle. Muscle burns fat. Lift some weights and eat!!