Where should my ultimate focus be: DIET,CARDIO, OR LIFTING

moeisreal
moeisreal Posts: 42
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, Im new here. So basically, I've been dieting& exercising on and off for a couple years. Im at a point where I've cut out all drugs and alcohol from my life and have been consistently training for 2 months: sprints,boxing,lifting, running bleachers, basketball,hiking, etc. The problem is right now I'm kind of at a plateau and im not lsoing anymore weight for past 2-3 weeks.Im kind of confused as to why this has happened. Is my main focus in the wrong place? If so, where should it be? Main Focus has been on cardio, that's where Ive put 100 percent of my effort into because I see HIIT as a fat destroyer. Lifting comes in second and lastly dieting receives the least of my attention but I do make an effort to eat clean! I probably have more slip ups then necessary, but if I do slip I hit the gym even harder or in some cases feel guilty and sit at home feeling sorry for myself lol. So guys! I need your help, where does most of your focus go??

Replies

  • p4ulmiller
    p4ulmiller Posts: 588 Member
    It depends what your goal is.

    Diet - for losing weight
    Cardio - for increasing cardiovascular fitness
    Lifting - for dropping body fat % and increasing strength

    I use a combination of all three, but that works for me.
  • Barbonica
    Barbonica Posts: 337 Member
    If your primary goal is to lose weight, primary focus should be to create a calorie deficit. It is hard to do that without some calorie restriction. As you lose weight, your caloric requirement decreases, so at some point you have to eat less to continue losing. Wishing you the best!
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    It depends what your goal is.

    Diet - for losing weight
    Cardio - for increasing cardiovascular fitness
    Lifting - for dropping body fat % and increasing strength

    I use a combination of all three, but that works for me.

    :drinker:
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    The problem is right now I'm kind of at a plateau and im not lsoing anymore weight for past 2-3 weeks.

    Sounds like you're eating at maintenance. No reason to change your activity, assuming you're happy with it, just cut a few calories from your intake.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    that's goal driven.

    as pointed out.

    exercise is the cherry on top.

    Diet drives the appearance results.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    It's the FOOD, but unless you want to be a jellyfish you need to lift heavy things and move around too.
  • WhataBroad
    WhataBroad Posts: 1,091 Member
    It depends what your goal is.

    Diet - for losing weight
    Cardio - for increasing cardiovascular fitness
    Lifting - for dropping body fat % and increasing strength

    I use a combination of all three, but that works for me.

    /thread
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    Goal is to become champion boxer and college basketball player. Fat doesn't wanna come off though. I train HARD. Eat good. at a plateau though. something needs to change. what im asking is less cardio more lifting? less training less food more recovery?
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    The problem is right now I'm kind of at a plateau and im not lsoing anymore weight for past 2-3 weeks.

    Sounds like you're eating at maintenance. No reason to change your activity, assuming you're happy with it, just cut a few calories from your intake.


    yeah your right. portions are probably too big. Thanks everyone! appreciate the responses.
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
    Have you done a deload? Take a week and just do jogs or even nothing. Deloading is critical to your progression; more info is online if it's a new idea to you.

    If you are training hard and want to be an athlete-- sounds like you need to check your calorie intake. You actually might not be eating enough. At the very least increase your protein and cut your sugary foods down more. Do you track your calories? We can give better advice if you open your diary.
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    thanks for the reply polly, I have never heard of a deload, Ill check it out it sounds awesome ! I am starting to track them now, I actally have a crazy appetite and its hard for me just to eat enough and quite easy to eat too much, all i gotta say is plateaus suck.
  • angelzprophecy
    angelzprophecy Posts: 130
    Goal is to become champion boxer and college basketball player. Fat doesn't wanna come off though. I train HARD. Eat good. at a plateau though. something needs to change. what im asking is less cardio more lifting? less training less food more recovery?

    i would say that your diet should be number 1 priority then lifting then cardio, that is with the goal of losing fat. I say cardio as last because i don't think cardio realy burns as many calories as people think

    diet should be on point and if you say youve hit a plateu then your diet is going to have to be more on point. It wont be just about eating clean anymore but more about the macros - the amount of fats, carbs and protein. in my experience, it really doesnt matter your sources of these macro nutrients, as long as the numbers are close to where it has to be.

    for macros. try 1.2g protein for every 1lb you weigh. 0.3~0.5g of fat for every lb and fill the rest of your calories with carbs. remember 4 cals for every gram of protein/carb and 9 cals for every 1 gram of fat

    now for boxing, ive heard that lifting makes you stiffer so idk if you'll want to focusing too much on lifting for your goal of champion boxer. oh, if your goal is just to lose weight to make a weight class then do stuff like running in sweat bag and sauna to get rid of water weight
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    Thanks for the advice angel, I definitley need to refocus my priorities. Its time to move on to the next phase.
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
    Have your body measurements changed at all? You might be freaking out over nothing. http://www.healthehuman.com/features/body-measurement-tracker. Take your measurements from head to toe at this site. Keep doing what your doing and compare the measurements in a month. I hope this helps.... It did for me when I asked myself the same question you asked us.
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    Since the plateau hit im not sure.. Been kinda relying on the scale, Ill start taking measurements though, that sounds like a realistic approach. Thanks for the link brother.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Goal is to become champion boxer and college basketball player. Fat doesn't wanna come off though. I train HARD. Eat good. at a plateau though. something needs to change. what im asking is less cardio more lifting? less training less food more recovery?

    I'd say no. If you want to play college ball, you're going to be working out several hours a day, may as well get used to it now. And don't even think about dropping cardio if you want to play ball!

    If you need to lose a few pounds, just reduce your food intake by 200-300 calories a day...it'll come off.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    D)
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    Before you do anything like change your calorie intake, how accurate is your tracking?

    Are you weighing things using a food scale? Sometimes we are not eating how much we think we are.

    I know when i weighed peanut butter using a scale instead of a tablespoon it made a big difference (same with cereal and even my protein powder). A few errors like this a day, and you think you are at a plateau when really maybe you arent measuring accurately.

    just wanted to mention that.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    diet. hands down.
  • gamerkiwi
    gamerkiwi Posts: 93 Member
    Like people have said: all three.

    Eat at a deficit, do some sprints and pump some iron.
  • Rambo529
    Rambo529 Posts: 170 Member
    Something I was told by a trainer friend of mine:

    it's 80% diet, and 20% exercise.

    Also, food for thought (no pun intended): diet will help you look good with clothes on, but exercise helps you look good naked.

    I know for me, I need to balance both my nutrition with my exercise (combination lifting and cardio) to see awesome results. Most of this was discovered through trial and error of what foods to cut out (or cut back depending on what it was) to see better results.
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    a scale.. that sounds like alot of work just to eat lol. Did you find your results much better when you started using a scale? I may incorporate that since I have no sense of self control/portion control.
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42


    Also, food for thought (no pun intended): diet will help you look good with clothes on, but exercise helps you look good naked.


    lol! very true.
  • moeisreal
    moeisreal Posts: 42
    Something I was told by a trainer friend of mine:

    it's 80% diet, and 20% exercise.

    Also, food for thought (no pun intended): diet will help you look good with clothes on, but exercise helps you look good naked.

    I know for me, I need to balance both my nutrition with my exercise (combination lifting and cardio) to see awesome results. Most of this was discovered through trial and error of what foods to cut out (or cut back depending on what it was) to see better results.

    It seems like trial and error is all I do, food is such a pain in the butt. 80% of results though.. Its got to be the main priority. I think I will just man the eff up and start taking food 10x more seriously. Thanks everyone, I already love this site. you guys are awesome.
  • prettyface55
    prettyface55 Posts: 508 Member
    Bump
  • wistletone
    wistletone Posts: 2
    I've learned... you can't out train your diet. Focus on getting enough protein and start adding weights into your exercise. Muscle burns fat.
  • angelzprophecy
    angelzprophecy Posts: 130
    Something I was told by a trainer friend of mine:

    it's 80% diet, and 20% exercise.

    Also, food for thought (no pun intended): diet will help you look good with clothes on, but exercise helps you look good naked.

    I know for me, I need to balance both my nutrition with my exercise (combination lifting and cardio) to see awesome results. Most of this was discovered through trial and error of what foods to cut out (or cut back depending on what it was) to see better results.

    i never liked it when people use a percentage because it really doesnt work that way.

    they augment each other. saying its a percentage is like saying if you just focus on diet then youll get 80% of the results but this is not true. youll only get skinnier or fatter but building muscle should be a at least 50% of that 80%. and focusing only on lifting with no regard to diet will not get you 20% of the results either because if you dont get enough protein then you wont get any results.

    i like to think of diet more of a limiting reactant (like in chemistry). Diet will determine how far you're results in the gym go. Like if you dont have enough protein, you wont build the maximum amount of muscle your workout could have produced. it works vice versa too, if you get too much protein but didnt work out enough then youll end up with xtra protein (cals). but the difference from chemistry is that there is a ceiling to how much muscle can be built from your workout even if you do get enough protein.
    the carbs will be the limiting reactant to how much energy you have in the gym and etc.

    but thats just my 2cents i suppose
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Yes.

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