move less and eat less

Your lack of context, sources and well general arrogance makes me just want to post this...

It has taken me a year to figure out, and I'd be a jerk if I didn't share.

Trying to lose weight? Working out more than 3 times a week? There is your problem.


Take a look around at posts from people "doing everything right and not losing". What do almost all of them have in common? Crazy exercise regimen.


Losing weight is a destructive process. By definition. While you are tearing down the body you have now, don't think of training as anything but a way to reduce the damage from this process. Eat less, move less. Find a distraction that isn't going to prolong your weight loss. Working out is not a good one!

I have never understood why so many people here advocate extreme amounts of exercise, so they can eat extreme amounts of food. I just read this morning that someone proudly posted that he/she ate 3 large pizzas in one sitting ( apart from 4 liters of softdrinks, a whole container of ice cream and various other things ). I wonder on which planet this is even remotely worth bragging about .....I wonder what those people do if they maybe have an accident, or an illness that keeps them from exercising for an indefinite period of time, because it is not easy to switch from 3500 to 2000 calories from one day to the next.
I think exercising is a very good and necessary thing to maintain health and fitness, but exercising so people can eat more......just don't quite get it.

I like working out daily just to stay active and it improves my mood, but I'm wondering if taking a rest day weekly would improve my fitness or at least help me lose a little body fat. I do a mix of strength training, cardio and yoga so I don't get burned out and I always hear the benefits of taking rest days but I always worry that I'll lose strength or gain weight if I don't workout every day so I keep doing that. I don't really NEED to lose weight as I'm at the low end of a healthy BMI for my height but I'd like to lose a little fat and gain muscle back which is why I workout so often.

You are confusing two aspects though.

Building mass muscle, (which we actually aren't designed to do), vs losing fat.

The two CAN happen simultaneously.

But as someone else said, there's a reason lifters look like lifters (unnaturally overmuscled, with bizarre disparity in size to function), and runners and swimmers look like they do (lean build, functional muscle development).

But going from nothing, to watching your caloric intake, and doing 30 mins of cardio a day, WILL burn fat, WILL build lean muscle, and WILL result in weight loss, as long as there are no underlying medical conditions (thyroid imbalance that sets an extremely low metabolism, etc).

And it WILL burn/build them faster than doing it 2x/wk.

How about some reputable sources and information as opposed to just personal preference and anecdotal evidence...

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/what-defines-cardio-in-terms-of-too-much-qa.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/too-much-cardio-followup.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-2.html

SCIENCE tells us that activating a muscle group once a week is what prevents the muscle loss.

I think this is heavily context dependent, but do you have a resource on the above?

I somewhat agree. There is a point when cutting calories is going to help you loose more than adding workout calorie burn. It is a kind of plateau your body will go thru. Especially if you do not have the energy burner of muscle to back it. Your body is smart and will try to survive and if it sees you trying to weaken it with a ton of exercise it is going to fight back do what it can to maintain itself.

There was an article that Mathew Maconaghey did about loosing the 40+ pounds for Dallas Buyers Club. He said that it came to a point where all the cardio in the would would not help him loose. He had to drop his intake to succeed. I cant believe I am using Mathew Maconaghey as a reference but I did!

Keep on going!
Amanda

SCIENCE tells us that activating a muscle group once a week is what prevents the muscle loss.

I think this is heavily context dependent, but do you have a resource on the above?

This appears to have been missed. Interested myself.

I somewhat agree. There is a point when cutting calories is going to help you loose more than adding workout calorie burn. It is a kind of plateau your body will go thru. Especially if you do not have the energy burner of muscle to back it. Your body is smart and will try to survive and if it sees you trying to weaken it with a ton of exercise it is going to fight back do what it can to maintain itself.

There was an article that Mathew Maconaghey did about loosing the 40+ pounds for Dallas Buyers Club. He said that it came to a point where all the cardio in the would would not help him loose. He had to drop his intake to succeed. I cant believe I am using Mathew Maconaghey as a reference but I did!

Keep on going!
Amanda

Cardio has plenty of benefits aside from just weight loss. That's why people do it.

Not only that, but at a cardio state your muscles continue to burn for a while even after you stop exercising. The numbers being bandied about might work for someone who is right at the edge of their ideal weight/intake.

But you take someone who is 400 lbs and is going from a zero activity level, and tell me 30 mins of cardio a day + a restricted calorie diet isn't going to help with weight loss.
[/quote

I did not say cardio did not have other benefits. I do not see where you disagree with my post. I believe you are inferring extra meaning to my words.

Once you stop doing cardio the calorie burn is pretty much done. I do not know where you get the idea that it is prolonged after you have recovered within minutes. Weight training has a prolonged burn. this because you muscles will continue to repair and build causing more calorie burn. Simple cardio is mainly burning the sugars in your body. After the first half hour for most people the sugar stored in your liver will be spent and your body will work to recover its supply.

It has taken me a year to figure out, and I'd be a jerk if I didn't share.

Trying to lose weight? Working out more than 3 times a week? There is your problem.


Take a look around at posts from people "doing everything right and not losing". What do almost all of them have in common? Crazy exercise regimen.


Losing weight is a destructive process. By definition. While you are tearing down the body you have now, don't think of training as anything but a way to reduce the damage from this process. Eat less, move less. Find a distraction that isn't going to prolong your weight loss. Working out is not a good one!