Had a fitness assessment, feel even more confused

What I would recommend is to do what that woman said (3 days of lifting with High Intensity cardio) and on off days do some low intensity steady state cardio, eg. go for a walk or a slow jog, ride a bike, or anything that will not tax your system much and that you can easily maintain for an hour or so.

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

^^ This. High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

Hours? Hyperbole much? Unless your "steady state cardio" consists of mall shopping, a shorter HIIT workout will rarely burn more calories than a longer steady-state workout--even if you factor in the overhyped "afterburn".

There are benefits to HIIT training, but a big calorie burn is not one of them.

Pardon me for maybe using a cliche. At least I was on topic - the OP didn't ask about her almond consumption, which you addressed in your previous response.

Not me. Different dog pic.

You know what is the best exercise? The exercise you enjoy, look forward to, and make a consistent part of your life for the long term. I think you should try to get open to the possibility of doing some strength training (you can lift moderate - you don't have to lift heavy!) or at least to try to not be afraid of it, but it is totally possible to maintain a healthy weight on cardio alone. However, you will probably be happier with your body when you reach your goal weight if you do at least a little strength training.

I think food is your issue more than exercise.

Since you have done low calorie goals before and failed, and since you have less than 50 pounds to lose, I think you are a great candidate for the "eating for the future you" method. Calculate your TDEE at your goal weight, including the type and amount of exercise that you like to do, and start eating that number of calories today, and plan to eat that number of calories and do that amount of exercise every day for the rest of your life. That number will probably be more than 1500, and you won't feel so desperate. The down side is of this is that the last 15 pounds will take an eternity to lose. You will have to be patient. The up side is that you go about living your life, you make this a change for the long term, and you don't have to feel stressed about whether you are lifting or not.

There is more than one right way to do this. The right way for you is the way that gives you a rich, full life that you enjoy living.

I want long term, sustainable results and maybe this is the way to get them, but it scares me.

You know what I think drives long term sustainable results more than anything? Enjoying what you are doing, having fun and having what you do give you a sense of achievement as it aligns with your goals.

If you don't want to do the HIIT then...don't (I have some qualms about a trainer suggesting to someone, who is by their own admission "seriously out of shape" jump straight into HIIT but we will leave that to a side.)

1. Get a good handle on your diet and eat at a calorie level which is challenging but not miserable.
2. Do 2-3 resistance training sessions a week that you like (doesn't have to be barbell training)
3. Do the type of cardio you like
4. Rest a bit
5. Profit

^^good advice from a non-lemming.

Don't fear lifting. Just because you should lift doesn't mean you can't also do cardio.

I'm training for a half-marathon and doing stronglifts 5x5 on days I don't train. (I echo everyone's sentiment, I love stronglifts).

What's more, 1500 seems totally reasonable as a calorie amount, knowing nothing about you personally.

High Intensity Interval training for half an hour can burn as many calories as hours of steady state cardio if you give it your all - try a boot camp class!

No it won't.
Don't fall for the hype surrounding HIIT - yes it's great training but it's not that big a calorie burner, if someone is truly doing HIIT then the duration is very short.
Training should be towards your health and fitness goals and not just calorie burning anyway.


OP - give yourself some time to take stock and why not give the trainer's advice a go? If you don't enjoy it keep trying other things until you find something effective and enjoyable.

Under what settings does MFP "give" you 1200 calories? If you have it set for "lose 2 lbs a week," dial it back to "lose 1 lb per week" until you get your bearings.

The advice sounds good to me! She's not telling you not to do cardio, she's telling you to do high intensity interval cardio after your heavy lifting sessions. This program will be great for helping you burn fat, and much more effective than hours of low intensity cardio. You could always add some walking or other easy activity on the days you don't lift, if you have the energy.

Unless you really dislike lifting weights, give this program a try for a month or so, work hard and see what happens! I think you'll be happy with the results.

I spent many years doing it "my way" which was mostly cardio... I'd drop weight, but having not built much muscle I had a very difficult time maintaining my loss. I am currently working with a trainer. For the first time I am trusting someone to guide me and actually doing what he says... It doesn't always make sense to me, but I trust him...

I have made more progress in the last 6 months than I had made in years of doing it my way... I am training for bike races. The first things he told me were. 1. Eat more, but differently. Focus on nutrition not just calories. 2. Cut your cardio back, you are overtraining. 3. Add weights. Increasing your muscle mass increases your RMR, so that it is easier to maintain.

I've dropped 12% BF and 15 pounds...

Take home message... Find someone you trust who has shown they know how to succeed, and give them a chance to help you. Put aside your ideas (they weren't working anyway) and commit to the program.

Best of luck, Nikki

That may very well be true, but the important phrase is "someone you trust who has shown they know how to succeed".

Nothing in the advice the OP got from her trainer justifies that level of trust. It's patently obvious that the trainer was A) reflexively parroting the current fad cliches and not paying attention to the OP's background/abilities/needs and C) primarily pimping training packages.

When people are not achieving the results they want and they turn to a new approach, they also tend to become more committed, more focused, and more motivated. The new approach may also correct some deficits they had in their previous program. Because of that, they often see a breakthough to a new level. It is natural to assume that the results are solely due to the "new" routine and it is also natural to assume that the "new" approach is inherently superior to what the person did previously and should be the preferred approach for everyone.

But that is not always a correct assumption. It discounts the critical importance of being more focused and consistent--which would result in ANY program becoming more effective. It also ignores the fact that, over time, the same decrease in focus and consistency will likely creep into the "new" program and there will be diminishing returns--followed by a change to the current exercise "flavor of the month".

I see this every day. The people who weren't seeing results because they were doing crappy cardio programs aren't suddenly seeing dramatic changes because they switched to weights and intervals. Now, they are just doing crappy weight/interval programs---and burning significantly fewer calories to boot (camp). And those who are doing focused, quality workouts and being consistent are seeing consistent results and improvement--regardless of the modality.

[...] And those who are doing focused, quality workouts and being consistent are seeing consistent results and improvement--regardless of the modality.

^This.

It's often like religion with people advocating their modality as the best. But there's more than one way to skin a cat.

So I had a fitness assessment this morning as a part of joining a new gym and left in tears. Not because I found out I am seriously out of shape, I knew that. But because I'm just so lost.

Your objective, and the assessors objective are slightly different. That doesn't mean that the advice was wrong, or inappropriate, but it's always worth understanding agendas before taking that advice at face value.

Sounds like your objective is purely weight loss, rather than anything about sports performance, so I can understand why it would seem counterintuitive to you. However the advice, to an extent, makes some sense albeit that the results you'll see aren't as simple as the ones that you're hoping for at the moment.

MFP gives me 1200 calories but I know that is not sustainable for me. I've done that and lost and then crashed and burned and gained tons back. So, I allow myself 1500 with the mental agreement that I will burn at least a few hundred a day.

I'm surprised that a trainer didn't discuss diet with you, I'd expect any worth their salt to have done so, but again in terms of agenda they may have some form of nutrition available through the gym that'll be available to you to buy.

Essentially MFP has taken your base data, and your weight loss rate objective, and given you a calorie goal accounting for your deficit. If you choose to eat more, and reduce the size of the deficit then you won't lose as fast, or possibly gain.

As MFP has already accounted for the deficit, if you do train then you should be eating back the calories that you burn. So if you run 3 miles then eat back an additional 300 calories or so.

Well the woman I met with was wonderful and she said I need to stop focusing on cardio so much and lift heavy. I know that is the popular thing these days and probably for great reasons and if I had 10 pounds to lose, maybe it would be right for me, but I have 40 to lose. I'm afraid of not doing cardio. She said I should be doing heavy weights followed by about 20 minutes of interval cardio.

As you identify, this approach is very fashionable at the moment, and it's also the highest revenue for the trainers. Thaat said I would agree that a balance of resistance training and CV work is going to give you the most benefit in the long term. As you lose weight in deficit the resistance training helps you to retain lean mass, the CV work will have other effects, depending on how you do it. It'll help to deliver your deficit, but can also deliver endurance and performance improvements.

What I would say about high intensity intervals is that it's only one of three main types of CV work, and in the absence of a solid aerobic base I'd suggest that you're not going to get the best effect from it.

That would be 3 days a week and I know I could do more cardio than she suggests but I just feel like I have no clue what to do.

To a large extent the most effective programme is the one that you'll actually do consistently. If you don't like this then the prospects of you committing to it are reduced.

Personally I loathe training indoors, and I find weight training boring as hel. So for me the compromise is bodyweight resistance training alongside a lot of running and cycling. My priorities are around running and cycling performance, the resistance training supports that and as I'm less bored by it then I'm more likely to do it. It helps me avoid injury, and improves my speed and endurance.

I tend to take the view that there is an over-reliance on high intensity intervals. They're a time efficient way of burning calories, but they don't build aerobic base. I use them for improving my running speed and my ability to perform at high levels of stress. They're used alongside the long steady run and ride sessions, and tempo run and ride sessions. If all I did was 20 minute interval session then I'd not be able to knock out a sub 2 hr half marathon. Equally if all I did was long steady runs of 20-25km then I wouldn't be able to knock out a sub 2 hr half marathon.

Equally I find my tempo and long sessions to be pretty therapeutic. Going out on the road for a couple of hours helps me a lot in terms of clearing my head and working through issues needing resolved at work.

She also thinks I should set up some personal training sessions to at least get a start/program but I don't know,

It may be worth setting up a couple to learn effective form on the resistance training, but similarly talk about the type of CV work that you want to do.

I'd suggest that an approach would be to sepaate the resistance training and CV days, which would allow you more space to do a quality CV session.

fwiw for me, a quality CV session is weight bearing moderate to high intensity, not an elliptical or recumbent.

Its sounds like solid advice to me. I'm 5' 0" and currently weigh 147.5. That's only 17 down from my original weight some time ago. It doesn't sound like much, but my body has changed tremendously (for the better) in appearance thanks to weight lifting 3 times a week. I don't do a lot of cardio. I may go for a walk after my lifting session if time and weather permits. I don't count calories at all. I monitor my weight daily to be sure I'm not gaining and adjust my food choices around my activity level for the week. I eat more on workout days than rest days. If I have an event/holiday where I know my food choices are not ideal, I eat it anyway, enjoy it and make up for later. I'm sure if I counted calories, I'd be a lot further along than I am, but I'm not unsatisfied with my progress and I'm not stressed about food. I've developed what I think are healthy, sustainable habits and it's working good enough for me.

So I had a fitness assessment this morning as a part of joining a new gym and left in tears. Not because I found out I am seriously out of shape, I knew that. But because I'm just so lost. MFP gives me 1200 calories but I know that is not sustainable for me. I've done that and lost and then crashed and burned and gained tons back. So, I allow myself 1500 with the mental agreement that I will burn at least a few hundred a day. Well the woman I met with was wonderful and she said I need to stop focusing on cardio so much and lift heavy. I know that is the popular thing these days and probably for great reasons and if I had 10 pounds to lose, maybe it would be right for me, but I have 40 to lose. I'm afraid of not doing cardio. She said I should be doing heavy weights followed by about 20 minutes of interval cardio. I'm just so scared to do that. That would be 3 days a week and I know I could do more cardio than she suggests but I just feel like I have no clue what to do. She also thinks I should set up some personal training sessions to at least get a start/program but I don't know, I'm just so lost and confused and afraid and feel like I need to cut down to 1200 calories if I am going to have any success. I want long term, sustainable results and maybe this is the way to get them, but it scares me.

Congratulations - sounds like you actually got a PT who knows what she's talking about.

Look into 3 day compound lift programmes and book a session for her to show you the correct form (starting strength, Stronglifts 5x5, strong curves are all good beginner programmes IMO)

Or if you can afford it, try out the PT sessions, she's giving you solid advice, so far.

OP, I think your plan sounds reasonable, just be careful to get adequate rest and don't burn yourself out.

I run too--I used to do a lot of endurance running 5-10 years ago, when I was in good shape, and am currently running around the distance you are, I think (4-6 mile runs plus one longer run that I'm building, because I'm training for a half). I can say that when I started up again I was frustrated with my speed (of course) but just assumed I'd get faster as I lost weight and ran more. While that's not entirely untrue, what really helped me, and actually ended up making my running in general more fun was adding in some interval training where I push myself to go faster. It even makes treadmill runs kind of bearable!

I've also found that doing weight training (which again I'm not yet doing the kind of real progressive program that I'd like to and plan to be soon) helps my running, as it strengthens muscles that runners often underemphasize or underemphasize if they aren't using good form. In the past when I ran lots I found that it helped me to cross train (biking and swimming) and these days while I do that too I'm excited about focusing more on higher intensity sessions and strength training.

Also, I was in unbelieveably horrible shape when I started this again back in January, and incredibly depressed and frustrated with my fitness level, since I felt like I'd let everything go so quickly and so badly. So I get where you are coming from. Getting a good program going and having success will help a lot, way before you get to where you want to be. And that you are already in condition to run 5-6 miles and enjoy it is fabulous!

HIIT has been shown to burn off more calories than low intensity cardio.

Inasmuch as exercising at higher intensity for 20 minutes is going to burn off more energy than exercising at low intensity for 20 minutes. Contrary to received wisdom on these boards HIIT is not magic and a 20 minute session will be about as effective for calorie expenditure as a steady state session for about 30 minutes at 70% MHR exertion. The effects of the two are different, with the HIIT session improving VO2Max and the threshold session improving exercise efficiency.

They do different things, and it's not just about the calorie expenditure.

Also your body tends to get used to the low intensity cardio and you start to see diminishing returns.

As with anything one needs to continue to challenge the system to see continued improvement, although given that low intensity is a particularly inefficient way to burn energy I'd question it's utility in a training system unless one has very specific objectives.

The originator has already identified the capacity to run 5-6 miles. She didn't say how long that took, but you're out of low intensity as soon as you're talking about running.