does daily cardio reduce your metabolism/increase cortisol?

pinecone · January 2011

so much conflicting advice.. if i was to burn 400-600 calories a day, 5 days a week at the gym would this be a bad thing? the 'clean and lean' diet dictates that this increases cortisol, which encourages the body to store fat. friends have also utter the dreaded words 'lower metabolism'. i always thought cardio increased your metabolism.. i really hate all this weight loss science.

going to the gym makes me feel perkier, calmer, and enables me to snack more. whats the harm in going every day?!

NightOwl1 · January 2011

I haven't heard that anywhere. Every single thing I've ever read is that exercise helps to burn calories and increases metabolism. Don't take the words of a couple of people and some diet over all of the scientific evidence.

As long as you make sure you're not getting too few calories when you exercise, I would continue to do it. Tons of people here have lost weight from diet in conjunction with frequent exercise. So hit that gym as much as you want!

kendrab76 · January 2011

Firstly, if going to the gym makes you feel better then stick with it!!!! that bit's not rocket science hunni, you already knew that answer!!!
Easiest way to explain fat burning versus cardio i think.....
...... Your age helps you work this out, but I'll give you mine as an example
I' m 34 so i fall into the 30-40 age bracket, to burn fat when exercising my pulse rate at it's lowest mid exercises should be 120, max fat burn for me is pulse rate 138, if my pulse rate goes over this i am cardiovascular exercising which yes, makes my heart healthy but doesn't burn the fat as effectively as non cardiovascular so i keep my pulse rate between the two and it seems to be working for me, when i burn 300 calories i know that it's 300 calories worth of fat, it just depends on your goal. When I've burned all the fat and obviously feel much healthier because of general weight loss and exercise this is the point at which i can step up to cardiovascular training. If you going to a gym ask yr fitness trainer about this they should concur. Also, if your using gym equipment you should be able to track your pulse, If you mail me your age i can look at your pulse rate ideals for you and let you know hun.
Hope this helps xxx

garyhawkins · January 2011

me trainer who is the guru sed basic fat burn calc is 220 less your age times 65% is ya rate for fat burn stay at that and will be happy days

robin52077 · January 2011

Cardio LOWERS metabolism and is BAD??

That is quite possibly the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Ignore whoever you heard that from and keep going to the gym. You're doing it right as long as you are eating enough. Starving yourself and feeling hungry all the time is what can lower your metabolism.

_Bro · January 2011

Here's an article
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/metabolism-hacks?page=3

I would add in sone resistance training to add some lbs of muscle.
Increased muscle mass will improve your Metabolism.

peadarorodaigh · January 2011

Unfortunately, theres a lot of conflicting advice out there, its almost impossible to sift through it all!

Im no dietican, and youll probably get some great advice in the following posts, but heres what Ive learned through my own research:

It is true that long periods of time (say, over an hour) in the gym will cause an increase in cortisol levels. For bodybuilders, this is not good as it tends to encourage the burning of muscle tissue for fuel. (this is why you sometimes see skinny guys in the gym spend hours on end lifting weights with no appreciable results). Also, because it primarily burns muscle for fuel rather than fat, this means that loads of cortisol in your system isnt ideal for fat-burning. It wont do you any harm, youre just not burning as much fat as you think.

When your friends talk about lower metabolism, what they probably mean is that those high cortisol levels will, over time, chip away at your muscle levels, and thus - because muscle burns calories - your body will have less ability to burn calories. The more muscle you have - Im not necessarily talking bodybuilder muscle, just good toning - the more calories your body can burn per day.

It is widely believed nowadays that if you want to really burn fat while maintaining / increasing muscle tone, high intensity interval training (HIIT) is the way to go. Basically, this means pushing it hard between short periods of rest, for a short period of time, rather than long periods of steady cardio. I'm currently doing this myself, and I find it great - i dont have to spend as much time doing in the gym but I'm still burning a lot of calories. More importantly, my body is still burning calories after I stop.

Here's an article explaining a bit more about it:

http://www.suite101.com/content/benefits-of-highintensity-interval-training-a150994

Googling HIIT or "high intensity interval training" will get you plenty more information as well.

But all of the above is just information. If you find that youre getting results and above all enjoyment out of what you do, then dont listen to anybody! Ignore your friends and just have fun doing what youre doing!

Best of luck!

pinecone · January 2011

thanks for all the advice - i hate weights (i'm probbaly missing out on something here, but i've vowed not to spend my time doing anything i can't stand!), but the interval training sounds good. i'd much rather sprint then walk than just go at 6 kilometres an hour for 20 minutes.

yeah, it does seem stupid to think that exercise could lower your metabolism.. particularly as i feel so calm after exercise.

cheers everyone x

loushep · January 2011

Firstly, if going to the gym makes you feel better then stick with it!!!! that bit's not rocket science hunni, you already knew that answer!!!
Easiest way to explain fat burning versus cardio i think.....
...... Your age helps you work this out, but I'll give you mine as an example
I' m 34 so i fall into the 30-40 age bracket, to burn fat when exercising my pulse rate at it's lowest mid exercises should be 120, max fat burn for me is pulse rate 138, if my pulse rate goes over this i am cardiovascular exercising which yes, makes my heart healthy but doesn't burn the fat as effectively as non cardiovascular so i keep my pulse rate between the two and it seems to be working for me, when i burn 300 calories i know that it's 300 calories worth of fat, it just depends on your goal. When I've burned all the fat and obviously feel much healthier because of general weight loss and exercise this is the point at which i can step up to cardiovascular training. If you going to a gym ask yr fitness trainer about this they should concur. Also, if your using gym equipment you should be able to track your pulse, If you mail me your age i can look at your pulse rate ideals for you and let you know hun.
Hope this helps xxx

This is great info, i know it wasn't intended for me but it helps me a lot :happy: This is the second post i've seen of yours and i noticed that we are the same age with roughly the same amount of weight to lose (bit more for me) and both have 3 children! That said (and considering that you seem to be really on the ball with weight loss and exercise info) friend request sent!!! :bigsmile:

Azdak · January 2011

Hormone levels are always changing, so you have to be careful about looking at a small change (increase or decrease) during a discrete, short-term event like an exercise workout and generalizing that to "assume" long-term changes are taking place.

Given the millions of people who successfully lose weight doing cardiovascular exercise, it is absurd on it's face to assert that somehow doing cardio exercise lowers metabolism and conflicts with weight loss--regardless of some isolated short-term experimental effect.

The interplay of hormones is complex and often the short term effects are significantly different than the long-term effects. For example, the immediate rise in response to a training stimulus might have positive benefits, where a chronic mild elevation of the hormone might be negative.

Probably the biggest concern with cortisol and fat loss is when you combine a very-low calorie intake with high volumes of intense exercise.

Here is an article that explains it better than I can:

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

IMO, the average person trying to lose weight VASTLY overestimates their ability to alter their metabolism. If anything, during a weight loss program, the best you can hope for is to modestly attenuate the lowering of metabolism that inevitably occurs with dieting and weight loss.

So my best advice is to not get overly involved in these peripheral issues, but concentrate on following a consistent, focused, and balanced exercise program. That means that your cardio should include a combination of workouts of different intensities and durations--longer, lower-intensity endurance workouts and shorter, higher-intensity interval workouts, as well as at least 2 days a week of resistance training.

Following a consistent, focused and balanced workout routine will be much more successful for most people than constantly searching for the "perfect" "fat loss" workout.

modernfemme · January 2011

When I do cardio, I can actually go over my calorie count by a couple hundred or so and still lose weight the next day. It's amazing for you.

antipholous · January 2011

Lean muscle increases your metabolism. Often you build this over time during cardio exercises, but cardio itself won't increase your metabolism.

does daily cardio reduce your metabolism/increase cortisol?

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