Cardio or Weight Training: Which is better for extreme weight loss?

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Hello.

I am in the process of losing a lot of weight. This far, I have lost 65 pounds. I would still like to lose another 70 pounds.

I have my diet down pretty well. I count all my calories, know which foods work well with my body, and don't eat any junk.

I hear both sides of the argument and don't really know which is best. I probably 3/4 of my current total by merely changing diet. I am to a point where the rate at which I am losing is slow enough that I know I need to change my workout priority.

Based on multiple calculators, my BMR range from 2000 on the MFP app, to 2750 on others.

Any information and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Replies

  • sshwetas
    sshwetas Posts: 8 Member
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    Anything that increases your heart rate. Cardio will burn fat until you are done working out (or for a while after). HIIT cardio is different. Weight training will keep burning fat 8 hrs after your workout, so I have heard. I highly suggest you do both. Cardio then weights and then more cardio after.
  • shai74
    shai74 Posts: 512 Member
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    Anything that increases your heart rate. Cardio will burn fat until you are done working out (or for a while after). HIIT cardio is different. Weight training will keep burning fat 8 hrs after your workout, so I have heard. I highly suggest you do both. Cardio then weights and then more cardio after.

    Cardio burns fat? Lol.
  • TrailNurse
    TrailNurse Posts: 359 Member
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    Steady state cardio alone will make you skinny fat. HIIT and Weight training burns calories 24 hours a day and will change your body. Just depends on what you are willing to live with.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    Weight lifting will help you retain as much muscle as possible, so you'll look better when you get close to your goal. Cardio can help achieve a larger deficit, but that can also be accomplished by eating less.

    I think the best strategy is focus on lifting for now, and save cardio for as a "trump card" when progress slows and you don't want to cut calories further.

    I don't agree with the above poster that fat burned during exercise is important. A deficit over time = net fat loss
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,633 Member
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    Anything that increases your heart rate. Cardio will burn fat until you are done working out (or for a while after). HIIT cardio is different. Weight training will keep burning fat 8 hrs after your workout, so I have heard. I highly suggest you do both. Cardio then weights and then more cardio after.
    Cardio doesn't burn fat. It burns calories. Any physical activity will burn calories, some more than others. The calorie burns help to create a deficit..........some higher than others, but over all fat loss comes from CICO and REST. One burns more calories sleeping for 8 hours than doing 1.5-2 hours of cardio.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    How is losing weight "slow enough that I need to change my workout priority" being defined here? 1lb a month? A stall? 1 lb a week?

    I ask because "extreme weight loss" sends up minor warning signals to me about folks set on outpacing things like The Biggest Loser and dropping 3+ lb/week only to consider it 'too slow.'
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    None of them "burn fat" they burn calories.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,633 Member
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    TrailNurse wrote: »
    Steady state cardio alone will make you skinny fat. HIIT and Weight training burns calories 24 hours a day and will change your body. Just depends on what you are willing to live with.
    Actually one burns calories 24 hours a day, which is why we eat. I will agree that weight training (if intense enough) will help to change body composition better.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • paradisewhite
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    How is losing weight "slow enough that I need to change my workout priority" being defined here? 1lb a month? A stall? 1 lb a week?

    I ask because "extreme weight loss" sends up minor warning signals to me about folks set on outpacing things like The Biggest Loser and dropping 3+ lb/week only to consider it 'too slow.'

    It's at a state where it is practically a stall. One week I'll lose a pound, the next nothing, then something different the third week. I'm not sure exactly how consistent it should be, but I feel I should definitely be losing more than I am.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    How is losing weight "slow enough that I need to change my workout priority" being defined here? 1lb a month? A stall? 1 lb a week?

    I ask because "extreme weight loss" sends up minor warning signals to me about folks set on outpacing things like The Biggest Loser and dropping 3+ lb/week only to consider it 'too slow.'

    It's at a state where it is practically a stall. One week I'll lose a pound, the next nothing, then something different the third week. I'm not sure exactly how consistent it should be, but I feel I should definitely be losing more than I am.

    That's how it happens for most people
  • paradisewhite
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    TrailNurse wrote: »
    Steady state cardio alone will make you skinny fat. HIIT and Weight training burns calories 24 hours a day and will change your body. Just depends on what you are willing to live with.
    Actually one burns calories 24 hours a day, which is why we eat. I will agree that weight training (if intense enough) will help to change body composition better.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

    What would you classify as "intense enough" as mentioned here?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,633 Member
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    How is losing weight "slow enough that I need to change my workout priority" being defined here? 1lb a month? A stall? 1 lb a week?

    I ask because "extreme weight loss" sends up minor warning signals to me about folks set on outpacing things like The Biggest Loser and dropping 3+ lb/week only to consider it 'too slow.'

    It's at a state where it is practically a stall. One week I'll lose a pound, the next nothing, then something different the third week. I'm not sure exactly how consistent it should be, but I feel I should definitely be losing more than I am.
    The goal should be 1% of your body weight per week. If you're within those parameters, you're fine.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    Aside from what Niner and others have said... Define extreme weight loss. 70lbs is a lot of weight but you still want to do it at a healthy calorie deficit for long-term weight management. If you lose weight too rapidly you have an increased chance of of putting the weight back on and even experiencing fat-cell hyperplaysia (spelling?) / body-fat overshooting.
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
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    Burning fat is part of our challenge. The other part is fitness and you can define that however you wish, running marathons or lifting large amounts of iron.

    Your weight loss is 80 % from a change of diet. Any exercise is only an assist.
    • Resistance training is useful for retaining muscle as you lose weight , you body tends to consume some muscle and mostly fat to lose weight.
    • Cardio training is more useful for burning fat itself, but is not so good at keeping on the muscle.

    I agree with ninerbuff that weight training will help change body composition. Pick what your final body image and do what it takes to get there.

  • paradisewhite
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    Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »
    Aside from what Niner and others have said... Define extreme weight loss. 70lbs is a lot of weight but you still want to do it at a healthy calorie deficit for long-term weight management. If you lose weight too rapidly you have an increased chance of of putting the weight back on and even experiencing fat-cell hyperplaysia (spelling?) / body-fat overshooting.

    Well, I consider it extreme because I have already lost 65 so that would be a total of 135 pounds. If possible, I'd really prefer losing a steady 2 pounds a week.
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    cardio will give you higher burns and create a bigger net calorie deficit,with diet.
    you will lose muscle as well as fat.
    strength/ weight training needs to play a part too, to reduce muscle loss and further down the road to body shape,as oft stated already.
    combine both .
    i lost 40lbs in 3 months from 2+ hours daily cardio,so have learned the hard way from depleted strength/ performance that i needed to incorporate strength/ core training too.
    i now split 50-50.
    great job on losses so far,good luck in losing the rest.
  • jennifurballs
    jennifurballs Posts: 247 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I do weights for 90 minutes a day and cardio for 60. Even though cardio burns more calories for time invested, if I had to drop one, I'd definitely drop the cardio.

    I've lost 106 and have 96 to go.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Cardio.

    But both are good for you. :) The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just sitting around. So, lifting doesn't just help you burn while you do it, in a roundabout way, it will allow you to keep burning more every day. If you keep the muscle you have now, you won't have to worry about adding any when you're done!

    But if you're just out to burn as much fat as you can, just as fast as you can - Cardio.
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I do both resistance and cardio. A yoga-like exercise, because I can't lift (long story) has made my bottom and arms look pretty decent, but there are many benefits to cardio exercise. I walk for cardio. Cardio doesn't just burn calories; it improves your heart's health, releases hormones like endorphins, lowers blood sugar, etc. You shouldn't do one or the other exclusively. I've tried a lot of different ways to combine them, but what I've found works best for me is to do 1/2 hour resistance in the morning and 1/2 hour cardio before lunch.

    It's a little harder figuring out how to do both, but it's totally worth it. Try some different stuff, like lifting or body weight exercises, like yoga or Pilates, and see what you like best for resistance and also see what cardio exercises you like best. There's biking, jogging, swimming, elliptical, rowing, etc. Then, figure out a way to combine the two.