Cardio vs Interval/Weight Training

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motivated0702
motivated0702 Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi- Would like advice on what works for people exercise wise- I started out doing mainly cardio workouts about 9 months ago. (recumbent bike/elliptical/fast walking) 4-6 times weekly at varied time periods, usually 30-60 minutes per session. I lost 40 lbs at an average of 5-6 lbs per month, which is great and I'm very happy with that. About 2 months ago, I joined a small gym doing different classes- TRX, weight lifting, interval training, Tone/POUND, etc...LOVE the classes and how strong I'm getting but weight loss has slowed way down. I am doing on average 4-7 classes per week, sometimes two workouts per day. I still do a couple of cardio classes myself on my recumbent bike but just wondering why the weight loss has slowed down like this. I am a 54 year old woman so know that it gets harder to lose weight but just getting kind of frustrated. I feel like my diet has not changed and that I am staying within my calorie range for the most part with one or two days a week going over. I am eating my earned exercise calories. Any thoughts?

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  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Highest likelihood is that you're no longer achieving the planned deficit, which would suggest that you're either eating more than you think, or burning fewer calories in exercise than you think.

    How are you assessing your calorie expenditure?
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    Yup. I'm guessing (a) you're either overestimating the calorie burn of strength and interval training, or (b) the different workouts are making you MUCH hungrier and you are eating more without realizing it. (Happened to me.) You "feel like" your diet has not changed--how closely do you track what you eat?
  • smalltown_princess
    smalltown_princess Posts: 155 Member
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    Cardio is actually Satan but it's a necessary evil. I would suggest trying to eat cleaner and working out at a higher intensity. My general rule is if I don't feel nauseous by the end of my cardio sessions I didn't work hard enough but that's just me.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    smalltown_princess wrote: »
    Cardio is actually Satan but it's a necessary evil.

    Yawn...

    Each of us is motived by different things. Notwithstanding that I'll let others criticise the eating cleaner nonsense. Calories in vs calories out.

    Note that CV work is a good way to improve cholesterol counts. My own GPs suggestion on mine was to run more.

    If CV work is oriented towards burning calories then it's generallyabout working longer. Increasing intensity to the extent you describe isn't going to have a significant impact on expenditure.

    Oly lifting is all very well, but it's not going to help you to run a 10K or longer.


  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Have you re-evaluated your BMR/TDEE using your new weight? It does take less effort to move a body around as it gets lighter (and stronger).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    There is no Vs...from a fitness standpoint, you're accomplishing two very different things.
  • smalltown_princess
    smalltown_princess Posts: 155 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    smalltown_princess wrote: »
    Cardio is actually Satan but it's a necessary evil.

    Yawn...

    Each of us is motived by different things. Notwithstanding that I'll let others criticise the eating cleaner nonsense. Calories in vs calories out.

    .


    So you don't think that an excess of fats and sugars have an impact on how your body functions...?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    smalltown_princess wrote: »
    So you don't think that an excess of fats and sugars have an impact on how your body functions...?

    That wasn't the original question, but I'd observe that eating clean is a broadly meaningless statement.

    If one has particular sports performance goals, then it makes sense to be quite careful about macros and release rates, but for generic reduction in weight as in the original question, then it is as simple as CICO.

    For me, as a distance runner, I need to be aware of my fuelling in advance, and recovery after a session. fwiw sugars aren't a problem, but as carbs go they tend to process too quickly for me. Fats are pretty important to performance as well.

    An excess of protein will leave me sluggish, and excess of carbs will hinder recovery as that's more about proteins. Bland guff like eat clean doesn't help anyone.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    smalltown_princess wrote: »
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    smalltown_princess wrote: »
    Cardio is actually Satan but it's a necessary evil.

    Yawn...

    Each of us is motived by different things. Notwithstanding that I'll let others criticise the eating cleaner nonsense. Calories in vs calories out.

    .


    So you don't think that an excess of fats and sugars have an impact on how your body functions...?

    In what context?
  • motivated0702
    motivated0702 Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks SO much, you've all been super helpful.
  • TenderWalnut
    TenderWalnut Posts: 13 Member
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    I am one of those guys that wears a HR monitor anytime I exercise whether it's HIIT, moderate cardio, strength training, raking the leaves for a couple hours or even a round of disc golf. My calorie expenditure can be easily over 1000 cals/hr if I am doing HIIT followed by moderate cardio, but my expenditures are closer to 500 cals/hr in strength training. I may be telling you some things you already know and forgive me if I am. Furthermore as I lost weight I did have to recalibrate my goals. My 202lb frame now does not burn cals like when I was 240. (the work is easier.....I must train harder) I would suggest that if you want to continue strength training like you are to keep in mind the increase in muscle mass also plays into the equation. You may want to consider some form of HIIT followed by moderate cardio on days where cardio is the focus to get your HR to 85-90% max for as long a period as possible. I do this by a hardcore HIIT workout for 20 mins immediately followed by a 30 min moderate cardio workout. I try stop stay around 158-163 bpm which for me is about 85-88%. I share your frustration because I am about 11 pounds from goals and my diet has been suffering much like my routine in the gym. I am going back to ketosis to try and drop this last bit and then pack protein and mass after that

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