Let me begin by saying I HATE cardio...

I've been doing pretty much that for nearly 6 months now and although I haven't lost an awful lot of weight (I'm a bit rubbish at sticking to my calories every day!) I'm down nearly two dress sizes. What program are you using/planning on using?

Weight loss is created from a calorie deficit. You don't need exercise to lose weight (but it is important for overall health and fitness).

Weight lifting doesn't really burn many calories beyond what you'd burn sitting on the sofa. Walking the kids to school doesn't either. I wouldn't add extra calories for those things or you'll find that you're slowing your weight loss progress. That said, weight lifting is terrific while you're losing weight so don't skip it simply because it doesn't burn many calories.

SueInAz wrote: »

Weight loss is created from a calorie deficit. You don't need exercise to lose weight (but it is important for overall health and fitness).

Weight lifting doesn't really burn many calories beyond what you'd burn sitting on the sofa. Walking the kids to school doesn't either. I wouldn't add extra calories for those things or you'll find that you're slowing your weight loss progress. That said, weight lifting is terrific while you're losing weight so don't skip it simply because it doesn't burn many calories.

Depending on what type of weight lifting you are doing it can burn alot of calories. It def burns more than sitting on the couch. That being said....i do very little cardio. Maybe 30 minutes 3-4 times a week and not often vigorous. Eating at a deficit will help you lose the weight but i wouldnt eat back the calories unless you were super hungry. I do a high intensity lifting program and allows for no rest and i am losing inches for sure. If you wanted to ramp up the cardio a bit then walk them to school and on the way back when you are alone step up the pace . Find cardio that is fun .

LiveLoveLift48 wrote: »

SueInAz wrote: »

Weight loss is created from a calorie deficit. You don't need exercise to lose weight (but it is important for overall health and fitness).

Weight lifting doesn't really burn many calories beyond what you'd burn sitting on the sofa. Walking the kids to school doesn't either. I wouldn't add extra calories for those things or you'll find that you're slowing your weight loss progress. That said, weight lifting is terrific while you're losing weight so don't skip it simply because it doesn't burn many calories.

Depending on what type of weight lifting you are doing it can burn alot of calories. It def burns more than sitting on the couch. That being said....i do very little cardio. Maybe 30 minutes 3-4 times a week and not often vigorous. Eating at a deficit will help you lose the weight but i wouldnt eat back the calories unless you were super hungry. I do a high intensity lifting program and allows for no rest and i am losing inches for sure. If you wanted to ramp up the cardio a bit then walk them to school and on the way back when you are alone step up the pace . Find cardio that is fun .

Oh, it burns calories but MFP will give me nearly 300 calories for a one hour session. Given that at least 2/3 of that hour I am not lifting but am instead setting things up or resting between sets, it's a ridiculous number of calories. If one doesn't know better, and has a small deficit to begin with, such an overblown calorie count could erase a daily deficit. Rather than going into all of that (which I have now done), I believe that it's easier to tell people not to count it at all.

SueInAz wrote: »

Weight loss is created from a calorie deficit. You don't need exercise to lose weight (but it is important for overall health and fitness).

Weight lifting doesn't really burn many calories beyond what you'd burn sitting on the sofa. Walking the kids to school doesn't either. I wouldn't add extra calories for those things or you'll find that you're slowing your weight loss progress. That said, weight lifting is terrific while you're losing weight so don't skip it simply because it doesn't burn many calories.

Im sorry but you are so so wrong- in a 60 minute weight session at the gym i burn over 400 cals and thats not me going my hardest- weights actually burn more calories if they are done properly - cardio sucks

LeahEstevez4 wrote: »

Fat burning stops after you've finished cardio- after you finish weights, your still burning fat because the body is trying to recover.. just trust me

I'm not sure what cardio you do, but the cardio I do works my muscles, which then have to recover. I also strength train after cardio, so it doesn't have to be mutually exclusive.

And really, there are so many different types of cardio. Find something you like! I've also started incorporating my kids (5 and 6) into some of my light cardio, such as walking. We are finding various trails in our area and walking them. It's great fun for all of us.

LeahEstevez4 wrote: »

Fat burning stops after you've finished cardio- after you finish weights, your still burning fat because the body is trying to recover.. just trust me

Based on what evidence? Why should we trust you?

Yes if you want to lose weight all you need to do is to eat a calorie deficit (based on my past experience) but you will not be toned up.

LeahEstevez4 wrote: »

Fat burning stops after you've finished cardio- after you finish weights, your still burning fat because the body is trying to recover.. just trust me

Sounds like a distortion of different things with no explaination. A very unvalid claim.

So it sounds like we need a lesson on how fat burning works with regards to exercise. By the way, the claim you are making is the very same claim the HIIT (high intensity interval training) folks claim.

So fat burning is all about the body's need for energy. The body prefers to burn carbs for energy because of the simple process that is involved. Your blood constantly has glucose and fatty acids that your body can use for energy. But your body prefers to use the glucose. Your brain depends upon it. When blood glucose levels drop, your body releases harmones in the body to raise blood glucose levels. many of these harmones tell us to eat. Other harmones tell our body to release glycogen from the liver to raise blood glucose levels. If we eat carbs, those carbs result into raised blood glucose levels and the body is happy again. Any excess allows our body to replentish any muscle or liver glycogen that was used. Any excess beyond that turns into fat. That is why calorie deficit works. Over the course of the day we are using more energy than our body can supply from food so instead of storing excess food sources to turn into fat, we use just enough of them as energy and draw on the stored energy we have. That stored energy is liver and muscle glycogen and fat.

As I said in the beggining, our body prefers to use glucose instead of the fatty acids. It's only when we begin to deplete our glycogen supply that our body then turns to the fatty acids. This is why we have low carb dieters and the keto dieters (which I don't follow by the way).

It just so happens that when we go to bed and sleep for 8 hours, our bodies use enough glycogen that it actualy starts drawing off of fat by the time we wake up. So we can actually burn the most fat while we are sleeping, cause we go into an 8 hour fast.

So weight lifting is an exercise that depends upon a lot of quick powerful short movements. The short intense movement requires the burning of carbs in the form of muscle glycogen. So when you are finished with an intense workout, your body will be in a glycogen depleted state. (Something similar happens when you do HIIT.) The weight lifting also causes slight tears in the muscle fibers which requires recovery. So you have a great uptake in protein and carbs (glucose) as soon as you are done with your workout. Which is why a small meal of protein and carbs is important when you are done working out to speed recovery. During that time, your body will use the amino acids (from the digested protein you immediately eat) for muscle repair and the glucose (from the carbs you just ate) for repair. During this short period, the body will use the fatty acids in your blood stream (from your stored fat) to provide the energy your body needs. This explains your first claim as to why fat burning continues for some time after a workout.

However, cardio can do this as well. It just depends on the intensity and duration of the cardio. In fact, running for 90 minutes or longer at a slow conversational pace will not only burn more fat, but will actually force your body to produce more of the hormones necessary to execute fat burning. Working out in a fasted state will also do this but requires more mental discipline since your body will have a hard time producing the amount of energy necessary in a glycogen depleted state.

Edited for grammer and spelling corrections. Please forgive me if I missed a few.

LeahEstevez4 wrote: »

SueInAz wrote: »

Weight loss is created from a calorie deficit. You don't need exercise to lose weight (but it is important for overall health and fitness).

Weight lifting doesn't really burn many calories beyond what you'd burn sitting on the sofa. Walking the kids to school doesn't either. I wouldn't add extra calories for those things or you'll find that you're slowing your weight loss progress. That said, weight lifting is terrific while you're losing weight so don't skip it simply because it doesn't burn many calories.

Im sorry but you are so so wrong- in a 60 minute weight session at the gym i burn over 400 cals and thats not me going my hardest- weights actually burn more calories if they are done properly - cardio sucks

This is actually wrong. How are you coming up with this burn? If this were true, and I was eating the calories I eat, I'd be a stick...and I wouldn't even be able to lift what I do.

you lose weight in the kitchen and gain health in the gym

that said... i used to think i hated cardio and working out. turns out i LOVE it.