Gym or Diet or both?

75in2013 wrote: »

Diet = looking good with clothes
Diet + exercise = looking good without clothes

lol...I agree with you!!!

My LSS (Long Steady State) cardio abbreviation is probably not an industry standard but by that I mean exercise that (with adequate training) can be continued over a long period of time and with little to no change in intensity.

Examples:

• Distance running or long sessions on a treadmill
• Log Elliptical machine sessions
• Distance cycling or cycling at a constant pace on a static bike
• Long, constant rate, rowing sessions

In these instances the person exercising will be able to maintain the pace of exercise over a prolonged period* and as such, record significant calorific burns and in that instance the energy must come from somewhere. Once the gylcogen has been depleted, fat and muscle will be used**.

* how long is prolonged? - I don't know but what is sure is that there is not going to be a universal magic number under which we are all OK and above, even by 1 minute, you are doomed to lose all your muscle. Discussion forums (yes, I know!) seem to favour sub 45 mins as a reasonable amount but I don;t think that there is any science to back that up and if you are glycogen depleted before exercise then that number will be lower.
** the ratio of fat and muscle metabolism is likely to rely on many factors, but certainly genetics wold play a part.

Some exercises will speed up weight loss - Long steady state cardio for example. Others will slow down weight loss - Strength conditioning work for example.

The difference is LSS Cardio will encourage both fat and muscle metabolisation* whereas strength conditioning will decrease muscle metabolisation*.

I am curious about these two statements. I understand LSS - calories/hour times lots of hours is the simple equation - but what evidence suggests that it "speeds up weight loss"? Against what alternative?

I haven't seen any evidence that strength conditioning slows down weight loss, unless of course one is trading a higher calorie/hour burn for a lower one, like LSS for strength training; a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit, whatever the source. Can you share some study that suggests otherwise?

Strength training increases muscle metabolism by increasing muscle mass, which burns more calories, pound for pound, than fat.

Both, but diet is the MOST important! I have always been very active. Even though I ran 20 -25 miles a week, I gradually put on extra weight even though I was counting calories and eating salads and skipping meals. I finally had enough and changed my nutrition. I started having 2 meal replacement shakes a day and I started losing weight. I couldn't believe it. I am 48. I then added nutritional cleansing one day a month and I even lost more. I have put on lean muscle and I feel so energetic! Best health decision I have made for myself. My nutrition is not a diet but a lifestyle for me. I have kept the weight off for a year!!!

I was being over simplistic ind under clear:

With fixed calories adding in cardio will increase calorific burn and therefore weight loss.
At the same calorific input, swapping the cardio for strength training will slow down weight loss because of the smaller burn.

so as you say:

abernathysymthe wrote: »

... that strength conditioning slows down weight loss, unless of course one is trading a higher calorie/hour burn for a lower one, like LSS for strength training; a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit, whatever the source.

sorry for confusion

Or... You could run for half an hour and drink a smaller (or just part of the) milkshake.

Or... You could run for half an hour, drink the milkshake, eat less of something else.

abernathysymthe wrote: »

StealthHealth wrote: »

I was being over simplistic ind under clear:

With fixed calories adding in cardio will increase calorific burn and therefore weight loss.
At the same calorific input, swapping the cardio for strength training will slow down weight loss because of the smaller burn.

so as you say:

abernathysymthe wrote: »

... that strength conditioning slows down weight loss, unless of course one is trading a higher calorie/hour burn for a lower one, like LSS for strength training; a calorie deficit is a calorie deficit, whatever the source.

sorry for confusion

that's what i thought you wanted to say but wasn't sure... so i think we agree. if you have a fixed number of hours a week to work out and want to lose weight, focus on cardio rather than strength training. whether you do long, slow and steady, high intensity intervals, or some other cardio training, calories burned comes down to calories/hour times number of hours.

that said, i am a big fan of LSS, which is often easier on the body and mind of a beginner - and therefore easier to sustain, than high intensity training.

No that wasn't what I was trying to say:

With limited time - focus on strength training because although you will have a lesser deficit* (than you would have with cardio) and therefore weight loss will be slower, that weight loss will be predominantly fat, rather than fat and muscle in the cardio instance. Preserving muscle is important to overall health.

* of course you must still be in some deficit.

Two (quite old I'm afraid) studies which examine this:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9280173
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10204826

TR0berts wrote: »

Or... You could run for half an hour and drink a smaller (or just part of the) milkshake.

Or... You could run for half an hour, drink the milkshake, eat less of something else.

True. Also, I didn't mean to say just diet. It's definitely both, but I think diet is the more effective means of losing weight.

trinty425 wrote: »

I think it is easier to start with adjusting your diet. Planning meals, using a scale, logging your foods, etc. Then while doing this start adding extra physical activity. Park farther away from stores, take the stairs instead of elevator, etc. Once you feel pretty solid on the diet changes...it comes more naturally rather then a chore to try to remember....then add in "official" exercise like elliptical, workout video, etc.

I feel diet is the most important. You cannot just make up for bad eating with just the gym. But then exercise with good eating is the best combo because they aid each other and boost weight loss.

Love this comment. Exactly what I have learned. If you are starting off on the very heavy side, diet has to be the 1st hurdle to overcome. Once the new eating lifestyle is all set, then the exercise comes in naturally. One can lose weight from correcting a diet first and then when the pounds fall off, the energy rises and your body encourages you to start exercising to become stronger.