Do I do more strength training to loose and tone or should I do more cardio first?

I'm currently 89kg and I tend to binge. I go for more strength training rather than cardio but I'm not seeing results as fast as I would like. I need help deciding what would work best for me besides a diet plan. I can't run because of my heavy breastfeeding so what else is there for me?

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    exercise is not for weight loss regardless of what kind you do. Exercise is for health and fitness.

    If you want to lose weight it's about your intake.

    I lift to maintain muscle and because I love it.
    I do cardio because I like it....I walk, run, bike etc.
  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
    Whatever you are going to stick with: do that. :) I personally like the recumbent bikes...but the point is to find something that you enjoy doing so that you continue to do it. That said: 75% of my weight loss was due to changing the way that I ate so that might be the place to start. No exercise is required for weight loss...
  • hollen_carol
    hollen_carol Posts: 121 Member
    edited July 2016
    I dont agree with the poster directly below you. Yeah sure, it's about what you put in but it can be burnt off with exercise as well. Op, I would do at least half and half. Its cardio that burns more in the short term. I normally do 40 minutes of each 3 or 4 times a week. It keeps me fairly lean and fit and allows me to be able to eat more on the exercise days.
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    Stick to a deficit to lose.

    As for cardio or lifting to lose, balance would be nice, try a bit of both.

    As for should I lose weight with cardio first then introduce lifting to "tone" do both

    MODS can we please get a sticky on this question and variations of this question
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I say cardio is better for burning calories and getting your body moving. You also have factor in that it is difficult to build muscle bulk on a calorie deficit. That said you can tone or maintain muscle mass by strength training. So I say cardio first but there is no reason you can't do both.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    You can actually do a little bit of both along side your calorie deficit. Or you can choose one or the other. Exercise (lifting/cardio etc..) is about 20% of the equation..

    "Toning" (not really a thing but I get what you are wanting) and this is gonna be best served by strength training, and if you want to add in some fun cardio, or things that interest you in a cardio aspect, do that too.

    Need decide your goals for loosing weight and if loosing weight is priority one, then setup a plan to meet that goal but you certainly can create dual goals to loose weight and begin working on body competition while loosing weight. This will help you preserve muscle mass while eating a deficit as well. So a lot can be achieved here.

    Remember you do not want to stop exercising when you are done loosing weight, you will want to continue with maintaining weight, and reap all the health benefits exercise provides to live healthier and hopefully add some longevity!

    I do both!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    exercise is not for weight loss regardless of what kind you do. Exercise is for health and fitness.

    If you want to lose weight it's about your intake.

    I lift to maintain muscle and because I love it.
    I do cardio because I like it....I walk, run, bike etc.

    I exercise so I can eat and drink more while losing weight. I don't do starvation well and I refuse to give up my beer & wine. It works for me
  • hollen_carol
    hollen_carol Posts: 121 Member
    edited July 2016
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    I dont agree with the poster directly below you. Yeah sure, it's about what you put in but it can be burnt off with exercise as well. Op, I would do at least half and half. Its cardio that burns more in the short term. I normally do 40 minutes of each 3 or 4 times a week. It keeps me fairly lean and fit and allows me to be able to eat more on the exercise days.

    really? and why not?

    what about people who lose weight that can't exercise?
    what about people who are running/lifting their butts off and not losing?

    to lose weight you need a deficit and to create that deficit it's about intake because you can't outrun your fork....if you eat too much no matter the exercise you won't lose weight.

    I am not saying don't exercise.....but that being said it doesn't matter if you do exercise you can lose weight by cutting back on food alone.

    This was not an attack on you whatsoever and that is how it sounds you are taking it. Just dont take it that way. The OP is saying she tends to binge (I've been there) and that she is not seeing the results she wants (and she is tending to go more lifting then cardio). I'm saying cardio is what will save the day in this sort of situation. Weight lifting is still what will change your body composition but cardio will burn those extra calories you just ate. That's why not. Again, no offense to you.
  • AJMarini
    AJMarini Posts: 1 Member
    I dont agree with the poster directly below you. Yeah sure, it's about what you put in but it can be burnt off with exercise as well. Op, I would do at least half and half. Its cardio that burns more in the short term. I normally do 40 minutes of each 3 or 4 times a week. It keeps me fairly lean and fit and allows me to be able to eat more on the exercise days.

    You can choose to disagree, but the science is against you. The amount of exercise needed to burn off even a few excess calories is often far more than most people have time for. Regardless of that, when you exercise, you are not "burning" off food the way a car burns fuel. Even if you haven't eaten in several days, you'd still have the energy and strength to go exercise. That's how humans used to be able to hunt. The body consumes itself as needed over time.

    Everything you eat gets processed and placed on the body to be consumed by the body at some future date AS NEEDED (and that's an important point). A cinnabon's worth in calories equates to at least over an hour of EXTRA high intensity interval training. So that cinnabon WILL become fat no matter what you do and it can take weeks of EXTRA exercise to undo that. I say extra because your normal diet is often more than enough (which is why so many people are wondering how to get rid of the weight).

    Losing flab is diet. Getting fit is exercise. To get "toned" or "in shape" or whatever you want to call it, you need to do both and you need to have to willpower to not undermine your effort.


  • hollen_carol
    hollen_carol Posts: 121 Member
    Ok, I'm just saying what worked for me, through this experience of my own, the last two years. I'll just stick with the answer "do both" (along with the diet plan as OP said above). Of course the deficit matters. Never said it didn't but you can burn more calories off with cardio then weight lifting if you compare them in equal amounts of time.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    edited July 2016
    Ok, I'm just saying what worked for me, through this experience of my own, the last two years. I'll just stick with the answer "do both" (along with the diet plan as OP said above). Of course the deficit matters. Never said it didn't but you can burn more calories off with cardio then weight lifting if you compare them in equal amounts of time.

    but what happens if you can't do both? god forbid...

    and I don't take anything here personally...but I will question wrong information or bad information or information that is not going to help the OP.

    They also said they can't run...
    rsclause wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    exercise is not for weight loss regardless of what kind you do. Exercise is for health and fitness.

    If you want to lose weight it's about your intake.

    I lift to maintain muscle and because I love it.
    I do cardio because I like it....I walk, run, bike etc.

    I exercise so I can eat and drink more while losing weight. I don't do starvation well and I refuse to give up my beer & wine. It works for me

    which is great I have done the same but again what if you can't exercise?

    I don't do starvation either but I find as long as my intake is in check I get all the treats I want because I stay in goal with my food and the exercise is the extras.
  • nddavis1
    nddavis1 Posts: 9 Member
    edited July 2016
    I think I am probably in the same position as the poster....tbh when I lost 35lbs before it was a mixture of cardio - 50 mins...weights a circuit of guided by my trainer every other day...and my diet was changed...no alcohol except on a treat/cheat day....no bread and really cutting back on sugar. It helps to start out like this to get the results. It worked for me before and I will do again. I also do classes like Pilates/Yoga/Body Pump etc. to mix it up a bit, but I actually love how I feel after cardio and I know I will get the results. I've just started again and I will post my results on day 66 as this is the time I am allowing myself for the kick start.
    To the poster...btw if you can't run....you can sit on a bike and build up from 10 - 20 mins, how do you feel about the cross-trainer and treadmill at a slow pace? Walking on a treadmill building up an incline is a great way of burning calories. Hope that helps.
  • hollen_carol
    hollen_carol Posts: 121 Member
    There's plenty of cardio to pick from besides running. Walking on an incline is a great calorie burn, as is swimming laps (if you can do that). Recumbant biking or regular biking, eliptical, rowing, zumba, even just walking in the neighborhood at a moderate pace. If you can't do any of it? I guess there is no question or choice in the matter.
  • Char231023
    Char231023 Posts: 700 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    I dont agree with the poster directly below you. Yeah sure, it's about what you put in but it can be burnt off with exercise as well. Op, I would do at least half and half. Its cardio that burns more in the short term. I normally do 40 minutes of each 3 or 4 times a week. It keeps me fairly lean and fit and allows me to be able to eat more on the exercise days.

    really? and why not?

    what about people who lose weight that can't exercise?
    what about people who are running/lifting their butts off and not losing?

    to lose weight you need a deficit and to create that deficit it's about intake because you can't outrun your fork....if you eat too much no matter the exercise you won't lose weight.

    I am not saying don't exercise.....but that being said it doesn't matter if you do exercise you can lose weight by cutting back on food alone.

    This was not an attack on you whatsoever and that is how it sounds you are taking it. Just dont take it that way. The OP is saying she tends to binge (I've been there) and that she is not seeing the results she wants (and she is tending to go more lifting then cardio). I'm saying cardio is what will save the day in this sort of situation. Weight lifting is still what will change your body composition but cardio will burn those extra calories you just ate. That's why not. Again, no offense to you.

    If she is bingeing. She will not be able to out run a binge. It all has to do with diet. Sure cardio will give you extra calories, but not nearly enough to make up for a binge.

    OP do both cardio and some form of strength training . The cardio for your heart and strength training to preserve the muscle you have while you are in a deficit. That way you won't end up skinny fat. Make sure you are eating enough health foods but make sure you leave room in your calories to have a treat. It might help you binge less if you know you can have a little everyday.
  • carmkizzle
    carmkizzle Posts: 211 Member
    I have a friend that always complains about her weight and needing to lose weight. She actually thinks she'll start to lose if she just exercises on a consistent basis, and she barely acknowledges her diet. I see a lot of people thinking that same exact way. Using myself as an example, I used to exercise quite often a few years ago before I got really serious about losing weight, and not one pound was lost. It wasn't until I got really serious about losing the weight that I took the time to do the research, found out what my TDEE was (using Google), found out my maintenance and deficit calories and stuck to the plan that I started seeing results.

    To lose weight, there's no need to follow any particular diet (unless you have some sort of illness, of course) - just consume less calories than you burn. A combination of diet (again, by "diet", I just mean eating less) and exercise can aide you in doing that. If counting calories isn't for you, at least try to keep track of what you're eating for about a week to give yourself an idea of how much you're really eating, and be honest about it. Then, cut those portions in half.

    And don't worry about seeing fast results - fast usually equals gaining the weight back. You want this to be a lifestyle change. You don't want to lose the weight, start feeling especially cute, start getting comfortable, and then end up going back to doing what caused you to gain weight in the first place. Because guess what, you will re-gain. Take this as an opportunity to learn as much as you can about your body/food/exercise. Perfection isn't required, but consistency is. Stick to it and you will see results.