Can you over do cardio?

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madjmk
madjmk Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know cardio is the best way to lose weight, but then hear things like if you do too much you will start to lose muscle as opposed to fat.

I've lost 80lbs so far and want to lose 40 more but it's getting more difficult to lose. I feel like I have to exercise everyday to keep on track. If I don't exercise I feel really hungry and feel like I cannot stay within a calorie limit to keep losing weight. Can you really overdo cardio? I've tried a rest day but feel set back if I don't do cardio. I'd like to continue cardio everyday to stay on track but fear getting discouraged if I run into a setback from overdoing it. What is a healthy Balance of diet and exercise?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,566 Member
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    Can you overdo cardio? Debatable. Lots of endurance competitors do tons of cardio each week.
    If it's weight loss you want to continue with, it's NOT cardio that's going to cause it. It's staying under your TDEE. So if you take a day off, you eat less than you usually do.
    There's a girl in my gym who doe 3 hours of cardio a day. Why? Not to lose weight. She does it so she can eat 1500 calories over her maintenance. Crazy IMO, but it works for her.

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  • kellyshell215
    kellyshell215 Posts: 98 Member
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    You Know Cardio is not the only way to lose weight, you can also do strength training. Doing Cardio is good because it burns calories but saying it burns muscles is not true. Your body only start to use the muscle when there are no reserves for energy, 1st Carbohydrates when they finish they use fat than muscle.

    If you like so much cardio do it, but its not the only way to lose weight. What makes you lose weight is when you create a defict.
    And Cardio is not the only physical activity that can help in weight loss, lifting or doing strength training can also help.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I think you can overdo anything. In terms of normal health, you only really "need" about 30 minutes of cardio a day. (Some people think you need even less.)

    You don't want to get on the treadmill just so you can eat another piece of pie. It is really a zero sum gain, since you might not even be hungry for the pie if you hadn't gotten on the treadmill. You don't want to get trapped in a cycle of exercising to eat. (It all works out, since your apatite will reduce if you exercise a bit less.

    My simple advice is to right-size your workouts to your overall life goals and right-size your eating to your calorie needs. If you feel overly frantic about the gym, cut back a little. Take some days off and go to a yoga class. Replace some gym days with walks. Stop to sniff the flowers.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
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    Cardio isn't the best way to lose weight. Eating less than your body burns in a day is. If you like eating a little more and creating that deficit through cardio great. It's good for your heart. The best way to retain muscle is through strength training. Maybe you could trade in a few cardio days for strength days if you are concerned. Lifting weights does also burn a significant number of calories and I've heard having more muscle mass causes your body to burn more calories at rest.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
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    It's really about overtraining vs not overtraining. Overtraining (cardio or otherwise) can lead to increased cortisol production, which can lead to utilization of amino acids as fuel to preserve blood glucose. But this is in pretty extreme cases.

    That said, if you're only doing only cardio, you aren't "burning muscle," but you aren't building it, either. As others have said, it's really more about the deficit than anything else.

    You seem a little obsessed. Take a deep breath and reflect on your accomplishments. Keep up the good work, take a rest day when you need it (this is important!), and keep a long view. Good luck!

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