Need advice for fat loss.

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abriz
abriz Posts: 7 Member
edited July 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all, not new to MFP but new to forums. I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I was successful in losing nearly 70lbs, and 6 pants sizes about 5 years ago. I did this beginning with weight watchers (online) and jazzercize. Quit jazz and joined the Y, then CrossFit, then back to the Y. Once I learned how to eat I felt confident enough to log with MFP on my own. Fast forward to earlier this year and I was around 315 lbs. Lots of yo yoing in between (my own fault). I've been going hard to the paint since the end of March. I consistently stay under or right at my calorie goal (2,060 net). I lift heavy (deadlift, squats, bench press, leg press) at least 3 times per week. In between sets (3) I either jump rope, do push ups, step ups, or box jumps to try to keep my HR up. I'm now to 292, I feel some progress, my clothes do fit better but not as I had expected. I cannot say how many inches I've lost because I just now began measuring. I try to do solely cardio 2ish times per week as well. My goal is to lose fat, not just weight. When I lost weight before I feel that a lot of it was muscle, water, etc. I lost fast but it was easy to creep back on. I'm willing to put in the work, I just need to know if I should be stepping up my cardio game. Most people I've talked to have said with an appropriate diet (which I mostly have, maxros could use a little work), and heavy, compound lifting, I should not need a lot of cardio. How accurate is this? Am I being too impatient? The area I'm seeing the least improvement in is my midsection, just FYI. Thanks for reading!

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  • Jyster
    Jyster Posts: 74 Member
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    I"m very far from an expert on the subject, but I have lost 96 pounds. (total) Things i've noticed: I've never done cardio or lifting and I lost both muscle and fat. What I didn't lose much of was my midsection but it did change shape from being big and round to melty looking. Take that for what it is worth, perhaps someone who lifts can step in and answer some. Hang in there, it always takes longer than we would like. Good luck.
  • edlanglais5
    edlanglais5 Posts: 172 Member
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    The question I brought you're asking is, and correct me if I'm wrong, is a lot of cardio better or a lot of lifting? In my opinion, neither. You will probably see best results by doing a balanced mix of both.
  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
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    Not an expert but I'm down 90. I do 45 min cardio daily and 45 lifting daily. I know that's not for everyone but I have learned to love it. I started 354. I stay under 1800 calories most days and if I go over I work a little harder. I can share more, pm me if you'd like.
  • abriz
    abriz Posts: 7 Member
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    @sunsweet77 so, you remain in a deficit while doing heavy resistance training? I'm amazed that you do that much cardio and that much weight training! Great job! I'm just curious, about the intake, I do remain in a deficit but was wondering do I need to be eating more on the lifting days? The day after? As in, what's fueling the muscle?
  • abriz
    abriz Posts: 7 Member
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    Welcome to the forums! Great decision to join in. Yes, maybe you are too impatient. A weekly loss of around 1% of your body weight is a healthy loss, meaning most of it will come from fat and not muscle. Cardio burns calories, which means that you can eat slightly more, but it does little to preserve muscle. You said: I lost fast but it was easy to creep back on. Replace "but" with "so", and you have the answer. Losing fast means that you're losing muscle, you're hungry, hangry, tired and resentful. If this project is going to teach you anything, it will be to be patient. You're gonna need patience after you hit goal weight, when you'll be putting in almost the same effort just to stay the same weight, day in, day out, year after year. To be able to do this, it has to feel okay, and to become the new normal. Start practicing that new normal today :)

    I fully agree that every minute of every day takes work during and after, and way after!! Thanks for the insight, and patience has never been my strong suit, but I'm learning from the first time around
  • abriz
    abriz Posts: 7 Member
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    edlanglais5 wrote: »
    The question I brought you're asking is, and correct me if I'm wrong, is a lot of cardio better or a lot of lifting? In my opinion, neither. You will probably see best results by doing a balanced mix of both.

    Well, yes and no. I know both have their benefits. I guess I'm trying to figure out my best balance. So yes in the sense of what would be the best of the most time spent at the gym. I do incorporate both, but I guess my question is, should one outweigh the other? Time wise.
  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
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    @abriz summer hit and kids are home so I am a lot more generous with my calories. Right now I am doing both the cardio and lifting. I'm definitely building muscle and my weight loss is a lot slower but still coming off. This whole process has been an adventure for me as I have no guidance. First three months I spent doing 6-7 miles daily on the elliptical. I felt I needed to switch things up, gained a ton more confidence and ventured into the weight room. Now I am doing both but Loss has slowed. I would love any advice on gaining muscle, while still losing. Can you do both? Or do I have to get back to cardio only to lose again?

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