Advice for Shedding Pounds; Cardio or Strength Training?

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zodiw
zodiw Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I’m fairly new to MFP (about 3 weeks in) and loving it! I’m looking for advice/suggestions on weight loss. I’m extremely motivated in reaching my goal of losing 23 pounds by June. I train 5-6 days a week. I work on strength training (weight lifting) 4 days a week for about 45 – 60 minutes with about 15-30 minutes of cardio. I focus on cardio 2 days a week (45-60 minutes). My main goal is to lose weight/body fat. I’ve received advice from two trainers. One trainer stated that if I want to lose weight, I must focus on strength training with some cardio. The other trainer stated that I needed to focus on cardio with some strength training. I will add that I’m usually under my calorie goal and on target with water intake. I have only lost 0.8 lbs to date. So, which one is it? Cardio or strength training or both?

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  • jclengerich
    jclengerich Posts: 5
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    I say both. Cardio is fantastic. The only downfall is that you may continue to burn calories for an hour or so after your workout is complete, depending on how intense it was. With strength training you burn calories while you workout and also while your body is breaking down muscle and rebuilding it which is usually on your "off" time. So I say a balanced combination of both will get you the results you desire.
  • nutandbutter
    nutandbutter Posts: 447
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    Hierarchy of weight loss: Diet, Strength Training, then Cardio.

    Focus on your compound lifts and lift heavy. 2-3 sets of 6-12 reps; you should struggle to do your last couple reps. I personally max 6-8 reps. Weigh/measure your food to be as accurate as possible.

    ETA: I rarely do any cardio. I get cardiovascular benefits from lifting heavy. Also, I don't like cardio much and it makes me hungry. I may do HIIT once or twice a week for 20 minutes.
  • zodiw
    zodiw Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you! One more question, would you suggest eating up my left over calories. I usually leave 400- 600 calories after eating my 3 meals, snacks and 2 protein shakes a day. I don't want to deprive my body from needed nutrients, but after my meals, I'm pretty full by then.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Eat back as much as you can and allow a cheat meal once a week (I do mine on weigh in day) it will help a lot.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    23lbs by June 1 is 16 weeks. That's roughly 1.5 lbs a week. To do that you need to maintain a calorie deficit of 750 cals per day below your maintenance level.

    Just so your expectations are realistic, while it's easy for us bigger folks to shed large quantities of weight that fast, if you're already quite close to being lean and used to working out fairly regularly, then chances are that your loss may be a little slower. Your BMR is likely to be lower because there's not as much of you to move around. If you are close to lean your "wiggle room" for error is going to be quite small. That is, you're going to have to measure your food intake and exercise calories even more accurately than you might think if you want to lose it that fast.

    Strength training increases your muscle mass and hence increases your metabolism. So your body burns calories at a greater rate even when not exercising (when sitting and watching TV for example)

    Cardio burns calories while you are doing it, and raises your metabolism for a short period of time afterwards.

    Best option is a mix of both imo.
  • zodiw
    zodiw Posts: 9 Member
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    Thanks!
  • KellyS0828
    KellyS0828 Posts: 32 Member
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    BOTH.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    Both is better for your body, but the stronger your muscles are the more your BMR goes up. I don't know by how much.

    You will burn more calories with cardio, but weights are good too. Your going to have to change it around until you find the balance that works for your body. But technically speaking both trainers are correct. You just have the find the one that is correct for you.
  • bluefever
    bluefever Posts: 93 Member
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    Check out Jamie Eason's 12 week live fit trainer on Bodybuilding.com
  • zodiw
    zodiw Posts: 9 Member
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    This was very helpful. Thanks again!

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