A Question for Those Who Have Lost More Than 25 Pounds

When I first started my exercise was 30 min walking and playing softball. Nothing else.

About a month ago I went back to the gym and started doing C25K program and using the New Rules of Lifting for Women workout for weight training. Haven't done either long enough for me to be able to advise on its effect on weight loss.

Hey! I've lost 40lbs thus far and am still losing. I highly recommend cardio & strength training. Why? Because people who have more muscle burn more calories while dormant than those lacking in muscle. Sure, cardio is great for endurance, heart health, and burning fat, but muscle will burn more fat and calories! Did you know that by doing strength training, you'll burn even more calories those 24 hours following your workout (if you do enough and challenge yourself)?

I go running, or use a machine called the Arc Trainer, which kicks your butt : P I have a Planet Fitness membership, and I hardly see people use the Arc Trainer. A lot of people hop on the elliptical, and if that works for them, great, but I hardly saw a difference when I was using the elliptical. Since switching to actual running, my legs have slimmed down and I've lost more weight overall.

I do all kinds of strength training. Start where you're comfortable! I set new goals every 1 1/2 - 2 weeks to use more weight than before. Nothing feels better than reaching new goals that are totally attainable, even if they're small. : ) Some people enjoy using machines more than free weights. Ultimately, it's up to you and what works best for YOU.

What you eat is also very important! Lots of protein! If you want to build muscle, you need to make sure you're getting adequate carbs and protein. After a strength training workout, or any workout in general, I make sure to get some carbs and some protein. Before a workout (roughly an hour before), I make sure to get straight protein- eggs, lean meats, protein shakes, protein bars, etc. I love Luna bars, they are delicious! : )

Congrats on reaching 25lbs weight loss and good luck on the rest of your goals!

I've lost almost 35 pounds since last May and my first 20 was through just dieting, drinking more water, and walking lightly everyday. I took a little break and now I'm back on the weight loss train. I lost 7 pounds my first month back from hitting the gym with a combination of cardio and strength exercises, along with everything I was doing before.

I would change up your workout routine, to keep your body guessing and to keep you from getting bored. Run one day, do the elliptical another, and hit the bike every once and awhile. Maybe try a couple of step classes or spin classes to get your heart really pumping. Also, KEEP STRENGTH training. A pound of fat burns about 5 to 10 calories per hour, while muscle can burn up to 50!

Besides, as you lose weight you'll want to keep toned, and it will help if there is already muscle there! I know lots of stick thin girls with lots of cellulite, because they have no muscle! Hope some of this has helped!

I've lost more than 5 times that amount -

Do a mix of both. They are both important and both will benefit you, in different ways.

I started out working out 3 or 4 days a week at Curves. It is a mix of Cardio and Strength Training in one 30 minute work out. Then I added walking when I was able to walk with less pain. As the Pain in my knees got better I walked further and faster. I reached my Goal Weight in October 2010. In the past 6 months or so I have added the Elliptical, Recumbent Bike, and (occasionally!) the Treadmill to my Maintenance. I still do Curves 3 or 4 times a week.
:ohwell: People say all the time that you have to change up your exercise, and that Curves is not a "Real" Work Out. All I can say is, It worked OK for me.

I have lost 115 pounds, lost over 50 before I began MFP. I do cardio every day, even on the days I do weights. I may only do 30 - 40 minutes AFTER the weights but I think it works best. Doing just one or the other will work but to maximize I found I had to do both

I am biased towards cardio, personally. I do agree that a combination is good and if I liked strength training I'd do it. At some point I will do it but for now I am successful with just cardio.

Good luck and congratulations!

I've lost 58 lbs. since Oct. 2010. Actually lost it all by Aug. 2011 and have been in a plateau since then for many reasons but I'm still working to lose about 10 more. I've done it by doing a combination of cardio (running, biking both stationary and trail riding) and I also get a lot of strength training. I've used Wii Active 2 for almost a year now and it's worked great. My husband, who does P90X has watched my workouts while doing his own and says it really is a modified P90X workout w/the weights/bands and core/lower body workouts. I also have started to use kettlebells and just ordered a series of DVDs for this particular type of weights.

Hope this helps! Good luck on the next 25!!

I have mostly done cardio exercise, walking the treadmill and aerobics. Just a few weeks ago I invested in Kettle worx, a kettlebell weight and videos that combine weights and cardio. It has really helped me tone down and burn calories at the same time.

I lost my first 130 lbs on strictly cardio, next 30 with a 50/50 split of cardio and strength, last 30 with a 75%strength/25% cardio mix

You definitely want include strength training in your workouts to keep your metabolism revved up. Once you stop a cardio workout, the calorie burning also stops, but with strength training you continue to burn calories far beyond the end of the workout. And muscle burns fat. Also don't be afraid to lift. There's a common perception that women will get bulky if they lift weights which isn't true. You can lift light with more reps and get long, lean, toned muscles.

Cardio burns fat. But you also need strength/weight lifting because you need to build muscle to burn fat while you sleep. Muscle increases your metabolism so that you don't regain the weight you are losing. A mixture of cardio and strength is good.

Weight loss is not really a function of exercise. Your diet (calorie deficit) will drive that.

That said, a mixture of strength training and cardio (mostly HIIT running) is what the majority of my exercise consists of. This is for strength and cardiovascular health and endurance; not so much for "weight loss".

A little about me, early 2009 I was about 315 to 325lbs. Once I got on a scale and it said 199.8 I never got back on the scale. I knew I was getting bigger since my 3x Hawaiian shirts were getting tight.
Someone my wife came across gave her a flyer from a “herbal” company that would make “life” better
(I don’t get paid no free promo’s) much better.
I just wanted to get down to around 250. The first 50lbs came off easy just sticking to the plan. The plan was the hard part. Once I got to about the 60lbs mark it started getting harder to lose. Also I noticed I was losing muscle. So I joined a gym and started getting back to weights then cardio.
It is all a balancing act you will need all three things to do good, Weights, Cardio & Diet.
Last year I did not have a good year. I went up to 225 by December. I have tried to get back to 205
(200 -205 is my goal) I woke up at 212 on Friday. I seems to be harder (losing & dieting) this time around, but I will make it.
Hope this helps. Good Luck!!