I'm sick of the term "skinny-fat"

Fortunately I don't have to justify my choices with anyone but myself. I know what my goals are and what I need to do to reach them.

Fortunately I don't have to justify my choices with anyone but myself. I know what my goals are and what I need to do to reach them.

Well said.

if I wanna do cardio instead of lifting "heavy" then get off my back about it! This is still the beginning of my journey, let me get comfortable with the fact that I am even moving my body anywhere besides from the bed to the couch. I haven't lifted one single weight yet and I've lost 30 lbs.

30 lbs down from 279 is healthier...any way you look at it.

That is all.

Great job on losing 30 lbs. I have no idea what "skinny fat" means either but if someone called me that I wouldn't feel good about it. The first 50 pounds I lost was from changing my diet, losing some bad habits and logging lots of hours on an elliptical trainer building my endurance and strength. When I first started 20 minutes was all I could do and over time I eventually could go 90 minutes plus. Eventually the weight loss slowed down and I found that doing different types of workouts got me going. I'd do elliptical one day, cycling, running, stair climber, strength training and HIT training and varying the types of workouts. That kick started the next 35 pounds or so for me, then I found that I need to up my calories a bit. In my opinion you are doing great, keep doing it and over time you may also you need shake things up a bit but I wouldn't worry about that as long as you are exercising regularly and losing weight and inches. I started at 306 and I think some people may not realize that sometimes you just need to lose some weight in order to be able to do more things as you progress. It gets easier over time and at some point having a balance of different types of exercise keeps it fun and your goals and needs will evolve.

OP. You do understand that if you didn't post the thread in the 1st place, no one would be getting on your back about anything.

^This^

And Skinny-fat means someone who is thin but leads an unhealthy lifestyle such as not exercising or eating right. Has nothing to do with how you workout. But all the other people that have already said this are correct - If you want to continue to lose FAT and not MUSCLE you have to do body weight exercises or resistance exercises eventually.

when i say skinny fat, i mean people who are skinny but have no muscle tone at all. like they are a couple weeks of bad eating away from being flabby.

Wayne Westcott, Ph.D. conducted a study in which 72 over weight individuals participated in an eight week exercise program. The participants were placed in two groups. The first group performed 30 minutes of endurance exercise on a stationary cycle. The second group performed only 15 minutes of exercise on the stationary cycle plus an additional 15 minutes on weight resistant exercises. At the conclusion of the study, the "endurance only" group lost a total of 3.5 lbs.; 3 lbs. of which was fat and a half pound was muscle loss. On the other hand, the "endurance and weight resistive" group lost 8 lbs. with an actual fat loss of 10 lbs. and an increase of 2 lbs. of lean body weight.

(8 week program, 72 over weight individuals)

Endurance Training (30 min)

Weight Change (lbs) -3.5
Fat Change (lbs) -3
Lean mass Change (lbs) -0.5

Endurance (15 min) & Weight Training (15 min)

Weight change (lbs) -8
Fat change (lbs) -10
Lean mass change (lbs) +2

Westcott, W., Fitness Management. Nov., 1991.

Wow! The group that did more activity lost more. Who would have thought?

Wow.... You totally missed the point on that one.... over your head big time....

Good job on your loss! As you lose more weight you may find you're interested in exploring strength training and challenging your body through other non aerobic activity. Personally I like diversity in activity and I like to feel strong. I equate strength with health. I do a lot of cardio as well as strength training and cardio endurance feels great too.

OP. You do understand that if you didn't post the thread in the 1st place, no one would be getting on your back about anything.

^This^

And Skinny-fat means someone who is thin but leads an unhealthy lifestyle such as not exercising or eating right. Has nothing to do with how you workout. But all the other people that have already said this are correct - If you want to continue to lose FAT and not MUSCLE you have to do body weight exercises or resistance exercises eventually.

Cardio is resistance exercise. It's just a lot of reps. Every time I stride while running I'm pushing my 200 pounds forward. You should see how cut my legs have become running and cycling all while on a serious caloric deficit. I also do the rowing machine which has helped with core strength as well as arms and back "toning".

Endurance runners may have large burns but take into consideration how long they run. I've burned up to 1,000 in 50 mins doing HIIT or Circuit Training with weights. Plus I get the benefit of strengthening and improving my bone density, something that typically doesn't occur when merely running.

i'm calling BS on this. there's no way you're burning 20 calories a minute at 160 lb bodyweight.