Is cardio necessary to lose weight?

sweettoothfairy
sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is cardio really necessary to lose weight? In the past i have done loads of cardio including insanity, c25k, kickboxing..right now I am following new rules of lifting and lift heavy weights 3 times per week. My TDEE is at 2250, and BMR 1850 according to bodymedia, and lifestyle is completely sedentary so i am eating at around 1950 per day. In last 2 weeks all i have done in terms of cardio is a 45 minute walk once a week. Is that enough or i need to incorporate more cardio?
«1

Replies

  • BarbellCowgirl
    BarbellCowgirl Posts: 1,271 Member
    I am interested to hear what others have to say about this topic. I'm trying to figure out my routine.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    No.


    You lose weight by eating less.

    You build cardiovascular stamina by doing cardio.

    Now at some point in the future you may want to look into steady state or HIIT when you get to the stubborn fat.
    But if you are above 22% BF I wouldnt bother with it.

    Walk!

    Its less stressful on your system while cutting cals.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/what-defines-cardio-in-terms-of-too-much-qa.html
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/too-much-cardio-followup.html
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
    I love cardio, thats why I do hit. Interval training to blast fat, runs to clear my head and strenthen my heart & soul, elliptical for when I want to mix it up, up hill speed walking to blast my booty.

    I would say a mix of both is good.

    Always depends on what works best for you :)
  • Assassins_Angel
    Assassins_Angel Posts: 329
    i love Cardio too but i do Zumba as it doesnt feel like a workout :D
  • suztheq
    suztheq Posts: 168 Member
    Technically, as long as your diet is right, you don't have to do any exercise to lose weight. However, you more than likely wouldn't like the results. If you are doing New Rules of Lifting for Women, the second stage has a mix of lifting and HIIT. I always think a mix is the way to go. Too much of anything isn't good. But as a previous poster said, do what works best for you.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    No, it's not necessary. I lost around 35 pounds before joining MFP and rarely did cardio. After joining here, I started to jog regularly, kept my net calories the same (eating all of my cardio calories back, whenever possible), and kept losing as before. This morning I hit my goal weight. It was actually quite easy, although it took 5-6 months.

    So to summarize my experience: weight loss without cardio, weight loss with cardio... :-)

    However, two points:

    In general, cardio is good for you. I feel good after jogging. Fresh, clear headed, happier. I don't go crazy, just 20-30 min jogs, 3-4 times a week. More like interval training, actually. I enjoy it. And I was never a jogger before. The C25k program helped a lot.

    There are thousands of ways to lose weight, when you really get into the details. The key is finding a program that works for you. And that typically means doing things you enjoy. If you hate jogging, try long walks. Swimming. Tennis. Dancing. Whatever. Just stay active, keep moving.

    Good luck,

    --P
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/what-defines-cardio-in-terms-of-too-much-qa.html
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/too-much-cardio-followup.html


    Thank you so much Dan, so i guess 4 days of workout is enough, 3 days strength and one day per week for walk?
  • annieu613
    annieu613 Posts: 143 Member
    Technically you don't need to exercise at all to lose weight. Losing weight is caused by a caloric deficit, so as long as you're eating less than you're burning, you should lose weight.

    However, working out can help burn extra calories. It's also healthy to do cardio in other ways, because it increases your lung function, lowers your resting heart rate and can help increase bone density, which is very important especially in women.
  • rcs7058
    rcs7058 Posts: 25
    It's all about energy balance, your calories in need to be less than your calories out. So yea you don't necessarily need to do cardio to lose weight but you really should. That's how you are going to cause that negative energy balance.
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
    Technically, as long as your diet is right, you don't have to do any exercise to lose weight. However, you more than likely wouldn't like the results. If you are doing New Rules of Lifting for Women, the second stage has a mix of lifting and HIIT. I always think a mix is the way to go. Too much of anything isn't good. But as a previous poster said, do what works best for you.

    Yes second stage has mix of HIIT and lifting however thinking about no cardio for 6 weeks makes you doubtful.. I guess it takes time to wrap your head around.
  • SanyamKaushik
    SanyamKaushik Posts: 215 Member
    Bump (for advice)

    I also think that to reduce weight, you need to create calorie deficit, either by eating less or burning calories or both. In simple terms I would choose workout (cardio or strength) that can be helpful in practical life i.e. build more endurance, stamina or whatever you call it. 2 birds with one stone :)
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
    No, but exercise (cardio and lifting) is generally necessary to be healthy.

    ETA: I'm just responding to the topic question, not the post. Sorry.
  • MrsMuffinRun
    MrsMuffinRun Posts: 93
    This is only my experience but I have better results losing weight when I am not exercising. Exercise makes me hungry. It also makes me feel great. So I carry on exercising as I am not hugely overweight but if I need to drop half a stone, I'm better off stopping for a bit and concentrating on calorie count.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    No.


    You lose weight by eating less.

    You build cardiovascular stamina by doing cardio.

    Now at some point in the future you may want to look into steady state or HIIT when you get to the stubborn fat.
    But if you are above 22% BF I wouldnt bother with it.

    Walk!

    Its less stressful on your system while cutting cals.

    pretty much.
  • auntygill
    auntygill Posts: 108 Member
    I have lost weight without much cardio exercise, i do try for a walk , but i will see later in my weight loss about doing more.x
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    No.


    You lose weight by eating less.

    You build cardiovascular stamina by doing cardio.

    Now at some point in the future you may want to look into steady state or HIIT when you get to the stubborn fat.
    But if you are above 22% BF I wouldnt bother with it.

    Walk!

    Its less stressful on your system while cutting cals.

    This is good advice, except the body fat thing. During my last cut I actually lowered my cardio to one day per week from 2 as the lower body fat % you are the smaller your deficit should be or you risk burning muscle and fat.

    Essentially all you need is a caloric deficit to lose weight. Now to ensure that most of the loss is fat, and not fat and muscle, it is best to incorporate heavy lifting strength training (4-10 reps range stuff, depending on preference) and make sure you get adequate protein intake.
  • Francesca3162
    Francesca3162 Posts: 520 Member
    All of the major health organizations reccommend cardio 3x per week for 30 minutes... to keep heart, lungs etc healthy. Do you need it to lose weight? NO, a calorie deficit creates weight loss... but if you want to be healthy... then yes, add cardio to your menu!!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/what-defines-cardio-in-terms-of-too-much-qa.html
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/too-much-cardio-followup.html


    Thank you so much Dan, so i guess 4 days of workout is enough, 3 days strength and one day per week for walk?

    I walk tuesdays and thursdays and i'm in the lower BF range.
    It's really up to you.

    The thing Lyle talks about in other papers is the loss of strength due to too much cardio.
    It's up to you to figure that out.

    A 40 min walk yields me about 200-400 cals burned depending on where I go.
    It's low impact so its good on my knees and back.

    I build cardio stamina by doing 280lb deadlifts.
    ;D
  • jamm2000
    jamm2000 Posts: 79
    The majority of my cardio has alwasy been in the form of a 45 minute daily walk and I was successful at losing weight.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    No.


    You lose weight by eating less.

    You build cardiovascular stamina by doing cardio.

    Now at some point in the future you may want to look into steady state or HIIT when you get to the stubborn fat.
    But if you are above 22% BF I wouldnt bother with it.

    Walk!

    Its less stressful on your system while cutting cals.

    This is good advice, except the body fat thing. During my last cut I actually lowered my cardio to one day per week from 2 as the lower body fat % you are the smaller your deficit should be or you risk burning muscle and fat.

    Essentially all you need is a caloric deficit to lose weight. Now to ensure that most of the loss is fat, and not fat and muscle, it is best to incorporate heavy lifting strength training (4-10 reps range stuff, depending on preference) and make sure you get adequate protein intake.

    Absolutely.

    Without going into too much mumbo jumbo you can oxidize fat from the cells and mobilize it through any type of cardio.
    But at some point youll get diminishing returns.
    Loss of LBM and strength are a bad sign you do too much!
  • Rozieq84
    Rozieq84 Posts: 38
    True story. I've read things about the stress of working out causing you to hold onto fat. Well, Zumba never feels stressful to me. It's always fun, so I think it's just finding cardio that you find to be fun, and just go with that. If you enjoy dancing, try almost anything in there, and you'll find the pounds melting off.
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/what-defines-cardio-in-terms-of-too-much-qa.html
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/too-much-cardio-followup.html


    Thank you so much Dan, so i guess 4 days of workout is enough, 3 days strength and one day per week for walk?

    I walk tuesdays and thursdays and i'm
    in the lower BF range.
    It's really up to you.

    The thing Lyle talks about in other papers is the loss of strength due to too much cardio.
    It's up to you to figure that out.

    A 40 min walk yields me about 200-400 cals burned depending on where I go.
    It's low impact so its good on my knees and back.

    I build cardio stamina by doing 280lb deadlifts.
    ;D

    That's what book keeps on emphasizing, i have fallen in love with deadlifts, in 2nd week i did deadlift of 110 lbs , 2 sets of 15 reps, next week its gonna be 12 reps and i am pretty excited and yes it pretty much keeps my heart rate in the higher range.
  • kuger4119
    kuger4119 Posts: 213 Member
    It depends on what your goals are. If all you are concerned about is being thin and don't care how you look (thin vs. fit), you can lose all the weight you need with a very strict diet. No exercise at all. If you are lifting weights aggressively and pushing yourself, you really are doing "cardio" to some degree although it's technically not cardio. When I work out, my heart rate ranges from 100 bpm to 130 bpm, which is plenty to burn fat. I typically do three sets of 10 with 30-45 second breaks between sets.

    Running and other cardio are necessary if you are wanting to build up your lung capacity and overall endurance. It's also the "easiest" way to burn large amounts of calories. I burn at least 50% more calories running than working out and sometimes it's closer to double. Personally, I like to eat and I have to incorporate cardio in order to lose weight. Doing cardio also gives you more flexibility on how you achieve your caloried deficit, which makes it less likely that you will plateau.

    I ride my bike 30 minutes a couple times per week, I run 30 minutes a couple times a week and I do intervals for 20 minutes followed by 40 minutes of weight lifting three times a week. Some weeks I will skip a day but usually only when I just can't make it work. I'll run 1 1/2 miles before work once or twice a week when it is light enough for me to not worry about getting hit by idiots in cars. Variety is the spice of life and cardio gives you extra flexibility to keep you from getting bored.
  • MarkAWhipple
    MarkAWhipple Posts: 77 Member
    It would help your heart to do 30 minutes of walking a day. it doesn't even need to be a brisk pace. I hated it when I started but now I'm doing over an hour a day and having to stop myself from going longer.
  • MarkAWhipple
    MarkAWhipple Posts: 77 Member
    To add, it took me about 15 days to get over the inertia of my sedentary, no exercise lifestyle. It's a crappy 15 days but, man, it was worth it!
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
    It depends on what your goals are. If all you are concerned about is being thin and don't care how you look (thin vs. fit), you can lose all the weight you need with a very strict diet. No exercise at all. If you are lifting weights aggressively and pushing yourself, you really are doing "cardio" to some degree although it's technically not cardio. When I work out, my heart rate ranges from 100 bpm to 130 bpm, which is plenty to burn fat. I typically do three sets of 10 with 30-45 second breaks between sets.

    Running and other cardio are necessary if you are wanting to build up your lung capacity and overall endurance. It's also the "easiest" way to burn large amounts of calories. I burn at least 50% more calories running than working out and sometimes it's closer to double. Personally, I like to eat and I have to incorporate cardio in order to lose weight. Doing cardio also gives you more flexibility on how you achieve your caloried deficit, which makes it less likely that you will plateau.

    I ride my bike 30 minutes a couple times per week, I run 30 minutes a couple times a week and I do intervals for 20 minutes followed by 40 minutes of weight lifting three times a week. Some weeks I will skip a day but usually only when I just can't make it work. I'll run 1 1/2 miles before work once or twice a week when it is light enough for me to not worry about getting hit by idiots in cars. Variety is the spice of life and cardio gives you extra flexibility to keep you from getting bored.

    I completely agree cardio burns tonnes of calories, i wouldnt worry about it if i wudnt have been stuck within same 5 lbs range since one year now ... So keeping 10% cut from TDEE right now to see if it works out.. else i will go back to 5 days mix of strength and cardio.
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
    No, but diet alone will lead to you eventually hitting a plateau in your weight loss.
  • UnderConstructionLuis
    UnderConstructionLuis Posts: 331
    i love Cardio too but i do Zumba as it doesnt feel like a workout :D

    Just had to say that i dig the profile pic!
  • veggiesaurus15
    veggiesaurus15 Posts: 152 Member
    You lose weight by creating a calorie deficit. Cardio is a great way to speed up the weight loss process by creating a bigger calorie deficit. Watching what you eat is the bigger challenge and is the first thing people should focus on. You can't out exercise a bad diet.

Categories