Is cardio necessary to lose weight?

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  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    No, but diet alone will lead to you eventually hitting a plateau in your weight loss.
  • UnderConstructionLuis
    UnderConstructionLuis Posts: 331
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    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
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    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.
  • Robin1109
    Robin1109 Posts: 231 Member
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    My understanding is it boils down to calories in/calories out. Or, more simple, a caloric deficit. If MFP is telling you 1400 calories a day will allow you to lose 1 or 1.5 pounds a week, that is without cardio. So, weight loss is possible without cardio.

    That being said cardio (or any workouts that burn calories) will increase that deficit allowing you to lose weight more quickly, typically. I personally have 65 pounds to lose, at minimum. If I wasn't doing cardio but was just decreasing my calories, I know my body wouldn't be in the shape it's in now. Meaning, I would weight less but I'd be "flabbier". It's all about what works for each person.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    No, but diet alone will lead to you eventually hitting a plateau in your weight loss.

    No it won't, not if you are still in a deficit. It may have happened to you, but that could be due to a number of reasons.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    My understanding is it boils down to calories in/calories out. Or, more simple, a caloric deficit. If MFP is telling you 1400 calories a day will allow you to lose 1 or 1.5 pounds a week, that is without cardio. So, weight loss is possible without cardio.

    That being said cardio (or any workouts that burn calories) will increase that deficit allowing you to lose weight more quickly, typically. I personally have 65 pounds to lose, at minimum. If I wasn't doing cardio but was just decreasing my calories, I know my body wouldn't be in the shape it's in now. Meaning, I would weight less but I'd be "flabbier". It's all about what works for each person.

    quicker is not always better, which is why MFP tells you to eat back what you burn. So eating 1400 and doing no cardio you will lose the same as eating 2000 calories and burning 600 from cardio, both net 1400 cals and give you the same deficit.
  • Redskins76
    Redskins76 Posts: 68
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    Eating right is the necessary thing to do but cardio helps you stay energized and excited about your day which will make you feel good and helped you lose weight! Both go hand and hand because after cardio you want to eat right! (pk&sk)
  • Justagirl1978
    Justagirl1978 Posts: 64 Member
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    No
  • amsohs85
    amsohs85 Posts: 166
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    If your here for a lifestyle change not just weightloss then exercise will make you feel so good. I think variety is best just like its good for you to have a well rounded diet. Theres so many benefits to both cardio and weight training. You increase your metabolism, strenghthen your heart, help prevent bone loss and improve your mental clarity. Many of the problems we develop as we age can be reduced or prevented by being active. But really the point is to get out there and LIVE!! I cant believe all the time i wasted just sitting on my butt stuffing my face!! Find an activity you enjoy and give it your all!!
  • cindybickler
    cindybickler Posts: 113 Member
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    my goal is to be healthy. I don't care what the number is on the scale anymore. when i go to the doctor and she tells me my blood pressure is great, my cholesterol is great, the blood work is great, my diet is healthy i know why i feel great. Just because you are thin does not mean you are healthy. I want to watch my grandchildren grow up and see my great grandchildren!
  • xASHYxSMASHYx
    xASHYxSMASHYx Posts: 175 Member
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    bump
  • HisPathDaily
    HisPathDaily Posts: 672 Member
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    You lose weight by eating less than you burn. You need not exercise one minute so long as you watch your calorie intake you'll still lose weight ... you won't be very healthy though :)

    Weight management is in the kitchen.
    Health management is in the gym (or road, or river, or pool, etc.)

    Obviously the more you exercise the more you burn ... however I found that "not eating" 600 calories is a lot easier than "burning" 600 calories ... so exercise to stay healthy, and eat to live, not live to eat.
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    In my experience yes but you will lose the bulk of your weight from cutting calories. I've read some great articles on this and the experts say cutting calories will help you lose weight, even without exercise. Now that said, I'm a firm believer in exercise because it helped me to shed another 50 or so pounds. I would say I did not exericise the first two to three months and lost weight but when I added some activity I saw that number go down even more. So I would say for anyone just starting to start with your diet and get that under control before taking on exericse. It is also a matter of finding something you like to do and getting out there and doing it. If a person wants to tone, build muscle and really improve their overall health than exercise is going to get them there.

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