Weights & Cardio

[Smookster]

I am new to this website so please forgive me if I am asking some old questions. The forums are great btw, some really interesting & helpful stuff out there.

Anyway, at the beginning of Oct last year I finally pulled my finger out and started doing some serious exercise. I was probably almost 12kilo's over weight and felt disgusting. The only exercise I did was to reach for the remote control.

So I joined a gym with my husband (who has always worked out) and used him as my personal trainer - he was worked me quite hard too!! I set myself some goals. The first one wast to get to 70kg's by xmas (which I did, this was a drop in weight of 7kgs), the next goal is to get to 65kgs by my 32nd birthday in June.

But, since xmas, I thought I'd go into one of those 12-week body challenges so I can some proper measurements taken. I was horrified that even after dropping 7kgs and working out really hard for 13 weeks by body fat was 32%. The worst thing is that, yesterday I went for my first 4 week follow-up and, even though my skin fold measurements have decreased my bodyfat % remains the same.

The gym person who is going through this challenge with my keeps telling me that if I want to burn fat it has to be cardio, cardio, cardio. My husband who has been training for 20 years doesn't agree - in fact he thinks that this is rubbish.

I am about to start on a regime of supersets today for a four week period to see how I go. And it's not like I don't do any cardio as I usually always finish my weights off with 40 minutes on a cross-trainer, plus I don't have a car so I have to walk everywhere.

So finally I get to the point. Can I please get some clear advice on what the best thing for fat burning is? My goal now is to drop my body fat % to around 20-23% which I think should still give me a healthy but not too ripped look.

I appreciate any advice that is coming my way.

[jennyd]

Just checking, but I didn't really see anything about your diet in here. I don't know how your diet is, but if it's crappy, then you're not really going to get very far.

In my opinion, your "gym person" and your husband are both correct. I think cardio is necessary for losing fat, but too much of it will also make you lose muscle.

For cardio you should try sprints, for short periods of time. Try doing HIIT. You don't do it for that long, so you'll be burning your fat, but not losing the muscle you would be if you're doing cardio for 40 minutes. It is not necessary to do cardio for that long.

Your weight training is also a necessity for losing fat. You'll burn more fat if you're also building muscle.

By the way, congrats on reaching goal #1.

[ktinspired]

Girl I understand the disappointment!! I went thru the same thing this morning. I was feeling a little discouraged cause I feel my body changing but the clothes still are tight. So i had my b.f. % checked today, thinking it would give me a pick me up. After all my efforts ........in the gym by 6am 5 days with a split routine and 30-45 min of cardio. My diet I have eliminated all sugar and white flours. And my fat intake isnt perfect but signifacantly lower than before I started. I can honestly say I eat right.

My b.f.% has only down 1%. I want to curl up in a corner and just cry. The crying part I did when I got home. BUt I am soooo down about it all right now. THe negetivity has really set in.

Its so confusing ..like you said, one person says cardio cardio cardio. and another says wieghts weight weights.

My ole man is melting away. And he's all like "dont give up" BLABLABLA.
He's says he can feel the muscle and the changes but I just wanna tell him to get F......d. He doesn't understand.

$40 bucks a month, loosing sleep getting up early everyday, hours of calorie counting and meal preparing. What for? I'm sooo upset. The light at the end of the tunnel turned off.

[Richthick34]

From what iv'e read it is almost impossible to lose more than 2.5lbs of fat per week. Knowing this don't stress out, keep charging ahead and as the months go by you will start seeing some results. Also seems that some peeps don't get enough protien make sure u are. Lots of good info on this site just keep reading.

[jennyd]

Originally Posted by ktinspired

Girl I understand the disappointment!! I went thru the same thing this morning. I was feeling a little discouraged cause I feel my body changing but the clothes still are tight. So i had my b.f. % checked today, thinking it would give me a pick me up. After all my efforts ........in the gym by 6am 5 days with a split routine and 30-45 min of cardio. My diet I have eliminated all sugar and white flours. And my fat intake isnt perfect but signifacantly lower than before I started. I can honestly say I eat right.

My b.f.% has only down 1%. I want to curl up in a corner and just cry. The crying part I did when I got home. BUt I am soooo down about it all right now. THe negetivity has really set in.

Its so confusing ..like you said, one person says cardio cardio cardio. and another says wieghts weight weights.

My ole man is melting away. And he's all like "dont give up" BLABLABLA.
He's says he can feel the muscle and the changes but I just wanna tell him to get F......d. He doesn't understand.

$40 bucks a month, loosing sleep getting up early everyday, hours of calorie counting and meal preparing. What for? I'm sooo upset. The light at the end of the tunnel turned off.

How long have you been doing this? I'm asking because it's going to take some time.
I don't really suggest the weighing and testing of the body fat as a way to measure your gains or losses. I feel like it can set people up for a lot of disappointment. Use the mirror as your guide. You will start seeing a difference, and you will feel better about yourself. That will be your motivation. Don't let a body fat test discourage you from your goals. Once you're in a place where you notice a significant change, then test your body fat, or the inches you've lost.
I never get on a scale, and very rarely have my body fat tested. You can even take progress pictures to track your changes. I hate the whole numbers thing, especially since it obviously hindered your motivation to continue.
Don't give up.

[TRAZ]

/\ Bump! Don't weigh yourself until you are comfortable with the way you look in the mirror. Weight and BF% are just numbers! Dont let them get you down!

[Smookster]

Jenny, in answer to your ? i think my diet is pretty good. A normal day consists of:

Meal 1 - Banana & protein shake
Meal 2 - 1/2 cup All Bran & skim milk with halk banana
Meal 3 - 150g chicken or tuna with mixed bean salad
Meal 4 - 1/2 protein bar
Meal 5 - 150g chicken or meat with vegetables

I also drink plenty of water.

How does this look? Do you think I can improve it in anyway?

Thanks again.

Smookster

[Smookster]

Yeah, I'm definitely showing my newbie colours here but can you tell me what HIIT means when you are talking about cardio.

Cheers again,

Smookster

[jennyd]

Your diet looks clean, but just make sure you are getting enough protein/carbs/fat in there.
I don't have the nutritional content of all of that in front of me, but it looks like very little fat....I could be wrong, but that was my impression just giving it a quick look.
Do you eat based on some type of split? like 40protein/40carb/20fat????
How many calories are you usually taking in per day? On average?

To answer your question about HIIT....it is High Impact Interval Training.
You could do this running, on a bike, or on an eliptical machine. The basis of it is that you do about 30 second intervals alternating between low intensity and high intensity (jogging and sprinting is the easiest example). You should warm up for a few minutes, maybe 2 or 3. Then you do the actual intervals for about 10 minutes or so. Then you do a cool down for another few minutes. Totalling about 15 minutes of cardio. It burns more fat, and less muscle than regular cardio. In my opinion, it is the best type of cardio to do for fat loss and muscle retention.

[Smookster]

Originally Posted by jennyd

Your diet looks clean, but just make sure you are getting enough protein/carbs/fat in there.
I don't have the nutritional content of all of that in front of me, but it looks like very little fat....I could be wrong, but that was my impression just giving it a quick look.
Do you eat based on some type of split? like 40protein/40carb/20fat????
How many calories are you usually taking in per day? On average?

To answer your question about HIIT....it is High Impact Interval Training.
You could do this running, on a bike, or on an eliptical machine. The basis of it is that you do about 30 second intervals alternating between low intensity and high intensity (jogging and sprinting is the easiest example). You should warm up for a few minutes, maybe 2 or 3. Then you do the actual intervals for about 10 minutes or so. Then you do a cool down for another few minutes. Totalling about 15 minutes of cardio. It burns more fat, and less muscle than regular cardio. In my opinion, it is the best type of cardio to do for fat loss and muscle retention.

My diet isn't based on any particular split. I try to get carbs, protein & fat in every meal expect dinner where I don't eat any carbs. I was calorie counting prior to Xmas and was sticking to around 1300 per day. I'm not really counting now but I don't think I would be going higher than that. I am measuring my portions and I don't eat more 300g of for lunch or dinner. I do have one day off a week though where I eat what I want and also drink alcohol. But I still keep the portions small. I need a glass of wine at the end of the week!!

Thanks for the HIIT info - i'm going to give it a try.

[jennyd]

Originally Posted by Smookster

My diet isn't based on any particular split. I try to get carbs, protein & fat in every meal expect dinner where I don't eat any carbs. I was calorie counting prior to Xmas and was sticking to around 1300 per day. I'm not really counting now but I don't think I would be going higher than that. I am measuring my portions and I don't eat more 300g of for lunch or dinner. I do have one day off a week though where I eat what I want and also drink alcohol. But I still keep the portions small. I need a glass of wine at the end of the week!!

Thanks for the HIIT info - i'm going to give it a try.

Cheat days or cheat meals are important, imo...As long as your diet is nice and clean, then it's good to cheat every once in a while. I don't think that you should deprive yourself.
I actually do something similar with my diet. When I first started fixing my diet, and was trying to figure out what was best for me, I used to do to a 60/20/20 split. But I didn't really see that working for me.....cause I usually wound up having more than 20g of carbs....I love carbs. So, it wound up being more of a 40/40/20 split. And I would look up the calories and contents of everything I ate...well, that took an awful lot of time and prep. But then, for the most part, you get the hang of it, and you pretty much know what foods have what. Now I just kinda do it in my head and split my portions up, and I basically know what I'm taking in.

Good luck with HIIT...I will tell you that for me...it's pretty intense...kicks my ass, but I love it.

[head nurse]

Hi Ladies....I know what you are going through!!!! I am currently doing a 10 week challenge so trust me I know what you are feeling right now. I thought it was the next logical step since my 80lb wt loss. The ladies on this board are right you need the cardio and weights to get the fat to drop off. I find that my body fat % and weight drop in stages..that is I plateau and then have a drop. When I first started the weight came off pretty easy then I hit this REALLY long plateau - I was crushed. I found that my body was playing a kind of waiting game...the gaps between the plateaus and the drops are narrowing..what I do now is look at the numbers as plateau guides.....as long as the numbers don't go up.. I know that a drop will come - it might not be a big drop but a drop is a drop all the same. BTW I don't take my BF% in the am - any type of dehydration will cause the % to go up....and since I don't drink water while I sleep I'm down in water till about 10-11 am. I also find that after all the years as a night nurse, I am not a morning person meaning that I do my weights during the afternoon and cardio at night. So try playing with the times of your workouts along with the advise that was already given. But do hang in there....you'll get there you just have to be patient - this I know for a fact - I want everything right now and I just don't get my way with this hehehe

[ktinspired]

Ill tell you what, the above statement You guys i.e. gals are really great. I took a few steps back in my mentallity. I am enjoying the way I feel. And thats what Ive been focusing on this past week. I have also made a couple changes in my routine. I 've been slowing increasing my weights, and I figured out that my cardio was too intense for fat burning. ALSO.......I had no idea how alcohol was sabotaging my efforts. I dont drink daily just weekends but I used to drink Jack and coke well I figured if I changed that coke to water it would be ok.....until I did a search on alcohol WOW did I learn. I also looked up the calorie content of Jack Daniels .....HOLY CRAP.
So for now Its straight water for me.kinda boring but till i reach my goals it'll have to do.
Thanks for the encouraging words.