Is Cardio the Key to Weight Loss?
Is adding cardio the best way to lose weight?
Not necessarily.
Hang with me.
I have experienced the phenomenon of *gaining* weight after adding aerobic exercise, multiple times in life. 😬 Here are some key points to consider if you may be experiencing or have experienced the same frustration:
1) When your aerobic exercise goes up- what does the rest of your day look like? Can you resume normal activity or do you need to rest and recover more? Being more sedentary after a tough workout can affect your NEAT (Non exercise activity thermogenesis) and your overall calorie expenditure may actually go down.
2) Your appetite WILL increase after increasing your aerobic activity. That’s normal. What is harder to control is feeling the same level of hunger on your rest days.
3) Calorie calculations are often inaccurate. It’s best to create performance goals... increasing stamina and speed over calorie burn- and turn your focus to your nutrition.
About 4-5 years ago, I put on weight after joining a class that did mostly HIIT workouts. While I loved those classes, they often left me wiped out for the remainder of the day. I’d be so tired that my regular daily activities were greatly reduced. Because of my sedentary habits after my workout, my average calorie burn for my day wasn’t changing... my body was compensating by conserving energy when I wasn’t in class.
Weight gain happened again when I started adding miles last fall. Distance running made me so hungry! But if you run 3 days/ week and eat like you are running 7... that catches up to you quickly. Again- my body was compensating by consuming more calories.
While I still think aerobic exercise is valuable, do not fret if you do not enjoy straight cardio and HIIT programs! Strength training is more than enough.
It is important so I’ll say it twice:
Strength training is more than enough. 💪🏼
I am not advocating for anyone to skip the high intensity work if you enjoy it! I myself am currently working towards some endurance running goals. However, do be mindful that it may take a bit of adjusting the sails with recovery and your diet to get the results you seek.
The bottom line for weight loss specifically: regardless of the exercise plan you choose, nutrition remains the magic pill. 😘
Energy balance- making sure the calories I take in are lower than I expend if I want to lose weight, higher if I want to put on muscle, or balanced if I want to maintain- that is the true determining factor.