Do you think it's ok if I were to cut cardio exercise in half and do strength training for a while? I'm only saying that because I figured building muscle is a good thing right? The more muscle you have the more fat and calories you burn all day. So, if I walk on the treadmill for 15 min instead of 35 min, I can spend the other 15 min lifting weights or doing floor exercises and get two for a penny.

But, I am like deathly afraid that if I don't get those full 35 min of cardio in that I will gain instead of losing. I used to exercise 90 mins 5 days a week 2 years ago, and I saw no results then, I kinda just became this obsessed person, never losing weight but had to do my 90 mins everyday. I was following a different diet then, but I told myself I wouldn't go over 35 min of exercise a day to make that obsessive thing didn't happen again.

So, anybody got any ideas?

How do you exercise?

Hi,

to be honest I don't exercise, I hate it. I love to take walks in nature or will occasionally choose to walk home from the shopping centre, which works out to be about 30 miutes, but that's pretty much it.

You need to decide what you want more, to see the numbers coming off the scale or to see your body looking thinner in the mirror and your clothes getting looser. If you put on muscle you won't necessarily see the numbers on the scale drop that's because muscle weighs more than fat. If you take a piece of muslce the size of a matchbox and a piece of fat the same size, the muscle will weigh more. Any fat you lose could be masked by the gain in muscle weight, so the scale might say you've lost nothing or even put a bit on. But don't freak out, instead look in the mirror to see if you can see where your body has changed. Does it look more toned? Get out the tape measure, can you see the inches/cms getting smaller?

Another thing with scales is the read out will change with time of day and also day of the week. The latest understanding is it's not about what you eat each day but what balances out over a week, so if you have a pretty full on day pigging out one day, balance it with 3 light days and it'll all balance out at the end of the week.

So back to your question, yes muscle does burn more calories, but the difference to the average person isn't really noticeable. You'll get the same effect if you eat small meals 5 or t times a day because you'll be giving your metabolism constant food to fire it up and keep it burning. Personally, I'd stick with the cardio workout more than muscle training and change meals to the smaller, more regular ones. Apart from that, if you are losing weight, then don't mess with things too much. It means you are doing the right things, so relax and enjoy your life.

do whatever makes you feel best after. I dont think either unless really high intensity will change all that much.

but whichever gives you better sense of well-being after is what Id suggest.

try and see. I jog/walk just to get my heart going to feel better really and to be outdoors. that way I stick with it.

maybe changing up every other week or every other day just to keep you interested. thats probably what Id do.

From http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fa...oss-part-1.html (specifically, Part 2):

And here is a place where there does seem to be a difference in what type of activity being done with studies (and practical experience) finding that resistance training (especially coupled with adequate protein intake) being superior to aerobic activity (or a low protein intake) for limiting lean body mass loss and, thus increasing fat loss in response to a diet. And while more mixed, there is some suggestion that this helps to limit the normal drop in metabolic rate that tends to occur with weight loss.

Put differently, as I phrased it in The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, if there’s a single type of exercise to do while dieting, it’s proper resistance training. Coupled with an adequate protein intake, that alone tends to limit (or eliminate) lean body mass losses such that the weight which is lost (in response to the caloric deficit) comes predominantly from fat mass.

Selena, drop the cardio if you want but make sure that the training you stick to is done with a good amount of intensity. Train hard up to three times per week. This will give you heart (cardio) and muscles a good workout.
The weight training will help a little with fat burning but the main thing with weight training is it makes you look good and it's healthy.
Controlling your diet will be the main thing that makes you lose weight though.

definitely dont over do cardio and focus on your diet and wt training.