[Stone]

I have been working out 3-5 times a week Cardio 30 minutes and light weights 20min. and I am gaining weight. I know it's muscle mass but I want to lose fat and then tone should I stop with the weights and just increase my cardio? I only want to lose like 10-15 lbs.

[The-Iceman]

i feel you man the exact same thing was happening to me i was killing myself training i weighted about 185 when i started i ran evey other day 5 km and in a whole month of doing so i lost like 3 pounds thats it thats so ****. So lately i tried eating just fruit and a little bit of toat but thats pritty much it you see when you excersice or train like cardio as you say your body creates more amino acids that make you want to train more but also if there not used like the next day they turn into fat so just training alone will not make you lose much weight you gotta eat right its even more important then excersicen but dont stop your rutine just start eating like 3 apples a day bannanas stuff like that and o if you start eating this and you find that when you do bigger weights like in the gym this is because your not gettin enough nutrients in your diet from just the fruit but i guess thats the price you pay for losing weight. good luck man you can do it i did it

[Stone]

Thanks Iceman! I'll try that!

[Ryan]

I have been working out 3-5 times a week Cardio 30 minutes and light weights 20min. and I am gaining weight. I know it's muscle mass but I want to lose fat and then tone should I stop with the weights and just increase my cardio? I only want to lose like 10-15 lbs.

Don't listen to Iceman. He means well...but the kid is nowhere near informed.

Are you sure it is muscle mass?

"Cardio" has been touted as essential and optimal for losing bodyfat. This is far from the truth. Activity as a whole is a very inefficient means of expending calories when compared to the amount that bodyfat stores. For example, a typical 150lb man might expend 100 calories (gross) by jogging a mile. A single pound of bodyfat is worth about 3500 calories. Once you widdle down to the net bodyfat expenditure, that man has to cover 40+ miles just for a single pound of bodyfat. With the abuse your structural system would take in doing so, that's cutting off the nose to spite the face.

The most efficient way to expend bodyfat is by dietary modification. Caloric reduction will put you in the situation where calories in is less than calories out (which is necessary to lose any tissue). The value of caloric reduction over activity is twofold:

1. Any activity, including merely existing, requires calories. The more intense the activity, the greater the PERCENTAGE of calories chosen from sources other than bodyfat. That means....the less active you are, the more bodyfat you are using to meet your caloric needs (percentage wise, not in total calories). Eating less throughout the day means that you have a caloric need that must be met by burning body tissue. Since most of this time you are probably not very active, you are burning off small bits of bodyfat.

2. The caloric deficit is spread out through the whole day. You miss 50 calories here...100 there....it's not all in one big lump. That makes it less of a stressor, which means the body will be more inclined to use bodyfat to make up the caloric needs. If you suddenly need 300 extra calories in an hour, the body has to scramble to come up with it in any way possible.

The other essential element that complements caloric reduction is proper strength training. Proper strength training promotes muscle sparing, which helps keep your metabolism even (if not greater). Otherwise, your body is going to try to reduce its caloric needs. Muscle tissue is very calorically demanding...even at rest. Bodyfat is not. What do you think is going to be removed if it is not used?

Proper training is not messing around with light weights, however. It is brief and intense workouts done infrequently and safely. This should be the crux of any valid exercise program.

[Stone]

Wow ryan I feel like I just had a conversation with a presonal trainer! you're well informed Thanks Honey I appreicate your advice!

[Ryan]

We take these matters seriously here. I wouldn't feel comfortable moderating the fitness area if I could answer these kinds of questions thoroughly. I am of the belief that people need to be told WHY they are doing something, not just what to do.

Feel free to bring follow-up questions or ask for elaboration on anything that may be unclear.

[Stone]

one more question I have great boobs ( Blush) there a 36D and I love them!! (yea yea I know boobs are fat) I need to shead a few pounds but don't want to lose in my chest, can you recommend anything I can do to keep them or is it wishful thinking?

[Ryan]

one more question I have great boobs ( Blush) there a 36D and I love them!!

Excellent way to keep my attention on this topic.

I need to shead a few pounds but don't want to lose in my chest, can you recommend anything I can do to keep them or is it wishful thinking?

There is nothing you can do to select where fat is/isn't removed. That pattern of distribution is genetically fixed.

I don't know your height, weight, or body composition. If you are indeed 10-15 pounds outside of healthy, I would guess you won't lose a tremendous amount. It might drop you a cup size. The easiest way to gauge it is to consider what your breast size previously was at the weight you plan to be.

[Stone]

I AM 5'11 168 LBS. WANT TO BE 150.

[Ryan]

I AM 5'11 168 LBS. WANT TO BE 150.

First off...damn you're tall.

Ok...so you really want to shed about 20lbs. I'm assuming you were 150 at some point? And do you remember what your bust size was then?

That's probably what you'll have when you get there again.

[SUGARMAGNOLIA]

First off, Sorry that I am adding into a such old post, but I just wanted some clarification on Ryan's post. I've read it several times and I want to see if I understand what you mean.

If I cut my caloric intake and do a minimum of 30 minutes cardio a day. I will be mostly burning of tissue other than bodyfat. But if I add in strength training it will cause my muscle tissue to use more calories. Do I have a basic understanding? Could you possibly explain it again to me in plain chubby girl english?

[emokid]

Good Moderate Exercise with a low Cal diet, will produce results. You can't just work out and eat whatever you want, you have to really sacrifice at the dinner table, eat the right low cal foods and work hard at exercising everyday....Then once you get the results you want, continue to exercise and keep a well balanced diet. DO NOT skip meals. That's the biggest mistake you could do. Don't NOT eat because you're trying to lose weight. That will hurt your body.

about losing weight. I've lost 21 lbs in a less then a year. I'm 5'0 and i was at 128 when i started losing weight now i'm 109. i used to skip meals and would just excercise. it dosent work. it keeps you at the same weight. i don't know that much bout fitness but i do know that you can eat the foods you like but you eat them in smaller portions. that has helped me a lot and plus i walk an hour a day since i'm not in school.

[Ryan]

If I cut my caloric intake and do a minimum of 30 minutes cardio a day. I will be mostly burning of tissue other than bodyfat.

It won't be an acceptable ratio of bodyfat to other tissue. "Cardio" is really not all that effective for expending calories and keeping a favorable ratio of bodyfat loss as compared to other tissues.

But if I add in strength training it will cause my muscle tissue to use more calories.

When attempting to lose bodyfat, strength training mainly serves to PRESERVE muscle tissue you have. It's basically impossible to increase the amount of muscle you have while losing bodyfat. An increase in overall muscle mass would increase the amount of calories you use...there's really no way to increase the amount of calories your existing tissue uses.