When it comes to losing weight, everyone thinks they have to do a ton of cardio to hit that goal. While that may be the best choice in terms of most calories burned within a given amount of time, that does not mean it is the best choice, nor something you should do every day.

Adherence

The biggest issue clients have when starting a weight loss journey is adherence. Doing a 4 week cardio blitz, where you starve yourself and do cardio every day may sound like the fast track to hit your goal, but it’s also near impossible for most people. It’s not an easy feat going from doing no exercise, to all of a sudden turning your life into nothing but exercise.  

The first step towards any fitness journey is starting with the minimum effective dose you can see yourself doing without causing a huge change in your life. Chances are you are going to have to do some maintenance version exercise wise to keep the body you achieve. So with that in mind, always ask yourself “Can I see myself doing this 6 months from now?” If the answer is no, simplify that process until it is. For instance, if you don’t see yourself doing 3 days of cardio a week, can you do just one 15 minute session a week? Start there, and build as needed.

Adaptation

The other issue with trying to do too much cardio is, while it’s great at burning calories it is an uphill battle. By that, I mean the more cardio you do the LESS calories you burn. You read that correctly. Our body is built for survival. Over a long enough timeline your body wants to keep you alive and holding onto fat because it comes from an ancestry that isn't sure when it’s going to get its next meal. As you continue to perform your cardio, your body becomes more efficient at burning less calories, so that you can achieve this stimulus more effectively. It just doesn’t make sense for your body to continue to let calories burn off for no reason.

Cardio Burns Muscle

Cardio is also not a good stimulus for muscle gain or retention. You may not want to look like a bodybuilder, but I would imagine you’d like SOME muscle tone as you diet down. Muscle needs progressive resistance to be applied in order to stick around and/or grow. If anything, during a diet where you have reduced your intake of calories, your body will prioritize burning MUSCLE over fat. You will end up just being a smaller, flabbier, version of what you were before.

For more, check out my article Are All Forms of Cardio Bad?

The Benefits of Resistance Training

If you aren’t already, this is where resistance training comes in. Yes, you should already be finding ways to move around more. That doesn’t have to just be cardio on a treadmill. Go for long walks, play sports you enjoy, or engage in activities that get you moving. Make sure to pair it with 2-3 days of resistance training so that you can build some muscle, if not, hold onto the muscle you have so that you have that leaner, more shapely physique you are looking for.

The other benefit of resistance training is it results in the opposite effect as cardio. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest! You are still burning calories within your session, but sending a strong enough signal to tell your body to keep that muscle in a calorically deprived state.

For more, check out my article on the Pros and Cons of Weight Lifting vs Cardio.

Budget Your Movement

Think of dieting as managing a budget. You can either approach it from a daily or weekly goal. Typically, you start out with needing to be in a deficit of about 500 calories a day (or 3500 a week). Split that up however you see best fits your lifestyle. Start by subtracting it from your food, and you won’t even have to incorporate cardio yet. Once that starts to plateau, try finding forms of movement that allow you to hit that daily goal of 500 or weekly goal of 3500.

From a cardio standpoint start with 10,000 steps. Whether you go for 3, 10 minute walks a day, or one 30 minute cardio session at the gym, find a way to hit that step count each day. Add more as you find your weight loss plateau.

Be sure to check out my article on NEAT vs Cardio for Maximum Calorie Burn.