[Barbarian_Brad]

Every weightloss training program I find suggests cardio - especially cardio between sets - for weightloss. Does this really work?

I find when I do lots of cardio, I have to eat more, which leads to... you guessed it, weight gain.

The biggest weightloss periods I've had were went I was doing zero exercise and just eating really low-carb. However, if I'm lifting, I find I need some carbs...

What to do? How do you continue to lift while losing weight? Does cardio really work, or is this just a huge waste of time?

Also - is there a program that splits the cardio and weightlifting? I'd consider it, if I could do the cardio later in the day, i.e. outdoors instead of at the gym.

[gework]

What diet and exercise works for people is variable.

For me, if I stay at home all month doing nothing vs. going out cycling 6 times a week, the difference is -1% body fat and some muscle toning. For many others it will be -5%.

From what you've said you already know one thing that's going to work for you. Part of having your life tweaked to higher levels is discipline.

From my observation there are three categories, though it's a sliding scale:

1) people with fast metabolisms <- easier to loose weight
2) people with slow metabolisms <- easier to gain and keep muscle
3) hybrid god-level genes <- easy to loose weight and gain muscle (rare)

Seems you're 2), which means you have to manage your eating, consistently and constantly; and you should throw in some high level cardio too. Once you have more muscle mass, you may be able to reduce cardio, depends on how your genes are.

Quote:

I have to eat more

You don't have to, you want to.

For me what works best is cardio-dumbbells, which are high intensity workouts mixing aerobic moves while lifting. I also need a lot of protein intake. I think I should probably be on 200-300g of protein powder per day as my body is quite resistant to muscle gain without larger doses of protein.

I think people need to try a bunch of different things in isolation and see what works for them. For most guys in peak condition it's a question of adding in factors that can add another 1-10% in muscle gains and fat losses. Something like:

Pre-workout formula +5%
Constantly keeping in your mind that you need to be at max exertion +10%
Vitamins, minerals, aminos, enzymes, probiotics +5%
Large doses of protein +10%

For you: go paleo/keto +20-30%

Most people aren't prepared to make the required changes for their body and haven't tried the various methods that can give you an edge. That's why most people at the gym are just trying to shift bitch tits and pot bellies. That on top of genetics generally aren't set up for being ripped. The game is you have to cheat and temper your body into a temple, and then it requires constant and diligent maintenance.

[blck]

The one thing I've found that help me lose weight is using the search function !
Help tremendously !

[Nordwand]

There's a lot to be said for simply being on your feet all day, and moving around, as opposed to being sat at a desk, pushing a mouse.

[Proud_Nimby]

Cardio will only help you lose weight if you are on a proper diet.....protein & vegetables as strict as possible. The problem is going to come when you overdo the cardio during a particular session or multiple sessions and your brain is screaming for calories and rest. Then you rationalize and have a cheat day and rest day.....then another and another and you lose all the gains you made.

[Golden_State_of_Mind]

HIIT training is better for me because I find cardio to be so boring. I'd rather hoop it up full court with some folks or get down on some tennis.

[Trumpian]

Cardio is mainly about increasing endurance and bloodflow, both super important for at least 1 activity I can think of.

Also, if you do any combat sports (which every man should) having a bad gas tank can get you knocked out.

Human beings were meant to run. Not too many other animals have our capacity for long distance running.

[Captain Gh]

^ This times 100X. Cardio certainly helps with weight loss... but indirectly. It is meant to increase your endurance... or if running at an extremely low pace for long... to burn body fat. It's virtually impossible to remain fat while jogging seriously.

[General Stalin]

Weight loss is 90% diet. The reason cardio is suggested is because there should be an activity component to losing weight - this helps you burn calories as well as promotes your metabolism, and staying active ensures your body burns more fat than muscle. If you diet but stay inactive then your body will burn fat and muscle equally, but if you use your muscles then your body will know to add nutrients to them and burn your fat instead. You could just take a long walk or two every day if you don't like using an elliptical or jogging.

The key is diet. Taking in less calories than your body needs so it ends up burning stored fat as energy.

[JimBobsCooters]

Losing weight really is utterly simple... caloric deficit.

Exercise burns more calories so it helps to create/increase a caloric deficit but if you offset it by eating more you'll go nowhere. Fix the diet, exercise and you cover all the bases. Cardio is an oftentimes inefficient means of exercise so it's worth making sure you're using your time as well as you can on that front as well.

[Ringo]

@OP:

Of course cardio works, you're increasing your caloric output. All things equal, if you increase your caloric output you'll lose weight.

The issue here is that you are conflating cardio, lifting and diet as a single unit, when in fact they are three different elements to body recomp.