Lifting or Cardio - Which one for faster fat loss

[black sheep]

Okay here is the situation. ANy and all advice is appreciated. My wife is working on loosing about 40lbs of fat that has been put on over the last 4 years. She has been working at it for 6 weeks now, and has only lost about 8-9lbs. Here is what she has been doing:

5-6 Days a week
Cardio EOD
Weights EOD
(Following the Body For Life Routine)

Cardio has been following the BFL routine also, but it has only been 20 minutes and it is basically 3-4 minutes at 60-70% of ability, and then 2 minutes at 80-90%, then repeat. The whole process is only 20 minutes of cardio total.

Diet was as follows: (We made changes and I will post that below)

6:30 AM Cardio (Or weights - EOD it switches)
7:45 - 170 Calorie Protein shake (OR) Oatmeal with protein powder
11:00 1/2 cup Low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup rasberries
2:00 Turkey sandwich, Whole Grain (12 grain) bread, 1tbsp Light Mirclewhip, 1/2 Red Pepper
5:00 1 Peice lowfat string cheese 1 green apple
8:00 (Many different lower fat / lower calorie choices)
10:00 Protein powder and sugar free pudding mixed with Skim milk

It came out to about 1500-1800 calories.

Using the EOD lifting EOD 20 minutes intense cardio, and the diet above she was only loosing about 1 pound per week.

We changed a couple things.

6:30 AM Cardio (Or weights - EOD it switches)
7:45 - 170 Calorie Protein shake (OR) Oatmeal with protein powder
11:00 1/2 cup Low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup rasberries
2:00 1 Grilled Chicken breast, 1 serving Brown rice, covered in fresh salsa.
5:00 2 Hard Boiled eggs / (2 whites / 1 yolk) 1 orange
8:00 Same as lunch (Or Baked Tilipia), veggie mix (Squash, Zuchin, Brocc) and 1 serving brown rice
10:00 Protein powder and sugar free pudding mixed with Skim milk

This cuts back to between 1200-1350 calories. Protein at every feeding, and plenty of veggies and fruit.

We are changing cardio to 30 minutes inside optimal heart rate for fat burning (This seems too easy - It is not very hard work - The BFL routine was much harder work, so it is hard to believe that this is more effective, but almost everyone says it is?!?!) We will work up to 45 minutes within the next week.

Ok, now - My questions (I know, FInally)

Would it be better for her to do cardio only for 6 days a week for now, until she looses the fat. Which burns more, Lifing or Cardio?

Are the diet changes good?

How much cardio, (How long, and what heart rate? SHe is 27)

She will follow this diet 6 days a week, and then have one cheat day every week.

Ladies, I appreciate the help in advance. SHe is doing a very good job of staying focused and has kept her eye on the ball, but the lack of results is starting th seriously discourage her.

 

[black sheep]

Btt

 

[The Shadow]

10 pounds of lean mass will burn an additional 350-500 cals PER DAY.

Something to keep in mind.

 

[momsgettinfit]

10 pounds of lean mass will burn an additional 350-500 cals PER DAY.

Something to keep in mind.

Hey stranger,miss seeing you around the board!!!!

 

[black sheep]

You ladies don't have any input?

 

[momsgettinfit]

You ladies don't have any input?

IMO---- ok so you know you need cardio to burn fat buttttt you can't take out lifting to put on lean muscle mass to increase your resting metobolic rate!!!! Just me 2 cents.

 

[black sheep]

Ok - So the EOD Cardio and Lifting Routine is good. How about the amount of cardio and the diet ^^^?

 

[momsgettinfit]

Okay here is the situation. ANy and all advice is appreciated. My wife is working on loosing about 40lbs of fat that has been put on over the last 4 years. She has been working at it for 6 weeks now, and has only lost about 8-9lbs. Here is what she has been doing:

5-6 Days a week
Cardio EOD
Weights EOD
(Following the Body For Life Routine)

Cardio has been following the BFL routine also, but it has only been 20 minutes and it is basically 3-4 minutes at 60-70% of ability, and then 2 minutes at 80-90%, then repeat. The whole process is only 20 minutes of cardio total.

Diet was as follows: (We made changes and I will post that below)

6:30 AM Cardio (Or weights - EOD it switches)
7:45 - 170 Calorie Protein shake (OR) Oatmeal with protein powder
11:00 1/2 cup Low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup rasberries
2:00 Turkey sandwich, Whole Grain (12 grain) bread, 1tbsp Light Mirclewhip, 1/2 Red Pepper
5:00 1 Peice lowfat string cheese 1 green apple
8:00 (Many different lower fat / lower calorie choices)
10:00 Protein powder and sugar free pudding mixed with Skim milk

It came out to about 1500-1800 calories.

Using the EOD lifting EOD 20 minutes intense cardio, and the diet above she was only loosing about 1 pound per week.

We changed a couple things.

6:30 AM Cardio (Or weights - EOD it switches)
7:45 - 170 Calorie Protein shake (OR) Oatmeal with protein powder
11:00 1/2 cup Low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup rasberries
2:00 1 Grilled Chicken breast, 1 serving Brown rice, covered in fresh salsa.
5:00 2 Hard Boiled eggs / (2 whites / 1 yolk) 1 orange
8:00 Same as lunch (Or Baked Tilipia), veggie mix (Squash, Zuchin, Brocc) and 1 serving brown rice
10:00 Protein powder and sugar free pudding mixed with Skim milk

This cuts back to between 1200-1350 calories. Protein at every feeding, and plenty of veggies and fruit.

We are changing cardio to 30 minutes inside optimal heart rate for fat burning (This seems too easy - It is not very hard work - The BFL routine was much harder work, so it is hard to believe that this is more effective, but almost everyone says it is?!?!) We will work up to 45 minutes within the next week.

Ok, now - My questions (I know, FInally)

Would it be better for her to do cardio only for 6 days a week for now, until she looses the fat. Which burns more, Lifing or Cardio?

Are the diet changes good?

How much cardio, (How long, and what heart rate? SHe is 27)

She will follow this diet 6 days a week, and then have one cheat day every week.

Ladies, I appreciate the help in advance. SHe is doing a very good job of staying focused and has kept her eye on the ball, but the lack of results is starting th seriously discourage her.

I have a hard time losing weight as well so what I did was #1. get my diet tight, lean meats,lots of veggies, just 2 servings of fruit a day,tons of water,good carbs and only 2 sometimes 3 x a day. #2. I was only doing cardio 3 days a week I've upped mine to 5 days a week and do intense cardio 4 days a week I lift 4 days a week hard and heavy. I'm thinking of putting in a second round of cardio in the morning to up my fat loss. Sooooo I would make sure her diet is tight and yes I would think it's fine to up her cardio.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

First, 8-9lbs in 6 weeks is not bad. That is just over 1 lb a week, pretty normal. It is human nature to want it faster, but really, it is healthiest when it comes off at this rate.


I would switch steady state cardio to HIIT for 30 minutes, more like the BFL method. I like the method of .... 5 min WU, then alternate 1 min all-out with 1 min recovery for 20 min, then a 5 min CD. I never woried about HR - if you feel like you can go harder on the all-out minutes, then you ain't working hard enough. Recovery minutes are meant to get your breath back. By the end of this, you should feel like you are going to die - seriously. Legs should be jello, lungs should burn. This is what *I* like doing, and it yielded me great results.

Lifting - is she lifting HEAVY as possible? What kind of exercise choices is she doing?

Diet ... check out the stickies at the top, specifically the one titled "Links to top threads". It has several sample diets in there.

SHe needs more green veggies ... and more healthy fat. I would do this (in bold):

6:30 AM Cardio (Or weights - EOD it switches)
7:45 - 170 Calorie Protein shake (OR) Oatmeal with protein powder POSSIBLY EVEN ADD A FAT HERE, POST CARDIO DAYS ONLY
11:00 1/2 cup Low fat cottage cheese and 1/2 cup rasberries I WOULD ADD A FAT HERE - ALMONDS ARE GOOD
2:00 1 Grilled Chicken breast, 1 serving Brown rice, covered in fresh salsa.
5:00 2 Hard Boiled eggs / (2 whites / 1 yolk) 1 orange
8:00 Same as lunch (Or Baked Tilipia), veggie mix (Squash, Zuchin, Brocc) and 1 serving brown rice MAKE SURE VEGGIES ARE UNLIMITED, ADD A FAT TOO - DRIZZLE FLAX OIL OVER THE VEGGIES
10:00 Protein powder and sugar free pudding mixed with Skim milk

 

[black sheep]

I will make the diet changes you recommend... And by unlimited veggies you mean eat as many as she would like until full at dinner? Only problem I see with that is not being able to consume the protein at bedtime.

As for the cardio.... I will tell her to the HIIT method, but bump to 30 minutes using your timeline. The BFL was more like 3 minutes resting, 1-2 minutes intense. and so on, and only for 20 minutes.

Overall, with the changes, and the diet you think it is solid?