One of the reasons novice exercisers dont see the results they want is inaccurate calories in/out. Novice exercisers tend to blast out a bunch of cardio to lose weight. There is little to no change to their daily diet. And the results (if they come ) come quick, but are short lived. Shortly after a plateau is reached or the weight comes back. Novice exercisers can have inaccurate calorie in/out perceptions.
Misconception:
Cardio is NOT the key to long term sustainable fat loss, building lean muscle is
Nutrition is equally if not MORE important than exercise
Why?
* Calories out are mostly always over estimated and calories in are mostly always under estimated. You cant lose fat unless youre in a caloric deficit.
* Cardio burns calories at that moment but not throughout the day.
* The less you weigh, the less calories you burn just living (your basal metabolic resting rate/BMR). This is the amount of calories you burn for essential bodily functions, to live. So as you lose weight your body starts to require less calories to survive.
So what do you need to do?
*You need to eat LESS and exercise/move MORE.
* Calorie counters on cardio machines are WAY off. At this rate (photo) I would burn over 1000 kcal an hour! Imagine if I ate daily, thinking I had burned 1000kcal in an hour? My calories in would be much higher than my calories out. Most novice exercises use the calorie counter to justify how much they can eat each day. IGNORE the calorie counters, PLEASE! Even chest strap monitors are not accurate. I love them and use one to measure my HR – but I do not give the calorie counter any merit.
* Keep track of your calories daily AND weekly. So many novice exercises eat within their program during the week but allow themselves to have whatever they want on weekends. If you are in a deficit by 300 calories a day for 5 days (1500 calories) but then you are in a surplus of 2000 calories a day on the weekend (even just in alcohol nevermind the food) on Friday and Saturday, you are STILL in a suprlus. (4000 surplus (Fri/Sat) – 1500 deficit (Sun-Thurs) = 2500 calories surplus). 2000 calories surplus in one day is not that hard to do on a cheat day. Trust me. So with this method you will not lose fat.
Side Note – Im not a fan of “cheat days”. Im a fan of a balanced lifestyle. If you restrict too much you will eventually lose control and binge. A balanced lifestyle will include the foods you love in a reasonable amount.
* Build lean muscle. The real way to lose fat and keep the fat off is to speed up your metabolism (consistenly move more) and increase your basal metabolic resting rate. Muscle, pound for pound, burns WAY more calories than fat. So not only will you be leamer, youll be stronger, and youll be able to eat more than before. The more lean muscle you have, the higher your BMR will be, the more calories you burn.
* Be mindful of your calories. People track calories but often forget to add calories for salad dressing (restaurants add more than a serving), that handful of chips, those 2 crackers, butter on the bread, olive oil to cook vegetables, etc… All that adds up to quite a bit at the end of the day and forgetting to add in those calories will put you in a surplus. If you are serious about losing fat, every calorie counts. Every single one.
*Be consistent. Even if you show up one day and you arent as good as the day before, Show up. Consistency is what creates and sustains results. If you get derailed on day or one week, you can start again. Whatever you do be consistent.
Nutrition is SO important for sustainable fat loss. Nutrition is also so often overlooked or not understood properly. So if you can, get a professional to help you with nutrition. WIthout proper nutrition, you will NOT see the results you want to see with exercise.
This one one of MANY reasons novice exercisers fail to see results or quit. Ill talk about other reasons in future posts.
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