More Cardio = Gained Weight - so frustrating!!

[amanda12485]

Has anyone had this problem? or am I just a freak. I decided I wanted to do a all cardio rotation for about 1 month to lose alot of fat ( high and med intensity). Well i am gaining fat, it is doing exactly the opposite of what I wanted it to do, it just doesn't make sense and is very frustrating.
What did you do for fat loss if you had this problem? I am at a loss for ideas here.

 

[janie1234]

It is 90% diet. How's your diet?

 

[FiddleFit]

Hi Amanda,

No, you're not a freak. Check out this article. Read the whole thing. The key part comes right when you get to the photo-capture of Cathe doing MIC.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/alwyn8.htm

There's good information in this article about how the body adapts to cardio, becomes more efficient, and burns less fat. My take-away from it is: the best method for fatloss is: hiit cardio, and muscle building.

Anyone else have any comments? How would you structure a rotation based on this article?

I'm currently doing Insanity, which covers the HIIT part if it perfectly. I'm also doing STS Meso 2, as one body part/day, to cover the muscle building aspect. I've often wondered whether one is cancelling out the other, but the cardio is so short and intense, that I can't see it having that "catabolic" effect on the muscle. I'm also giving myself some rest time between the cardio and weights, so I've got the necessary energy for the weights. And yes, like Amanda, my goal is to lose body fat. I have good muscle development, and am aiming to either maintain or even increase, if possible.

Cheers!
Sandra

 

[timea3]

Hello

Just cardio won't help you lose weight. Try heavy weight training. You have to do weight training if you want to lose weight. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn. It worked for me. And of course cardio on cardio days. Do different cardio workouts, kickbox, bootcamp, run, fast walk, aerobic, step aerobic, play outside , jump rope, ........

Timea

 

[Jennifit]

How do you know you are gaining fat? Are you being professionally fat-tested? Or, are you retaining water?

Also, agree with the PP...you need to weight train and watch your diet, too. All three are a must.

 

[Alana_as]

I agree with JenniFit. Doing all three (cardio, weights, eat well) is the best remedy for fat loss.

 

[amanda12485]

my diet is clean i am doing everything else right, its like once i took out the weights ( which was mostly circuits and muscle endurance workouts) i just started gaining weight even though i was doing cardio everyday. i just find it odd and frustrating, i started insanity and have not lost any weight in 2 weeks from doing it either.

 

[syzygy314]

I lost most of my weight doing just cardio (step) and two circuit dvds per week. Guess, I'm just the exception to the rule.

Now, I'm trying to drop the last 2 lbs. and start losing the BF Percentage. So, I'm going to start to try concentrating on my weight training and keeping my fat intake in my diet around 20%. Hopefully, this will work. My fear is that if I lay off the cardio, now that I've worked my way up to a 3 mile run, I will lose my endurance for running and have to start over! It was difficult getting there! We shall see . . .

 

[amanda12485]

i know im gaining fat because i can feel it, ive gained like 10-12 pounds

 

[Fit_mommy]

I gained weight while training for a long distance race. As soon as I stopped training, some of the weight started coming off. You have to find a happy medium. Too much of anything is never good. You might want to up your cardio but do it in conjunction with a weight training program. Lessen the time you spend on weights but don't drop them entirely. Maybe that'll work for you. You might also want to play with your nutrition macros. I have recently discovered that a higher fat (not high, just more then I'd been eating)/lower calorie diet seems to be helping me lose the last few pounds that I have been struggling to lose for MONTHS now!

 

[L Sass]

Amanda - I think it's safe to say that even taking out wts and doing a 1-month rotation of cardio - there is NO way you could have gained 10-12 pounds in 1 month from that mix alone. How is your diet - what and when do you eat?

I am at a point in training where I need to shred fat and the plan is to keep the heavy wts and add in the cardio. Different types of cardio work for different types of bodies. Oddly enough, I am finding that for me it's the longer steady state stuff as opposed to the Hiits or Tabata type. So explore what works, but that much weight gain seems like your body is telling you something else is going on.

 

[amanda12485]

I was down for 2 weeks because i had a minor leg surgery and couldnt workout at all for almost 2 weeks, during those 2 weeks i didn't eat good at all ( just took it as a cheat week i guess) but rigth after that I started insanity and have not lost any weight since. after those 2 weeks i noticed how i had gained the fat.

 

[amanda12485]

also before the surgery i was doing just cardio for about 3 weeks and did not lose any weight either, maybe i just need to stick with the weights i just didn't want to keep lifting and add anymore muscle i am happy with the amount i have now and do not want to add anymore size to myself

 

[janie1234]

Amanda I really think you need give yourself more time and be a little more patient. 1 month is not a long time and I do agree with Lori about gaining 10-12lbs in a month being a lot and not highly likely. Remember this is a lifestyle change and slow and steady is the way to go. If you were out for a while because of surgery that WILL make a difference and if you were not eating well during that time you can quickly put on the extra pounds. The best advice I can give is to be patient and hang in there and like Cathe says listen to your body, . . and you have to push yourself if you want results. Good luck.

 

[Shannon_B]

It's not crazy. I was doing heavy weights for a month and I felt great. So I decided to change it up for the next month and was doing a lot more cardio with the circuit workouts and lighter weights. By the 2nd week I started getting flabby! What the heck is that about! It was frustrating so I quickly stopped in the middle of the week with that rotation and I've now picked up another one.

I don't think you will add size to yourself if you keep lifting. You want to maintain what you have and if you stop all together that will all go away!

 

[amanda12485]

i think i am just going to go back to my weights, just lifting moderate weights and doing circuits workouts and a few days of cardio. I guess if it works why change it. my body must just respond better to weights than to cardio. i think cathe said she is the same way actually.

 

[Jennifit]

Amanda - I think it's safe to say that even taking out wts and doing a 1-month rotation of cardio - there is NO way you could have gained 10-12 pounds in 1 month from that mix alone. .

Especially, 10-12 pounds of fat. Don't worry - you didn't!!

I would start incorporating weight training again. Hey, at least you tried something different. Good luck!!

 

[Lastchance09]

I belong to another fitness website and one of its members says, "Cardio burns calories, weight trainings burns fat."

 

[GMonkey]

i think i am just going to go back to my weights, just lifting moderate weights and doing circuits workouts and a few days of cardio. I guess if it works why change it. my body must just respond better to weights than to cardio. i think cathe said she is the same way actually.

Makes sense to me. Maybe doing just one week of cardio-only every now and then would be good to shock the system, and then go back to what usually works for you.

 

[Havingfun]

cardio & fat loss

Hi all,

I just read through the article and I don't disagree with what was said. I do think that the real bottom line is that you have to, within reason, change things up periodically or they become maintenance. When you begin to lose interest and not give the workout your all, regardless of what you are doing, it's not as effective. And of course, you have to be brutally honest about your diet.

Recently, DH and I have added 1 day a week of hiking 9-12 miles at a relatively quick pace. Most of the hikes that we have completed are rated 5 on a scale of 1-5 for difficulty. Of course we are drenched and tired by the end, but it's not HITT it's mostly SS and long intervals. In essence, I'd call it long slow cardio. This is in addition to usually 2 other runs per week; one mostly SS and one interval. DH is doing no weight training and with a clean diet cannot keep the weight on. His legs are hard as rocks. He is actually having to add calories now to maintain. I've continued to consistently weight train, but I'm more cut and have less BF than ever before. Our diets are really clean. Do I think this will last forever? Probably not and I'll have to change things up in a couple of months, but for now, this shock is working for us.

I plan to purchase Insanity if STS cardio is not available by fall, so that my winter cardio shock will be HITT.

Tracy