Cardio for weight loss? Or is it all down to caloric deficit.

[Spideog]

I work 12 hour shifts and I find it very difficult to squeeze stuff in. I find weightlifting beneficial and I enjoy it but I absolutely hate cardio which I find extremely boring. I do kick-boxing twice weekly anyways so it should cover the cardio. My question is does cardio do anything for fat loss or is it all calorie deficit. I suppose doing cardio would help with a deficit due to it burning around 2-300 calories per 40 minute session. I also walk a lot due to my job.

 

[Marineman]

I'm no expert but I think it all comes down to calories in and calories consumed/utilized. As long as you can maintain a caloric deficit you should lose weight.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If you consume more calories than normal TDEE+extra cardio. Where do you think it is stored?

 

[buck]

Cardio can help but is not always needed. It will usually take several hours of cardio for most people to burn 1 pound of body fat. Cutting back on calories is a better way to lose weight in general from my thinking.

 

[lukiss96]

It's all about calories. Cardio is a tool to increase the amount you can eat, but it does not compensate for overeating.

 

[OldGHGuy]

The old saying "You can't out-work a bad diet" is 100% true. Fat loss is 85-90% diet IMO. You should, however, always do your cardio for its small contribution to fat loss and all other benefits (heart, BP, etc) especially if using AAS

 

[Shivathedestroyer]

Uhhh…. It’s all about the calorie deficit and cardio is simply just a tool to create more of a calorie deficit. I feel like you already knew the answer to this question, or at least I hope you did.

 

[PaintDrinker]

Cardio is important for heart health and I believe it’s a must when it comes to AAS use, although it’s absolutely not necessary to lose weight, it’s a very useful tool.

 

[trtbuilder]

Cardio should be done regardless for health, but diet is obviously more important for weight loss.

 

[Jbrickee]

RP has new video out on this. Basically some research has shown that doing a bunch of cardio (I think through walking/steps) didn’t result in expected weight loss as the body has mechanisms to compensate. Cardio is important from health perspective and will help with fat/weight loss but it seems as if diet is most important.

 

[narta]

Cardio is ok for burning couple of hundred more calories so you can eat a bit more but the major benefits comes in the form of cardiovascular exercise