3 things I don’t recommend to my clients, as a women’s coach. Part 2

Ramping up cardio to tone up or lose fat

Fat loss requires a calorie deficit. This is when your body burns more energy (calories) than you consume.

A calorie deficit can be created in many ways, including exercise and diet, but in terms of calories burned, exercise has a surprisingly small effect. Diet and overall physical activity are much more impactful.

Energy Balance Graphic

The above is a rough visual, but it shows how much each component contributes to your calorie deficit. Increasing cardio will increase calorie expenditure, but there are some important considerations. With increased exercise intensity, your body will increase its energy demand. If you start ramping up intense cardio or running, you may also notice increased hunger and less energy to move outside of your sessions.

However, if your goal is weight loss and you think doing more cardio will help, you might be shooting yourself in the foot, especially when combined with a large calorie deficit.

What often happens is this: you finish a run feeling ravenous, so you allow yourself a bigger meal because you’ve burned calories. You also feel exhausted, so you move less throughout the day (lower NEAT), even if you don’t realise it. Then you don’t see results. The scales aren’t moving, so you get frustrated and try to restrict calories even more, add more runs, or give up entirely.

The issue in this scenario is that you are not actually in a calorie deficit, or not in as large a deficit as you think. The calories burned through exercise are often overestimated, while hunger and compensation are underestimated.

You can see how easy it is to overeat when your body is asking for more energy than it actually burned. And there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s just physiology.

What should you do if fat loss is your goal and you’re not seeing results?

Instead of adding hours of jogging, first be honest about your calorie intake. Adjust your diet and increase movement through non-exercise activity, such as taking steps, moving around the house, staying on your feet, and walking.

P.S. You might now ask what the point of strength training is. While dieting helps you lose body fat, strength training helps shape your body. It also offers many health benefits women should not overlook, such as improved bone and

joint strength and building muscle, which helps regulate blood glucose levels.

So don’t neglect weight training during a fat loss phase.

If you have any questions, you can reach me on Instagram @marzena_personaltraining