Lifting Weights to Lose Fat

For decades cardio was the first thing people ran to when they wanted to lose weight. Gyms were filled with crowded cardio decks & packed group exercise classes while the dumbbells got dusty. Fast forward to 2023, it is the complete opposite. Gyms are taking away treadmills to make home for more squat racks. FINALLY! 

Cardio can be extremely beneficial for health, longevity and can be a great tool when used appropriately. The problem is that it’s often abused. I like to think of it like Netflix. Watching your favorite show on Netflix after a long day of life can be a great way to unwind or destress. A lot of people abuse it. They start binging on a show then end up wasting an entire day sitting on their butt OR (even worse) they put off more important things just to watch that show. 

If you are doing cardio with the mindset and sole focus of your fat loss journey, you will NOT be successful. Yup. Cardio won’t get you to lose fat. The true “secret” to fat loss is MUSCLE. Cardio does NOT build muscle. In fact, when cardio is done alone it can actually break down muscle. 

Muscle is the only tissue that is actively burning calories in your body. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. More calories burned at rest means you have a faster metabolism WHICH MEANS you are in a better state to lose body fat. BOOM! 

If you have more muscle, you will literally burn more calories just sitting there. How much more sustainable would your results be if that were the case? 

SO, if muscle is the “secret” to fat loss then you have to build muscle. How do you do that? 

Resistance Training AKA lifting weight + Adequate protein intake + Proper recovery = MUSCLE 

That’s the equation for your fat loss success. Let me paint you a picture…

Say you go on a run for 60 minutes, 3 days a week and burn 600 calories on that run. Cardio only burns calories while you're doing the activity. PLUS, your body adapts to cardio by becoming more efficient at it, which means it starts burning fewer calories over time. 

On the other hand, say you go lift weights for 60 minutes, 3 days a week and burn 250 calories during that workout. Proper resistance training does the opposite of cardio. 

Our body adapts in order to get stronger to become more efficient at that activity. It does that by sending a loud signal to build muscle. When you combine that with adequate protein intake & proper recovery, you will burn more calories even when you are not working out.