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Nutrition and Weightlifting are Essential for Effective Weightloss

by — Last updated: 2017-02-22 in Weight Loss

Table of Contents

Many fitness programs often include long and boring cardio sessions leaving the individual feeling tired and weak. Is cardio however, actually necessary for weight loss? Read to learn the real truth about cardio and getting into amazing shape.

As mentioned previously, cardio is an extremely ineffective and inefficient way to lose weight. So what is the best way to burn fat? What many people fail to realize is that the vast majority (roughly 80% or more) of weight loss occurs in the kitchen, not the gym. This means that weight loss will be determined by how much you eat NOT by what you eat. Similar to the false concept of cardio resulting in fat loss is that eating healthy foods and simply cutting out all “junk foods” will result in weight loss.

The one and only driver of fat loss is being in a caloric deficit. As long as your body is consuming less calories than your body requires, you will lose weight, I guarantee it.

Fortunately, the body does not process calories from a piece of fruit any differently than from a plate of nachos. This means you don’t have to necessarily cut out your favorite foods from your diet, but rather pay close attention to how much you are consuming, and practice smaller portions and more portion control. Here are a few tips for a perfect portion sizes. 

An easy way to do this is by tracking your calories. To calculate how many calories you should consume for your deficit simply take your current body weight and multiply that by 15. Following this, take the product and multiply that by .8 or .75 (for faster results, but do not go lower than .75 as you can burn muscle as well). The end product will be the number of calories you need to consume every day to lose about 1-2 pounds per week.

Here’s an example: 150 lb man x 15 = 2250 → 2250 x .8 = 1800 calories per day. In addition to a deficit, slight cardio such as brisk walks for 45-60 minutes per day burns calories and can marginally help speed up weight loss, without the negative effects of feeling tired and weak that most cardio routines bring. 

The importance of weightlifting

To achieve the lean physique of a Greek god however, a deficit and brisk walks should not be the only components to your health regimen. By only eating in a deficit, the body will not just burn fat, but will also slowly begin to burn muscle as well, resulting in a physique that can appear skinny, gaunt, and fragile...not the strong and healthy body you’re aiming for.

To avoid this, focus on building muscle on compound movements. A few examples of exercises that will help build an amazing physique are incline bench press, standing shoulder press, barbell curl, deadlifts, squats, and weighted chin ups or pull ups.

These exercises should be split up into two different days that alternate each day, with a rest day in between for a total of 3 days per week. Since you’ll be using heavy weight, you’ll want to have a rep scheme of 3-5 sets containing no more than 5-8 reps per exercise. Although sculpting an envious physique can take time, as long as you track your calories and progress on your lifts, over time, your body will transform from zero to hero.