Cardiovascular or aerobic training is often advertised as the #1 way to
lose fat. While it is true that while performing cardiovascular exercise you
can expend many calories quite quickly and that the body does use fatty acids
as fuel during cardiovascular training, it is simply not the most important
component of a nutrition or training program for fat loss. Considering that at
rest the body's preferred source of energy is fat, clearly cardio is not the
only way for the body to burn fat.
In
order to lose fat you need to create a caloric deficit. Creating a caloric
deficit can be done through exercise, through diet or through a combination of
the two. Also, the metabolic rate is an extremely important factor in fat loss.
The amount of muscle that you have has an impact on the metabolic rate with an
increase of muscle mass raising the metabolism and a decrease in muscle mass
lowering the metabolism. When large amounts (more than 1 1/2 hrs weekly) of
cardio are performed and when the diet does not support the amount of calories
or macronutrients being used for that exercise it can result in the body
burning muscle for energy which will result in a lowered metabolic rate. Other
factors that can cause the metabolism to be lowered, which will result in
slower or stalled fat loss, are a prolonged period of a caloric deficit without
including regular higher calorie or refeed days or by creating too large of a
caloric deficit, which will basically put the body in starvation mode. The body
naturally has defense mechanisms and if it feels that there is a threat of
malnutrition or starvation then it regulates the hormones in the body such as
leptin to prevent starvation from occurring. For all of these reasons nutrition
is the most important factor in fat loss with strength training coming second.
A diet which creates a small caloric deficit while including all of the
nutrients and macronutrients to keep the body in a healthy state and also
includes regular higher calorie days to prevent the body from adjusting the
hormones to a level which will be detrimental to fat loss efforts is the
foundation of a fat loss program. Strength training comes second to nutrition
in importance to reaching lasting fat loss goals because it not only burns
calories, but when combined with a good nutrition program will help to increase
muscle mass which will raise the metabolism and aid fat loss efforts.
The
best approach to reach fat loss goals is to create a program which includes a
solid nutrition plan, regular strength training to maintain and increase the
amount of muscle mass and also some cardiovascular exercise. It is important
not to rush the fat loss process as your goal to achieving lasting results will
be a slow rate of fat loss which will allow you to maintain as much muscle as
possible to increase and not lower the metabolic rate while losing fat.
