Why Cardio Alone Doesn't Cut Fat

Cardio can be the worst thing for cutting fat when it isn’t paired with weight training.

Your muscle determines your metabolism.

If there isn’t any food to fuel the body, the metabolism slows down.

Carbs will keep your muscles hydrated, making you feel like your muscles are bloated, hence the name carbohydrate. Cutting carbs will decrease your performance physically and mentally.

These are some “highlights” to an article I just read. Please take time to read this article in its entirety. It’s a real “wake-up” call to all those people (mainly women) who do so much damage to their metabolism due to over-cardio exercising and under-eating in an effort to lose weight (over-exercising and under-eating are NOT lifestyle changes!).

Two things I personally take away from this article (first the positive):

Weight training was always a part of the equation in my weight loss efforts (in addition to cardio and improved eating habits). I didn’t have an understanding of the importance of building muscle until it came time to my foot surgeries when I had to temporarily drop cardio from the equation. I didn’t re-gain any weight because I had (unknowingly) created a metabolism based on muscle and good eating habits.

The second take away from this article (the negative):

I need to let go of my carbohydrate “fears”. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some carbohydrates which we all should fear (i.e. sugar, white bread, etc.), but I should start increasing my “good carbs” (i.e. more fruits and vegetables) because they are good for my muscles (which in turn is good for my metabolism).

Read and learn!

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/why-cardio-alone-doesnt-cut-fat/