What exercise is best to aid weight loss?

[friedandfrazzled]

I know losing weight is mainly diet but I want to move more as well. Is it better to do cardio (spin/running/walking) then when I’ve lost the weight then look at adding strength classes like body pump? My goal atm is just to lose weight so anything else that can help in addition to me eating in a deficit is what I’m looking for.

I think in many women too much cardio increases cortisol leading to belly fat, plus it makes you more hungry.

I found the winning combination was diet first, then strength training with some yoga/pilates to lower stress. If you perfect your diet you don't need distracting from food becuase the cravings stop.

>>If you perfect your diet you don't need distracting from food becuase the cravings stop.

can you say more?
Lots of veg maybe?
cut out processed food and minimise sugar?

(man here but some of diet/exercise principles doubtless the same, though am off to check out cortisol)

Walking, walking, walking. Everywhere you can, every day.

Weight training. A couple of Body Pump classes a week should tone you up.

Walking and swimming are probably the least effective for weight loss, but they're great in general.

Basically eat to support your gut microbiome as it is the messages your gut bacteria send that control your cravings. If you have the wrong gut bacteria you will feel more hungry and find it harder to loose weight. You need to:

A) really reduce the amount of upf you eat- many of the additives harm your gut microbiome and your body does not know how to deal with this 'food' e.g emulsifiers weaken the intestinal barrier and harm the good bacteria
B) make sure you are eating at least 30g fibre (vegetables and pulses) (prebiotic) a day. You may need to build up to this gradually to give your microbiome time to adjust to avoid side effects
C) eat lots of fermented food (probiotic). Thus is far better than taking a probiotic supplement as it is more likely to reach the gut. Eat greek yoghurt, kefir, saukercrat, raw milk cheese etc
D) reduce sugar - if you cut out upf you will naturally reduce this but try not to have too many sugary deserts etc. I limit these to a couple of times a week.

People may say this looks miserable but honestly I no longer have any cravings for unhealthy food. I crave things like bell peppers and roquefort. This is becuase I now have lots of the right gut bacteria that are telling me to eat healthy food.

People may say this looks miserable

It's not
It sounds simply like how I grew up. Very little UPF. Lost my ways, getting back into it and really boody enjoying it. Cake was always sat/sun morning and celebrayioms only in my house, cookies/biscuits very occasional. We had garden and gorved on food.
I have not had food poisoning in my life when I eat like that. Well once, very mild one. I am sure cast iron stomach is more like cast iron won't be bullied by some out of towner gut flora😂
You are even teasonable with sugar. Bit of sugar is not a problem.

Just to point out to anyone buying fermented veg like sauerkraut and kimchi. If it's in a jar on shelves and not chilled, it's dead.

Bell pepper with happy cow or something like hwrbed fromage frais etc is the snack of my youth😂

Time to get the shoes on and go for a good walk - it's good exercise and time out from the stress of daily life.

excellent advice for @Bubbles254 and @Normalsizedsalad . I haven't yet got into the fermented stuff (sounds complicated) but have cut processed ultra processed from my diet, apart from the odd binge, for years. Lots of veg, minimal meat, just need a whiff of it, simple flavourings like chilli paprika garlic. I think the secret is to focus on the effects of the food you are eating, not the surface rush of sugar or whatever.
Try to cycle/walk for near an hour every day - not hard to do if you incorporate it into your life.

Hi OP

I am an online nutrition and strength coach with a degree in sport and exercise science - hoping I can help!

As you've already identified, losing weight will mainly come from nutrition and, in fact, trying to use exercise for this purpose can be frustrating and even a little depressing.

My initial advice would be to do the types of training you enjoy, it is far better to be consistent than sporadic when it comes to training. If you want to maximise your results, then I would recommend strength training with weights 2-3 times a week (you can of course do more but I don't know what your free time would be like). By focusing on getting stronger you will change the shape of your physique and lose inches - this is the key to dropping dress sizes. Often I find this is a more successful approach than solely targeting a lower scale weight (especially as a female, there can be significant fluctuations through the month due to your menstrual cycle). If you enjoy cardio, then absolutely add this in as improving your cardiovascular health will not only benefit your day to day but is also a great way of improving your overall conditioning.

With your nutrition, a moderate deficit is a good place to start (200-500 calories) - again the key is to be consistent and have something that is manageable. Two things you might find helpful in this process would be to focus on a higher protein intake (1.6-2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight) each day as well as monitoring your fibre to be around 20-30g a day. I would strongly encourage you not to cut out the foods you enjoy, as this can create too much restriction which makes sustaining results difficult long term.

Hope you found this information helpful but please feel free to message me directly if you have any further questions.

Diet is the most important
Brisk walking is the best exercise

I would really encourage you to do some resistance training. Weights are great, but also resistance bands or just bodyweight. Makes a massive difference to both how you look and your quality of life - when losing weight, you want to get rid of fat, not muscle.

Weights, resistance bands and bodyweight are all forms of resistance exercise. You'll build muscle more quickly lifting heavy weights. You're unlikely to look like a bodybuilder unless you've trained like an athlete and have very low body fat so don't be put off.