I've shared this before, but my entire world revolved around calories early in my fitness journey. I was obsessed with burning as many calories as I could and eating as little calories as possible to achieve weight loss.
I did a lottttt of cardio back then. My thought was that if I burned a lot of calories during my workouts, I would get to my goal weight even faster.
In reality, all the cardio I was doing was actually contributing to uncontrollable food cravings and binges. My body was fighting back all of the stress I was putting it through. This was not a sustainable approach and I began to realize that.
Are you using the two best types of workouts to achieve your fat loss/ weight loss goals? High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate to heavy strength training should definitely be the focus of your training if fat loss or weight loss is your goal.
Different types of workouts have a different effect on your metabolism and the rate at which you burn calories during and after you exercise. Although long, slow duration cardio workouts can burn a significant amount of calories during the workout, your metabolic rate basically returns back to baseline as soon as the workout is over. While this type of cardio is great for cardiovascular health and can aid in your fat loss pursuits, it is not the ideal workout for dropping body fat.
HIIT and strength training, on the other hand, have significant effects on your metabolic rate up to 72 hours after your workout is over. In conjunction with a caloric deficit (taking in fewer calories than your body needs), HIIT and strength training workouts are the most ideal and efficient workouts for achieving your goal of fat loss. These types of workouts will turn your body into a calorie-burning machine, which definitely makes the fat loss process a bit easier.
Not sure where to start with strength training? Check out my free guide to create an effective strength training program!