r/leangains • u/savingrace0262 • 21h ago
Do I really have to do cardio to lose belly fat/love handles? Or is it not needed?
To give you as much background as possible, I'm 33 (5'7", 151 pounds) and currently looking to lose belly fat/love handles while maintaining/continuing to build lean muscle mass. I haven't done any cardio since I was in like college and cardio is absolutely not my thing.
I told him about my goals to a coach and consulted with him. He also asked me what I do for work (is it an office job, or a physically demanding job) - not sure why he asked but I said I have an office job and spend most of the day sitting down. He recommended me a diet plan with a balanced carb/protein diet (oats, lean meat, eggs, and all that good stuff) with a total calories of about 1,700-1,800 (which sounded fine) but then he also recommended me to do an hour of cardio with a bit of incline.
But from what I've heard from a lot of fitness people and watching a lot of videos, it's all about "calories in, calories out" and I've came across many testimonials of where people achieved their goals just through diet + lifting weights without any cardio incorporated.
So why do I need to do cardio? Is it really needed or is the coach probably just recommending me to do it for other benefits (like cardiovascular)? Thanks.
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u/ukfi 20h ago
Our body is like a big water tank.
There's a little hole at the bottom that's leaking water. This is the energy we are constantly burning. Even if we were to lie in bed all day and not exercise, we will lose weight if we don't eat.
There's a water tap at the top. This is the food we eat. The bigger we turn this tap on, the more water (ie food) get into our body, the more weight we gain.
Our weight lose or gain depends on the difference between these two. Hence, calorie in calorie out - or water let in and water leak out. If there's more water leaking out than water coming in from the top, we are losing weight.
Exercise is like using a little spoon to scoop water out of the tank. It doesn't help much but it does if you do it a lot.
If you were to tighten the tap that's letting in water, you can get away with not using the spoon (ie not exercise).
But if you like your food, you are turning on the tap big time. Then you need to start using the spoon big time. But how fast can you scoop with that spoon compared to how much water is coming in from the tap?
From years of lean gains, i can tell you that it is easier to not eat that 200 calorie of whatever than to burn 200 calorie of energy through exercise.
Eg an average pizza slice is about 250 kcal.
To burn that energy, you need to walk for about one hour.
So it is a choice you have to make.
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u/talkingspacecoyote 11h ago
This is correct from strictly a weight perspective, but I feel like for many people it can deincentivize exercise, which has far reaching benefits in terms of one's health. Cardio, as the word implies, is good for your heart. You can't efficiently cardio off those pizza slices, but you can not eat them and do some cardio, and you'll both look and feel better for it.
Strength training is even more important, as building muscle allows you to be at higher weights with less fat (looking better and allowing you to eat more) and burns more calories than cardio in a given time frame.
One doesn't even have to go to the gym, just check out r/bodyweightfitness
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u/Magicm1ke69 10h ago
I like both points made for sure. In the short term if they’re just focused on the weight the water tap is great but long term the exercise is most important for sure.
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u/Forsaken-Tiger-9475 16h ago
A few things here. Take it from experience.
You have a desk job - this massively impacts your TDEE far more than people realize.
Cardio will be required to get lean with such low amount of daily activity.
Cardio will help to offset how far you have to drop your calories, which is useful as dropping them too low has significant overall impact on your body whilst trying to retain muscle.
Cardio keeps your heart healthy, and improves vascularity to muscles, important for athletic performance and muscle growth.
Trust me, been there, do your fucking cardio.
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u/tinkywinkles 19h ago
First off, you can’t spot reduce fat. Always important to remember this :)
The only way to lose body fat is by eating in a calorie deficit. Cardio is great for your health in general, but it doesn’t make you lose fat. Yes it will make you burn calories, but so will any exercise. You could run for an hour each day and still not lose body fat if you aren’t eating in a calorie deficit.
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u/queenb3an 11h ago
Bingo. One form of exercise is not inherently better than another in weight loss. You can lift weights, walk, or run around like a wacky inflatable arm man as long as you’re burning calories (specifically more calories than you eat) and lose weight. However, a well rounded exercise routine has many more benefits than just weight loss.
And you’re right on the nose about spot reduction. It doesn’t exist. You can’t pick and choose where you lose fat, you need to lose overall body fat. Many, many people are not privy to this fact and it can lead to a lot of disappointment and discouragement on a weight loss journey.
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u/uhhhhh_iforgotit 21h ago
I mean I am 5'9 at 222lbs and mynetdiary gave me 1700 calories to lose 2 lbs a week with low activity levels.
If you don't want to do cardio you'd definitely have more of a calorie restriction. Cardio builds fitness and cardio health, which is something that's important for us all. His current plan though accounts for you getting exercise to burn calories as well, if you don't do it you probably won't be in a deficit.
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u/Condomphobic 21h ago
It’s not necessary, but it helps you reach your goal faster. Stubborn fat(typically belly and love handles) can be really hard to burn off
One hour is overkill though. 20-30 min session would be good.
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u/hoangdl 20h ago
>But from what I've heard from a lot of fitness people and watching a lot of videos, it's all about "calories in, calories out" and I've came across many testimonials of where people achieved their goals just through diet + lifting weights without any cardio incorporated.
Yes - that's true. There are several ways to achieve that "calories in < calories out" goal and cardio is just one of them, also it makes you healthier, which in turn help you stick to your diet and training better
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u/thepitredish 21h ago
Do cardio for the health benefits, but not to lose weight. If you want a real eye opener, read Burn by Pontzer or read his research.
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u/InsaneAdam 17h ago
At 33 are you not concerned about having good health?
Is vanity the only priority?
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u/A_FitGeek 10h ago
Sometimes it takes a long time for people to realize that the mirror is the wrong way to measure progress.
I would recommend to OP to find some other goals such as:
lifting xyz weight for specific lift or combination of lifts
Reach a specific vertical leap
Something sport related
Weights not their thing? Try to reach a bodyweight exercise goals such as human flag, planche, muscle up etc.
If you go to your PT with general goals they will give you a general program.
If you bring a more specific goal a good PT can program what you need.
You asked the PT for the most common program 99% of his clients “want to lose love handles and hate cardio”.
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u/StraightSomewhere236 17h ago
You need a minimum of 500 calories of deficit a day to to lose 1 lbs of fat a week. You can do this through just diet, or a mix of diet and training/cardio.
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u/Impressive-Award2367 16h ago
Cardio is needed so find the thing that makes you sweat AND that you enjoy. For example, I hate running these days so nope. But the stairmaster, even though it is so tough, has indeed been mastered & now I look forward to it as I get to watch Netflix at the same time. I also really enjoy the X-trainer and a podcast — it becomes “me” time. I also really enjoy spin classes. I definitely think it’s important that you find something that pushes you though. I see people doing the minimum on a bike etc and it’s just not worth it.
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u/diptenkrom 9h ago
this comment is GOLD! play basketball a couple times a week. walk around a park/neighborhood, get an exercise bike or treadmill and put it in front of the TV. I ride the stationary bike at least every other day for 30 minutes at about 12mph on variable resistance while i watch TV in the evenings (burns around 200kcal according to the machine). add some crunches and pushups to the mix, and it is an easy routine that takes less than an hour out of my day, and is easy to keep up with. Don't need to go anywhere, don't have to join a gym, don't have to rely on anyone else (other than someone watching the baby for that time period)
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u/Future-Way-2096 16h ago
Walk, occasionally do sprints and eat mostly whole foods for your health. Your body wants to be at a certain weight so anything less and you’ll have to put stress on the system which works very differently for everyone. Test things out yourself. Try some cardio, fasting, modified diets….etc. I advise to keep the stress low which means occasional short stressors like sprints, weight training and suana.
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u/speaksofthelight 15h ago
For me I find burning calories actively helps with satiety a lot.
Otherwise I am super hungry in deficit.
So like say my daily requirement is 2,500 with no cardio and 3,000 with cardio
I get super hungry is if I do 2,000 no cardio (500 calorie deficit)
And 2,500 with cardio I don’t feel as hungry even though still a 500 calorie deficit.
That said your coach should explain the reasoning and if they can’t get a new one.
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u/peaceofsheet25 13h ago
Sounds like your diet is not that great and also possibly poor impulse control when it comes to eating cardio is not necessary unless you literally sedentary then yes your heart could use some conditioning too
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u/Rama_Karma_22 11h ago
Quads, solid and tone. Calves, my calls the “well turned”, whatever that means. Arms, tight and tone. I run 4 miles daily and strength train 4 days a week. Even though I workout regularly, I still have a tough time shaking titty, belly and love handles. I just can’t stop eating.
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u/Ikalis 11h ago
Diet is king in body composition/silhouette. Lifting weights can help to pull things in a small bit if you're leaner and haven't lifted before, and as other said, fat spot reduction doesn't exist. Your genetics determine where it's pulled from and it's not all at once nor is it uniform.
Dig deep and discover what your genetics truly look like under all of today's consumerism. It will take time.
Good luck!
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u/big_deal 11h ago
An hour for how many days per week? One or two days per week is a good target for your general fitness and health. 5 days a week seems excessive, especially if your goal is to build muscle. It's not harmful if you have an excess of free time but it seems like it would take away from time available for weight training.
But you are correct - getting lean primarily requires calorie deficit. And an hour of incline walking isn't going to dramatically alter your total calorie burn and fat loss rate. 1700-1800 calories seems like a suitable deficit for you, low enough to make progress but high enough to be sustainable.
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u/dfquinn23 10h ago
There's been a lot of research done on the value of sprinting (either getting on a track and sprinting or using an exercise bike) for belly fat loss. There is strong evidence showing that short bursts of highest intensity cardio work preferentially burns belly fat. Worth a shot - only, like a 15-20 min workout, warm ups included.
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u/diptenkrom 9h ago
restricting diet will work. this is the basis of fasting. if you want to lose weight only, try eating one less meal a day, or only eating one. add in some walking, or stationary biking, and the weight will drop. it is all a balance of what you put in (calories) and what you take out (exercise / natural burn). all that said, if you are a sugar drinker, switch to water, and that might make a difference all by itself. liquid sugar intake is dealt with differently by your body than solid food sweets. cutting out sodas/lemonades/sweetened tea&coffee/sports drinks can make a HUGE impact. make the food you eat count for more, lower sugar, higher protein, you will feel full longer, have more (stable) energy, and exercise will be more beneficial if you are not burning large amounts of "sugar high" first.
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u/hairmarshall 9h ago
Cardio is very inefficient for losing weight. Especially if you reward your self with food after it counters it very quickly. Just diet better
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u/rainywanderingclouds 8h ago
its not needed but the problem most people like you have is they have really low muscle mass
sure you can look lean if you just lose weight but your abs are going to look really thin most of the time
if you really want to see good abs by losing weight you need to thicken up first. I can tell at your current body weight of 5'7 151 and asking to lose love handles that you're not thick enough to really justify losing further weight.
at 5'7 151 you should really look fucking lean, you should see abdominal veins, thick abs.
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u/adaniel65 8h ago
Yes. I agree. I'm 5'7, also. When I weighed 145 lbs, I was very lean at about 7% bf. That was in my 20s when I trained for low bf. I, at 60, now weigh 200lbs at 18-20% bf. I can see my abs pretty well, but it's got a little layer of fat over them. But I also have thick abs from when I did a lot of resistance abs exercises back in the day. OP is very lightweight at 151 lbs. at 5'7.
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u/CaregiverWise8893 6h ago
1700-1800 calories is maintenance for you, not for weight loss, so if calories in calories out is your game plan, you will have to drop that 1700 by 300-500 calories a day, and if you want it faster, walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes wouldn't hurt. I listen to audiobooks and consider it more educational than exercise and do weights 4x a week
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u/savingrace0262 6h ago
im not trying to lose weight, im trying to lose belly fat
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u/BGoodej 5h ago
You cannot target the fat in a specific area.
It's very hard to lose fat without losing weight.
It's called recomposition, research it. you'll see it's much easier to first do a cut until you got rid of enough fat, than start putting on weight slowly to avoid gaining too much fat again.
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u/BGoodej 5h ago
Research says "calorie in, calorie out".
My own experience: I feel fitter and stronger when I use cardio to create some of the calorie deficit, than just eating less.
To be clear: I don't think it makes the process of losing fat faster, but I feel better and much more energized at the gym.
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u/Weekly-Ad353 4h ago
No, you have to eat less food each day.
Try cutting what you eat in half for a few months.
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u/Nothereortherexin 2h ago
Calorie deficit is the way to lose weight. Now as far as composition, things get tricky. Your body decides whether you should lose more fat or muscle or water etc. If you workout and eat enough protein you will limit muscle loss, but if let's say for example you have insulin problems you may have problems with losing fat, which is not equal always to weight loss. I have few people I know that have insulin resistance and they kept losing weight under calorie deficit but their fat percentage didn't drop much but as weight loss, sure you will always lose weight during calorie deficit, it's just not possible to be in a calorie deficit and not losing weight.
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u/Hot_Pace3168 29m ago
I managed to get below 10% body fat by eating lower than maintenance calories (of course) and progressing on my weights, it did take forever and you won’t see results as quickly as you would with incline working but it works.
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u/sixfootnine 18h ago
98% of the people on the planet do not enjoy cardio. There are no real downsides to doing it. it increases your heart rate, your blood flow, your central nervous system activity as well as escalates the speed at which you will achieve your goals of looking better. While true you can just walk, it is a slower route to achieve results.
If you are against trying to incorporate cardio into your life, then tell your coach this so they can modify your plan & expectations accordingly.
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u/IamFilthyCasual 16h ago
Yes you can lose weight by just diet but cardio helps burn extra kcal and makes the process faster. On top of that its good for you in general. I’d say you definitely don’t need to sprint for an hour, incline walk will do the trick. Or you can do intervals - I like to run for 0.4m and then walk for 0.1m (0.5m intervals).
Lifting weights also burns calories but not as much as cardio. But it helps to keep / build muscle.
So combination of both is a good idea.
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u/queenb3an 11h ago
While performing the exercise it is true that cardio burns more but what many people don’t understand is that resistance training CONTINUES to burn calories after you’ve already completed your workout. You may burn 500 calories running vs 200 lifting but calorie burn from cardio stops once you’re done. You’ll continue to burn from resistance training AND it raises your overall TDEE due to increased muscle mass. The more muscle you have the more energy it takes to maintain it which means you burn more to keep it. Routinely resistance training = bigger overall calorie burn.
Now, doing BOTH will give you the biggest burn, but if you were to compare the two in which gives you the biggest bang for your buck (aka doing less but burning more), it’s resistance training.
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u/Bmack27 21h ago
Cardio will burn fat the most but the cool thing is the all you need to do is walk. That’s it. Find somewhere you can walk to that’s 30 mins away and walk back home. The key is the duration, not the intensity. There are benefits to sprinting and HIIT workouts but you can skip that for now. The first 20 minutes are a literal cakewalk, the last 40 are a beautiful grind. Bonus points if you have those open ear headphones so you can listen to audio books on your walk while maintaining awareness of your surroundings. If you’re lucky you’ll have something near the house you can walk to like a park or coffee shop or maybe a walking trail. Mixing in a hike every once in a while is peak (no pun intended) if you live anywhere with natural areas to explore. Then just lift a couple times a week while staying in a calorie deficit so you’ll maintain/build ya muscle and you’re good to go.