You’ve probably heard that doing cardio is one of the best ways to lose weight. Don’t get us wrong – it really is… when it’s coupled with a good diet. If it’s not, then you can hardly run as much you need to in order to still lose weight.
When they want to lose weight, many people make the mistake of thinking that they can outrun a bad diet. “Sure, I’ll eat lots of junks food, sugars, fast food, pizzas, and all sorts of garbage, but I’ll go run afterwards, so it will all be fine…” This is how many people think and how they rationalize eating whatever they want. It’s almost like the “if it fits your macros” crowd at the gym. Just because you work out doesn’t mean that you can eat whatever you want and expect good results. That’s not how it works. You can’t eat everything in sight and expect to lose weight, even when you’re on diet pills. But back to running. Why doesn’t it work? It burns calories, right? Yes, it does, and it also makes you hungrier. And since you’ve just ran a few miles, you think that you’ve burned enough calories, so it’s fine to reward yourself. So you start rewarding yourself all the time. Hence you may end up in a caloric surplus. In order to lose weight, you need to be in a caloric deficit.
This doesn’t mean that cardio is ineffective. But it does mean that you should count your calories and make sure that you meet your macros, but also that you’re in a caloric deficit. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how much you run, if you’re in a caloric surplus you’re not losing weight – you’re gaining weight. Do cardio and do a proper diet and you will lose weight. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
