Should I focus on losing fat first before building muscle or the opposite.
Caloric intake is also a factor here
If you are a health coach you can assist your client with making proper food choices, if not, you can refer them to a nutritionist/RD
Exercise is one component for weight loss but the real culprit for being overweight is because of poor food choices/too much food etc.
Karin’s answer is right on!
My first reaction after reading your question was similar to Karin’s; both! As your client incorporates resistance training and builds muscle, (s)he will start losing fat.
A discussion about diet is not always easy but something to address. I like to point out the need for a calorie deficit and say, “you can burn 300 calories by being on the treadmill for 30 minutes or not drink your typical soda with lunch and dinner. If you do both you’re now at a 600 calorie deficit”. Obviously the example can be adjusted for the client but it show that both are important.
As I’m sure you know, with clients new to exercise or with a lot to lose the big picture is to get them consistently active by creating positive experiences and finding what it is they enjoy.
Good luck!
Hi Taniela,
this does not have to be an ‘either – or’.
Let me start off by saying that the majority of his weight loss success will come from caloric reduction. For somebody to ‘burn off’ fat through exercise alone requires an awful lot of exercise.
A balance of cardiovascular and strength training will be the best exercise approach. Mind you, for cardio to be in support of weight loss, it should be at least 150 minutes a week and ideally more. Whether or not your client is well enough conditioned to do this is up to your judgment. A strength routine, maybe two times a week and designed to have a cardiovascular component, should condition the client to be able to improve the intensity of cardiovascular exercises. At the same time, it will prevent the client from actually losing muscle mass. When a person loses weight, it is not only fat but also some muscle, and that’s what you are trying to prevent.
Hope this helps.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com