Running away from running
Finding Exercise You Can Stomach
Cardio is not the best exercise for fat loss.
It’s not bad. It offers tremendous short and long-term benefits for your heart, mood, and overall physical and mental health. I’m not arguing against it.
But if you’re on GLP-1 medication with limited time and energy, strength training comes first.
Why Weights Beat Cardio for Fat Loss
Cardio doesn’t prevent muscle loss. Strength training does. More muscle means more calories burned at rest; cardio burns calories while you’re doing it, then stops. And you can’t out-cardio a poor diet, but you can build more muscle that helps your body handle calories better in the long term.
The medication already handles the calorie deficit. You don’t need to run yourself into the ground to “burn off” what you ate. What you need is to protect and build muscle as you continue lose body fat.
Walking Is the Baseline
You’ve seen the 10,000 steps advice everywhere. Ignore the number. If you’re currently doing nothing, 10,000 steps isn’t the goal; it’s just a reason to feel like you’ve failed before you’ve started.
The question is: what can you actually commit to?
Could you walk after one meal a day? Not a distance, not a step count; just a short walk after eating. It aids digestion, helps manage side effects, and costs you nothing.
If getting outside feels like a barrier, or you’re glued to a desk all day, a walking pad is worth considering. Low cost, no commute to a gym, and you can use it while watching something or taking calls.
A fitness tracker can help with motivation, but don’t use it to track calories burned. These devices are notoriously inaccurate, and chasing that number will pull your focus in the wrong direction.
Beyond Walking
The best form of cardio is the one you’ll actually stick to–same as the best diet is the one you’ll stick to.
Swimming, cycling, dancing, hiking, classes– whatever gets you moving without feeling like punishment. A few of my clients come to the gym and go for coffee afterwards. That’s the thing they look forward to, not the workout itself. Others grab a coffee to go and turn it into a long walk, especially in the warmer months, when getting outside actually sounds appealing. Find what makes it feel less like exercise and more like part of your day, and you’ve cracked it.
A Note on HIIT
High-intensity interval training can be effective, time-efficient, and full-body. But if you’re new to exercise, already in a calorie deficit, and adjusting to medication, it’s not where you start. Build your base first.
The Priority Order
- Strength training – start with one full-body session per week. [Reach out and I’ll send you a simple plan to get started.]
- Walking – daily, starting with what you can actually commit to
- Cardio you enjoy – attach it to something else, and it’ll actually happen
Start smaller than feels necessary. You’ll do more than you planned, and that’s the point.
Next: (Never Lifted a Weight? Start Here) – What to do if strength training is completely new to you, and why beginners have a bigger advantage than they think.