The Cardio Myth: Why It’s Not the Weight Loss Solution

Stephanie, a 45-year-old dentist and mom of two, was stuck in the cardio trap. For months, she woke up before dawn to hit the treadmill, determined to drop 40 pounds as per her doctor’s orders. But despite her dedication—45-minute sessions, five days a week—the scale barely budged. Frustrated and defeated, Stephanie turned to a new approach that changed everything.

In this episode, Aaron Shaw of Healthspan PhysioCoaching busts the myth that cardio is the key to weight loss. Using Stephanie’s story, he reveals why cardio alone isn’t enough and dives into the science of fat loss. You’ll learn how strength training, proper nutrition, and a sustainable plan can deliver the results you’ve been chasing—without hours on the treadmill or restrictive dieting.

What You’ll Discover in This Episode:

•Why cardio alone isn’t effective for sustainable fat loss.

•The real role of calorie deficits in weight management.

•How strength training boosts your metabolism and burns fat around the clock.

•Practical tips for building a fitness and nutrition plan that works for YOU.

•One action you can take today to start your journey to better health and weight loss.

If you’re tired of sweating it out with little to show for it, this episode will help you break free from the cardio myth and take control of your fitness journey.

🎙 Learn More About Aaron Shaw:

Aaron is the founder of Healthspan PhysioCoaching, where he helps clients improve their healthspan by focusing on five pillars: exercise, nutrition, sleep, emotional well-being, and preventative care. With nearly 30 years of experience in fitness and rehab, Aaron shares evidence-based strategies to help you live a longer, healthier, and more vibrant life.

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Transcript

Aaron Shaw (00:01)
Meet Stephanie. She's a 45 year old dentist, mother of two, waking up before dawn every day to hit the treadmill in her garage. It's her usual 45 minute routine, brisk walking, a little bit of jogging, accompanied by some random YouTube videos about low maintenance backyard gardens. This is very typical for Stephanie. She's drenched in sweat, she's hungry, and she's already dreading tomorrow's session. This has been Stephanie's life for almost four months. Her goal?

to drop 40 pounds from her 180 pound frame as per her doctor's orders. But despite her best effort, scale hasn't budged. She feels totally stuck. She's frustrated, defeated. And when Stephanie came to me, she was desperate for a different approach. The best news I could give her was this. Stephanie, the treadmill isn't the main road to your weight loss. The sigh of her relief, I could still hear it right now. It was unforgettable.

I'll tell you a little bit more about Stephanie in a bit, but right now we're going to dig into why cardio isn't the magic potion for fat loss and what actually works instead.

But right now let's dig into why cardio isn't the magic potion for fat loss and what actually works instead. My name is Aaron Shaw. I'm from HealthSpan Physio Coaching. HealthSpan, I talk about the five pillars of HealthSpan. These are exercise, nutrition, sleep, emotional wellbeing, and preventative care. In my nearly 30 year career in the health and fitness industries and rehab industries, Stephanie is a very typical client of mine. In this episode, we're going to talk about why

this cardio myth, why it's not the weight loss solution that many people think it really is. We're going to cover this in five sections and I'm going leave you with one action that you can start today.

We're going to talk about the cardio myth, why it's not the weight loss solution that so many people think it really is.

We're going to talk about the cardio myth. Why is not this weight loss solution? We're going to talk about the cardio myth. Why is not this weight loss solution that so many people claim that it is? We're going to cover this in five sections plus one action item. One thing you can start today to address this. These sections are going to be why cardio alone isn't effective for fat loss. We're going to talk about the science of fat loss.

I'm really going to talk about like a better plan for Stephanie and this may apply to you as well. I want to go over Stephanie's results and we're going to finish up by busting a few myths about this whole cardio fat loss nonsense. But let's start off from the beginning here. Why cardio alone isn't effective for fat loss? Because the question is, well, doesn't cardio burn calories? Yes, of course. Cardio does burn calories while you're doing it. But this is a kind of a double edged sword.

the body's smart, it adapts and over time it becomes more efficient. So this is what we would call fitness, we call it gaining health. means when you go to the gym and after going to the gym for days and weeks and months, you can lift heavier weights and you can jog further or you can jog faster. Your body is adapting in a positive way and that is great. But what that also means is

that same treadmill workout, that same workout that Stephanie or you may have been doing three or four months ago is ultimately leaving you with fewer calories burned to accomplish the same thing. Your body's become more efficient, which is great. So Stephanie's data actually showed that she was burning almost 100 calories less in her treadmill session than when she first started. So she was

Bummed to hear that she was totally disappointed because she felt like she was, you know, putting in consistent work as she was per the clock, per the timer on the treadmill was showing her 45 minute workouts consistent by the clock. But her body was smart. Her body was adapting, becoming more efficient, becoming more fit. And in her mind, her goal was I want to burn as many calories as I can with a tiny, limited time that I have. But ultimately her body was adapting pretty well, really. was.

you know, deconditioned to start with, but she was adapting well enough that to accomplish that same 45 minute workout, it just took her less energy. She was fitter, which means she was burning fewer calories doing the same work. It was a total buzzkill to her. So we really had to think about, and just to kind of put this in perspective, the average 45 minute session, cardio session, say, you know, moderate intensity session burns around 300 calories.

calories, maybe 350 calories. Before you send me bunch of messages saying, mine's higher, mine's lower, whatnot, this is just broad stroke here. The average 45-minute cardio session, moderate intensity, will burn 300 to 350 calories, give or take. Basically, that's a latte and a granola bar, and it's erased. It is not

It is not that much, you know, 45 minute session, you're breaking a sweat, your legs maybe get sore, your heart rate is going to get up. It's effortful for sure, but it is not going to really move the needle in a major way. It's just not enough.

So why isn't Stephanie losing weight? Well, it's this compensation effect. there is a compensation effect in the reality of cardio is that it often leaves us feeling hungrier. You've burned calories, your heart's been elevated for a period of time. And I can speak firsthand because I'm a cardio kind of guy myself that when you are finished with a cardio session, you

may have this craving like I am ready to chow down on something. And it often leads us to overeating or, or should I say, and or craving high calorie foods. And I'll even add in as a mental part of it. And this is the part that's what I talk about in my coaching quite a bit is this mental part that after you do something that is healthy, that is goal oriented and say, you succeed in this workout, perhaps I deserve a treat.

I deserve something special. I just did this thing. I just did the workout, so I deserve this. that deserving is sometimes rewarded, and I'll air quote, rewarded with something that is ultimately just going to sabotage your efforts, sabotage that time invested in your health. And ultimately it's not sustainable. And it's a great way to just fail at meeting your health goal overall. So we need to be mindful that cardio

can lead to cravings of not only food, but sugar as well. So you're going to get this kind of like sweet cravings. ultimately Stephanie was focusing on the wrong metrics. She just really was chasing a calorie burn without addressing the bigger picture of her overall energy balance, her overall muscle mass, her overall food habits. And so the coaching approach had to look, you know, really widen the lens.

far beyond the treadmill in her garage, which I say she was very happy that we were taking a wider view and looking away from that treadmill. will note that Stephanie did ask a question, an interesting question that shows the perspective that many people have, and that is of runners or of competitive cyclists. So you think of these endurance sports, cardiovascular experts, if you will,

And what do they have in common, especially where the really most successful ones have in common? They're all lean. They don't have very much muscle or excuse me, very much fat on their body. And I can speak to this as I was, you know, a decade ago, I was a elite competitive cyclist and I was skinny, super skinny. And that's six feet tall. My race weight was really around 157, 158. So that is pretty skinny, pretty scrawny. Definitely.

I would be considered puny by today's standards. These days I lift weights and do other things, so my body has changed quite a bit. if you were to go to these bike racing events or really competitive elite level half marathons and marathons, the people who are the best are really, really lean. So it's logical to think, well, it's because they do so much cardiovascular exercise.

That's a piece, very, you know, it's a very important piece for performance, of course, but it's much more about their sport specific training. isn't about the weight loss, it's about performance. So the recreational cardio doesn't compare nearly to the volume or the intensity and really the nutritional precision of an elite athlete's programs. I can look back to when I was that scrawny, pretty successful elite cyclist.

I was also mindful of my calories and my nutrition all the time, hungry often, and had to make a whole bunch of sacrifices to be the skinny bike racer, just like the skinny runner. So don't look at people who happen to be good endurance athletes and say endurance, the cardio is the equation, it's a piece of the puzzle. Let's dig into the science of fat loss. The calorie deficit matters, but not

totally in the way you may think. A calorie deficit is essential for weight loss, but how you create it really matters. If you rely solely on cardio, it's just going to be inefficient and it's not going to be sustainable. So what really drives fat loss is a couple of things. One, I'll say diet is king. So weight loss is 80 % what you eat, meaning both the volume and the quality, but we have to think about

high protein, nutrient dense meals that will actually help control hunger and preserve muscle. Stephanie's sugar cravings and snacking, especially when she get to her office, she was ravenous at times after her treadmill workout in the morning. And as she's putting food in her mouth, she's basically sabotaging her efforts, even though she was burning some calories on the treadmill. It was the equation didn't work out in her favor.

So we have to think diet is king. 80 % of weight loss is what you eat. We'll dig into that a little bit more in a minute here. Second point to make with this is that strength training builds the engine. We need an engine. So resistance training builds lean muscle. Lean muscle increases metabolism and burns more calories at rest. This is the piece that's overlooked so often. when I see

people who are making some assumptions here. When I see people plugging away in a treadmill in the gym from the time I walk in and the time out and they're still walking their three and a half mile an hour walk burning calories, they are, yes, they're burning calories to do that, but they're missing the major, major win of building muscle because cardio will burn calories.

during the activity. when these people that I see that are on the treadmill for 45 minutes or an hour, they're burning calories during that chunk of time. But then when they're done with that activity, that there's really not a much of a benefit from a calorie burn that lasts much longer than that. Muscle on the other hand, lean muscle, your biceps, your quad, your glutes, your core, all the little muscles towards your body.

They require fuel 24 seven, 24 seven. So even when you are done resistance training, when you're done lifting weights or bands or whatever you're doing, those muscles that you've been stimulating are going to continue to consume calories. They need more and more calories. So strength training is the complete win. And I've done another episode that I dove into this even deeper, but

The win for losing weight is, here's the punchline, strength training. If you do nothing else, strength training. You have, if you're considering losing weight, if you're trying to lose weight or if you're like Stephanie and your physician says, for your health, you really need to lose a few pounds, then we need to think, how do I not just stop filling up my body with excess calories, but how do I utilize the calories that my body's storing on me right now?

Your those extra calories need a purpose. They need their extra fuel. what's going to burn off that fuel muscles. When you have muscles, the muscles are going to consume calories. The calories are fuel and it's a virtuous cycle. He will be building muscle. You'll be building strength. You'll be building functional capacity. You'll be building the strength and stamina to pick up heavy bags and put bags in the overhead compartment to play with your kids and grandkids.

It is muscle. that is the, that's the main punchline I can tell you that answers most of the questions when it comes to health, healthspan, longevity lifespan. But I digress. Let's talk about a better plan for Stephanie and what may be a better plan for you. So we had a shift from this, you know, this quote burning calories mindset to building health. With Stephanie, replaced her daily.

or dare I say dreaded treadmill sessions with three to four days a week of strength training. She did cardio. She did cardio a couple of days a week. Cardio is great for heart health, stress relief. is absolutely unequivocally major benefit to cardiovascular health. And a treadmill can certainly be part of that equation or riding a bike or hiking and sprinting and running. And there's all sorts of things that are great for cardiovascular health. So that is still

absolutely part of the healthspan equation. But for Stephanie, a week was plenty. And when we trim that down, it became a whole lot less dreadful. The idea of being stuck in the garage for ultimately several hours per week with nothing to show for it, that was a thing of the past. So we shift from burning calories to building health. Bigger picture.

and definitely leaning into strength training. Second thing we did is fixed up her nutrition. Stephanie's eating plan was revamped. really focused on balancing our meals with protein, fiber, healthy fats, and definitely contrary to fads and there is a popular belief, no restricted dieting. And absolutely this whole concept of intuitive eating is absolutely garbage. It's nonsense. There's

Our bodies are, what's the word I'm looking for? Our sensations, our drive to eat certain things cannot be trusted. It's not congruent with what is so readily available, calorie-wise and sugars and salts and chemically enhanced foods. What's available to us has far outpaced our biological adaptations to understand that we haven't

abundance of calories and bad calories, ultimately, available to us. So no intuitive eating, throw that out the window. But also with Stephanie, it wasn't really restrictive dieting either. It was being mindful and making sure that the quality of food that she was eating consistently, including snacks in the office, in her clinic, and all meals throughout the day had a really main focus on protein, fiber.

healthy fats. The tip that I gave her and I really give all of my clients who are considering improving their health generally, but definitely for those that are looking to lose a few pounds, two big points. One, eating slower, chewing whenever you think you're about to swallow whatever's in your mouth, pause, take 10 more chews. It'll slow the pace down a little bit. Second thing is to stop eating when you're 80 % full.

So this tip for her, those tips kind of work hand in hand, if you will.

She found quickly that stopping when she was 80 % satisfied, if you will, or 80 % full, when given another five minutes to pause, she suddenly felt 100 % satisfied. Because the nerve sensations that tell us, okay, enough is enough, I'm full, it's delayed. It takes a little bit time for your stomach to process that. And by the time your stomach says, okay, we're good, well, there's still more food coming down in, so it's a delay.

slowing things down, you'll be able to kind of get that message to your brain faster and say, I'm actually feel pretty satisfied right now. So the strategy was really to in a big picture to reduce her sugar cravings without cutting out treats completely. I'm also not a fan of hard stop, you know, no dessert, no ice cream, no, you know, nothing quote bad. No, I mean, definitely have some dessert, enjoy the sweets, enjoy the things from time to time, just being mindful of it.

The third thing we did is having her embrace rest and recovery. So no more guilt trips, self-inflicted guilt trips about skipping a workout. This is still, we're like a big picture view. Recovery, rest was part of the big plan. It helped her stay consistent. And really the results for Stephanie, so we're talking six, a little more than six months after working together, she lost just over 35 pounds without starving herself and

Probably one of her main complaints was, one was the weight, but the second was she wanted to put fire to the treadmill. was without spending hours and hours on a treadmill or doing any like epic cardio. She gained strength, gained confidence. Now she's actually approaching the point where she can almost squat and deadlift her own body weight, which is huge markers. And she really actually doesn't dread workouts. They don't need to be super long workouts.

And she's working on shifting her mindset to these, you know, the, the workout time, even the treadmill time is kind of quote me time. So she's focusing on the value of what she's doing. She's investing in her own health, just like she's invested in her career and invested in her family. And it is without this. Unfulfilling and really completely unsuccessful approach of more cardio equals fat loss. Didn't work. She's done.

does not feel surprised or deprived. me. But let's jump into this next section here and that is on busting the myths, busting the cardio myth for good. So here's some common misconceptions. I'll just name three of them. First myth, cardio is the best way to lose fat. I think we've covered this. It is a tool. It's a tool in the toolbox. Cardio is great. It's a good thing to do. It is not the path to lose fat, not the path to lose weight.

Strength training and diet are the foundation. Strength training and diet. is definitely put that in the foundation of your overall health. Myth number two, you need to do hours of cardio a week. No, and I love cardio. Once upon a time I was a road racing cyclist and now I'm dabble in mountain bike racing. I'm on a bike a couple of days a week all the time. I love cardio. But if your goal is to lose weight,

Rest assured, you do not, I'll say this in two ways. One is you don't need to do cardio for hours every week. And also, even if you love cardio and you wanna lose weight, recognize that that is not gonna be enough in and of itself. A few short cardio sessions combined with some resistance training, way more effective. Mix those up, get into some resistance training. The third myth, this is kind of a funny one, but,

I've heard people say, when you sweat, you're burning fat. So the more you sweat, the more fat you burn. Well, no. The more sweat is not a measure of fat loss. Calorie balance and body composition, those are measures. But just because you sweat does not have like a hard equal sign that says, I'm burning fat. That's not the way it works. Sweating, part of exercising, part of cardio, part of

Weightlifting, great, that's all well and good, but don't assume that just because you're sweating, you're burning fat. Not true. So the takeaway is this, if you're like Stephanie, stuck on a treadmill or on a stationary bike or doing things that you feel like there's a lack of progress in your pursuit of losing weight, know this, cardio alone is not the answer. Strength training and nutrition are really

Strength, training and nutrition are going to be the keys, the foundation that the hard base, solid strong base to help you have a sustainable weight loss and health plan. done other episodes on the benefit of strength, benefits of strength training. is exhaustive. There's a massive list of things that strength training, specifically strength training, specifically resistance training, not yoga, not cardio, but specifically resistance training.

The benefits are vast from everything from cardiovascular health to cognitive health to blood sugar regulation and on and on cancers. mean, there's a million things that is directly correlated to strength training. So focus on building a capable body rather than burning yourself out trying to chase and numbers. So the one thing you can do, I want to

Mentioned this in every single episode that I do with this podcast is breaking it down to one thing you can do today to extend your healthspan. So the healthspan is the length of time within our lifespan that we are healthy, active, and vibrant, and free from preventative conditions. And the one thing you can do related to this topic is start a resistance training program.

Or if you're on one and it's not working for you, that means that the program you're on needs to be revamped. the benefits for, you know, speaking to somebody who's looking to, or really wants to lose, you know, weight overall and specifically fat strength training is the way to go. Start a resistance training program.

So there's the hard stop. Of course, the smaller, the finer print is yes, look at your calorie intake. Do the two basic tips that I gave Stephanie, which would be eat slower and stop eating when you're 80 % full. Those are nice little bonus points to it. But I will come back and say the one thing to lose weight, to lose body fat, to gain lean muscle,

to extend your healthspan is to be on a resistance training program, which means three days a week, maybe four days a week. If you don't know where to start, you're not alone. That's why I created a free Kickstarter program, which I'll link on this episode. It doesn't cost anything and I want any money. Just it's a place for you to start, go do your own thing. If you are not keen on that, please find a coach, find a personal trainer, find somebody that's vetted and you can trust.

And give them your goals. And if your goal, if you say, Hey, I want to lose 20 pounds or 30 pounds. And they say, let me introduce you to the treadmill or the stationary bike. say, peace out. Nope. Not enough, not enough to do that. Even if you come in and say, I love cardio, I love walking on the treadmill. Great. Don't stop walking on the treadmill. If you love doing it, just adjust your expectations. Cause if you're walking on the treadmill or spinning on a bike and thinking that you're going to lose weight because of that.

from that, you're mistaken. Please share this episode with someone who you know may be struggling to get there to their ideal weight or struggling with an exercise program overalls or struggling with the image, a self-image of their person, of their body. And as always, I respond to anybody who emails me, which you can check out my website, which I'll connect here, as well as you can message me directly from

the podcast platforms. put this on YouTube if you're not watching already on YouTube. I answer any questions. So if you have any questions about weight loss, strength training, cardio, any of those five pillars of healthspan I mentioned earlier on, please reach out. I'll do an episode on anything that sounds interesting. Until next time, peace.