I'm not naysaying weight lifting either, I think both are important.
But gotta love how he compared "weights + calorie counting" with "cardio".

How about cardio + calorie counting

or GASP

cardio + weights + calories.

There are so many diet and exercise plans out there that I've come to realize there is not one "best" way -- any way works so long as you are not hurting yourself (whether it be by too much exercise or an unhealthy diet).

With that said, I'm still trying to find my best plan, but I love cardio! I'll never give up running because it has transformed my lower body in the last nine weeks!

I have lost weight many times before. However my body didn't start really changing shape until I started running (what little of it I can do at a time). My husband tells me almost every day how much smaller I am in my lower back / upper butt area. Even I can see a change!

Plus I feel better when I do cardio. I am not out of breath as much and can do more things with my family. It's all because of cardio.

So I don't believe that it's all for nothing. I'm getting many benefits out of it. Now I just need to start getting into a strength training routine to go with it.

I currently detest cardio. If I could maintain (maintain...forget about losing!) either my weight or my health without it, I'd gladly lift 5 days a week, and I lift heavy and hard. I do cardio because I have to.

I do know a few people who lost using Dr. Scott Connelly's BodyRx program, but most of them were men. The only women I know who lost using it with no cardio either started at such a high weight that any nutritional changes and exercise would produce weightloss or they were what I refer to as "temporarily fat people"...the ones who put on a few pounds over the years and were never more than 15 pounds from their goal weight to start.

Using cardio only as a method of weight control makes little sense to me, tho. You just plain can't burn up as many calories doing cardio as you can by increasing your muscle mass, doing some cardio, and eating a clean, balanced, calorie restricted diet.


Mel

I would agree with all of you. I've been feeling really good since I got my elliptical and really cranked up the cardio. You just feel so invigorated afterwards once you get more cardio fit and can go longer. The silly things some of these "authors" come out with! It seems that a number of different methods work for weight loss, and combining all of them is probably the best. Let's hope his book doesn't wind up on some bestseller list!

It sort of makes sense, but I still wouldn't give up my cardio, if only for the benefit of feeling great afterward (ah, the joy of running in a sunny park, early on a Sunday morning! ). Anyway, I think the three elements (calories + weights + cardio) are necessary, rather than cutting one out of them.

People want an easy answer.

I'm going to bet that most folks who jump on the "wow, I can lose weight without doing cardio and working hard and getting sweaty" haven't been lifting, either, and are just assuming that weights are easier and lower-effort than cardio. Also it's going to be an excuse for inaction. If you believe that cardio is an important weight loss tool, you can tie up your sneakers and go walk around the block or the mall. But if all you need to do is lift, when you're sitting on your flabby *** in front of the tv you're doing everything you should be until you get around to joining a gym--because you don't have weights at home, you're excused from the need for activity.

I don't know. I do a lot of cardio. One hour at about a 7 on the perceived extertion scale (I can still talk, but barely and I'm sweating like a pig) one to two days week. I also run one hour one day a week at a 6 mile an hour pace (actually, I 57 min and 35 sec pace this week). And sometimes I swim for an hour one day a week as well.

Then I work out with a trainer three days a week: that workout is a combination of cardio (mostly jumping) and weights. And I do a group session on the weekends that also includes both weights and cardio (sprinting and jumping).

And I have to say that I am hungry ALL THE TIME. I've upped my calories to 1500 per day and I'm still hungry all the time. I cannot get enough to eat. And not only am I hungry, the diet/exercise isn't working. For the past two weeks, I've been mostly on plan, maybe 1600 calories on a couple of days (did I mention that I'm fricking hungry all the time--it's really hard to stay on plan when you're hungry), and I've been gaining weight, not losing. I was within a few pounds of my goal weight; I'm now close to ten pounds over it.

So I'm thinking that maybe this guy has a point. I wouldn't eliminate cardio altogether because I do like the other health benefits (I come from a long line of heart attack victims and my Dad has already had a 5-way--5-ways, who even knew they could that--bypass). But maybe I should cut back on it a little and eat less.

Barbara- About 4 years ago I trained for and ran a marathon. I GAINED weight and body fat during the time I was training. My boss at the time, a bodybuilder, kept warning me that this would happen and I told him he was crazy How could I possibly gain weight running an average of 40-50 miles per week in addition to doing my regularly scheduled lifting? But that's what happened. He was very smug when he calipered me.

I would never advocate NO CARDIO for most people. But too much seems to be detrimental for weightloss and muscle retention for some people.

Mel