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One of the most common mistakes I see as a health coach is the path that many folks use to achieve weight loss. If I want to lose weight I need to get on the treadmill every day, run three times a week or take a lot of cardio classes, right? In most cases that is going to be a hard, “no”. That’s not to say that those things aren’t great for you or that they won’t help you to get healthier. You may even lose a few pounds, but that isn’t the most efficient way to achieve weight loss – and to keep it off.

I see a lot of well-meaning folks sign up for a gym membership and use it only to walk on the treadmill or use the other cardio machines. Usually there are one of two reasons for that – they either are not knowledgeable about weightlifting and therefore avoid it because they simply don’t know how. But they can easily press the start button on a cardio machine. The second reason is the misconception that cardio is the best way to lose weight.

This is by far the most common misconception I face in the gym daily. It amazes and confuses many people, but I’m going to break down the reasons why! In a nutshell, when you do cardio you tend to lose both fat AND muscle. Muscle burns a lot more calories than fat, so anytime you lose muscle, you lower your metabolism. When you lower your metabolism, you need to cut back on the number of calories you consume in order to maintain your weight.

So let’s look at it this way. Let’s say you run three miles three times a week and lose 5 pounds. That weight will be primarily muscle so you will need to consume fewer calories to maintain that weight loss. And the more weight you lose, the more you will have to cut back on your food in order to maintain your weight. And when you consider that all that running can increase your appetite – you can see you are facing an uphill battle.

All that running seems like a lot of work to create a body that burns fewer calories. But don’t hear what I am not saying. Running is great exercise and I love to run – but in the battle of the bulge it comes in second place.

Now let’s look at what happens to your body when you weight train. When you weight train, you GAIN muscle and lose fat. And that right there is not only the key to losing weight, but the key to keeping it off. You may not burn as many calories from a weight training workout as you would from a cardio workout, but having more muscle means your metabolism is increased and you will burn more calories the other 23 hours of the day – even while you are sleeping!

So let’s say you begin a weight training routine and lose 5 pounds. Since you have gained muscle, you have raised your metabolism so you can probably eat the same amount of food, or possibly even more, and still continue to lose weight. As someone who loves to eat, I’s say that’s a big win.

Laura Campbell is a certified personal trainer and health coach in Easley. Please submit your health questions to laura.campbell@simplyfitandfab.com or visit her on Facebook at Diabetic Health and Wellness.