I’m training for my first marathon and have been reading a great book, The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer by David A. Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener, and Tanjala Mabon Kole. In it they state that, “… running a marathon requires less than 1 pound of fat energy…”. I find this amazing! Less than 1 pound of fat burning for 26.2 miles of running?!

To me, this emphasizes that fat-burning and, consequently, weight loss is about striking a balance between the triad of  resistance training, cardio, and calorie consumption. Just doing a lot of cardio won’t cut it. Nor will exclusively focusing on resistance training or calorie management. Our bodies are designed to be healthy, and eliminating any one of these disciplines would not meet the criteria of a balanced training regimen.

We’ve all known people, however, who have a tendency to bulk up even with a little weight training. Conversely we’ve also met people who couldn’t bulk up without extreme changes to their diet and exercise program.  Of course, genetics plays a large role, but this emphasizes even more the importance of  balancing the three prongs of the fat-burning triad.

Some people will need to focus more on cardio and less on resistance training or visa versa. Others will need to focus more on caloric intake or perhaps further breaking this down to the sources of those calories. But to exclude one of these processes altogether would be a detriment to weight-loss goals.