Why Cardio Isn’t Helping You Lose Weight

If you’ve been grinding away on the treadmill, sweating through group classes, and stacking up your Apple Watch rings like your life depends on it, yet the scale hasn’t moved in months, you’re not imagining it. Cardio feels hard. Cardio feels productive. Cardio feels like it should be working.

But for most women, especially women in their 30s, 40s and beyond, cardio is one of the least effective tools for fat loss.

This doesn’t mean cardio is bad. Cardio is great for your heart, your mood, your fitness and your longevity. It’s just not your main fat-loss driver.

Here’s why your current cardio-heavy routine is keeping you stuck and what actually works instead.

1. Cardio Burns Calories in the Moment, Not Long Term

The calorie burn you see on your watch is not the actual calorie burn. It’s an estimate and usually a generous one.

Cardio gives you a spike of calorie burn during the workout, but once you’re done, your body settles right back into baseline. Strength training, on the other hand, increases the amount of energy your body burns all day because it builds muscle.

Less muscle means lower daily energy burn.
More muscle means higher daily energy burn.

If you want to lose weight without feeling like you need to constantly “make up for it” with more exercise, you need muscle, not more minutes on the treadmill.

If you want a simple way to lift consistently without feeling intimidated, my High-Protein Dinners blog pairs perfectly with building a strength routine.

2. Cardio can make you Hungrier

Women in their 40s are especially sensitive to changes in appetite when they do a lot of cardio. You finish a workout feeling like you deserve something extra. Your body pushes you toward higher-energy foods. Your hunger signals ramp up.

Cardio does not create reliable calorie deficits because it leaves you hungrier.

Strength training does the opposite. It helps stabilise appetite instead of pushing it up.

This is why you can do a spin class, feel like a champion, and still overeat later without meaning to.

I explain this pattern in more detail in my article on how to set up a realistic calorie deficit for women over 40.

3. Cardio doesn’t change your Body Shape

If your goal is to look lean, strong, toned or athletic, cardio alone will not get you there.

Cardio improves fitness, but it does not build muscle.
No muscle equals no shape.
No shape equals “I lost weight but nothing looks different”.

Strength training is the thing that changes your body composition. It builds shape, firmness and the visual changes most women actually want.

This is why women who add strength training finally see their body change even if the scale barely moves.

4. Cardio Keeps you in the All-or-Nothing Loop

Cardio feels like a punishment.
Miss a day and it feels like you’ve fallen behind.
Have a bad weekend and you try to “burn it off”.
This cycle keeps you stuck.

Strength training is different.
It’s structured.
It builds week to week.
You can miss a day and still progress.
It rewards consistency, not perfection.

Women who shift from cardio-focused routines to strength-focused routines are the women who finally break the “restart every Monday” pattern.

If you struggle with that pattern, my lazy-girl meal prep method will help you stay consistent all week.

5. Cardio Adds Stress to a System Already Under Stress

This one is huge for women with busy jobs, families, and full mental loads.

Your nervous system is already running hot.
Adding more high-intensity cardio increases stress hormones.
More stress hormones mean worse sleep, worse recovery and worse appetite control.

You don’t need to “burn more calories”.
You need to bring your stress load down so your body can actually let go of fat.

Strength training, walking, structured food, and solid sleep reduce stress.
Chronic cardio ramps it up.

What to Do Instead

You don’t need to stop cardio. You just need to change its role in your routine.

The formula that works every time:

• Strength train 2 to 4 times per week

• Walk more (low stress, high impact)

• Keep cardio for fitness, not for weight loss

• Hit your protein

• Set a realistic calorie deficit

• Support your recovery

That is how you lose body fat, change your shape and keep the results.

If you want a plan that brings all of these pieces together for you, you can read about the Bodygoal Breakthrough Program here.

If you want personalised support, you can book a discovery call here.