How does weight loss work?

Weight loss works based on “calories in, calories out”, i.e., you need to be burning more calories than you take in through your daily food intake. The key to managing your weight successfully is in ensuring that the calories that you consume do not exceed the calories that you use. There are also other factors to consider such as your age, body type and metabolism, on top of lifestyle factors such as your daily habits that all come into play into weight gain or loss.

What is the best weight loss treatment?

There are plenty of weight loss treatments available, but TCM slimming is one of the safest and best ways to lose weight. Our Divine Slim TM weight loss program encourages steady weight loss for effective and sustainable weight management. As compared to fad diets (diets that eliminate 1 or more food groups) that leave you feeling hungry and lethargic, or having to rely on machines to see results, our methods are backed by sound TCM principles that focus on facilitating your weight loss goals as well as cater to your overall health needs.

How does TCM help me lose weight?

Following the perspective that excessive weight gain is a symptom of a greater underlying health problem that needs to be addressed, TCM believes that excessive weight gain is due to a Qi deficiency in the spleen, resulting in a slow metabolism, water retention and weight gain. Using Guasha, a form of treatment used in the practice of TCM, special apparatus is used to attain preventive or therapeutic slimming effects. Not only does the treatment regulate blood circulation and detoxify the body, but it also improves your metabolism and digestion for slimming effects. No need for painful surgery, unnecessary machines or intensive diets!

Why should I choose TCM slimming over other weight loss methods?

TCM slimming focuses on returning your body to a balanced, healthy state – so, you can look forward to not only looking good but also feeling good about yourself! Although our weight loss program will help you achieve results, it is important to stay committed to investing in your overall health by paying close attention to your diet and exercise, both during the treatment and post-treatment. Our weight loss treatments are conducted by trained staff that does most of the work for you, so you can look forward to a relaxing treatment.

Who can benefit from TCM slimming treatment?

Both men and women are suitable for our signature Divine Slim TM program.

Cardio vs. Weight Lifting: Which Is Better For Slimming?

March 11, 2025

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If you are a frequent gym-goer or a simple fitness enthusiast, then you have probably already heard the terms “cardio” and “weight lifting.” Everyone who is into fitness knows that cardiovascular exercise and lifting weights represent two distinct approaches to weight loss. Cardiovascular exercises, such as running, cycling, and swimming, primarily focus on increasing heart rate and burning calories, making them effective for fat loss. On the other hand, lifting weights, or resistance training, aims to build muscle mass, which in turn boosts metabolism and aids in long-term weight management.

Both of these weight loss methods offer unique benefits. To better understand how these methods differ from and complement each other, read on as this article discusses the distinction between cardiovascular exercise (or simply cardio) and weight lifting and determines whether one approach is better than the other.

What is Cardiovascular Exercise?

Cardiovascular exercise refers to any activity that relies on aerobic metabolism, which means that oxygen plays a crucial role in the cellular reactions that generate the energy needed to sustain the activity. During such exercise, your heart rate increases, and you breathe more deeply to maximise the oxygen in your blood, thereby helping you use oxygen more efficiently. As a result, you feel more energised and less prone to fatigue. As its name implies, cardiovascular exercise involves vigorous activities that elevate heart rate and respiration, boosting oxygen and blood flow throughout the body by engaging large muscle groups repetitively and rhythmically.

This type of exercise challenges vital internal organs and enhances the function and performance of the lungs, heart, and circulatory system. Cardio benefits various aspects of health, including heart health, mood, sleep, mental health, weight regulation, and metabolism. However, for an activity to qualify as cardio, it must raise your heart and breathing rates to a moderate to vigorous intensity level (at least 50% of the normal rate) for a minimum of 10 minutes. As such, strength-focused exercises like resistance training, core workouts, and weightlifting are not considered cardio, as they do not maintain an elevated heart rate throughout the exercise period.

Here are some of the most common cardio exercises:

Jogging
Running
Brisk Walking
Swimming
Water Aerobics
Cycling
Dancing
Burpees
Bear Crawls
Rowing
Kayaking
Jumping Rope
Hiking
Martial Arts
Kickboxing
Squat Jumps, Jumping Jacks, or Split Jumps
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

What is Weight Lifting?

Weight lifting, also called strength or resistance training, is a kind of exercise that involves moving certain parts of your body against resistance, such as resistance bands, weights, weight machines, or even your body weight. It is ideal for increasing muscle strength and building muscle mass. By engaging in strength training, you can lose weight and maintain it by building muscle tissue. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolic rate will be. In addition, having more muscle helps your body burn more fat, which is crucial for weight loss and maintaining strength. Building muscle can basically hasten your metabolism and allow you to burn more fat during workout. The faster calories are burned by your body, the more calories you will burn each day.

To maximise the benefits of weight lifting, aim to engage in strength training exercises for at least an hour, about three to five times weekly. Unlike cardio, you should not do weight lifting every day. It is important to take a rest at least a day between every two days of training. For example, if you lift weights on Saturday and Sunday, take Monday off before returning to the gym for more weight training on Tuesday and Wednesday. This schedule allows your muscles to recover and grow, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of your workouts.

Which is Better for Weight Loss?

Now that you have already understood the difference between cardio and weight lifting, the next question to ask is: “Is one exercise better than the other when it comes to losing weight?” The short answer to this question is no. This is because – like other effective methods for weight loss, such as TCM slimming and intermittent fasting – both cardio exercises and strength training have their respective benefits. Cardio basically burns more calories each session. Research shows that calorie burn varies with different activities and body weight. Generally, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn.

For instance, if you weight 73 kilograms or 160 pounds, you burn around 250 calories by jogging moderately for half an hour. On the other hand, if you run at six miles per hour for the same duration, you can burn approximately 365 calories. In contract, half an hour of weight lifting burns about 130 to 220 calories only. Hence, overall, cardio exercises tend to burn more calories per session compared to weight training, given the same effort.

Nonetheless, while weight lifting does not usually burn as much calories as cardio, it has other essential benefits. Weight lifting is basically more effective than cardio for building muscle, and muscle tissue burns more calories at rest compared to fat. This is why building muscle is often considered crucial for increasing your resting metabolism, which is the number of calories you burn while at rest.

A study specifically found that after 24 weeks of weight lifting, men experienced a 9% increase in resting metabolism, while women saw an increase of nearly 4%. Although these percentages may seem promising, they translate to about 140 extra calories burned per day for men and around 50 for women. Therefore, while weight training can boost your metabolism, the increase is relatively moderate.

That said, weight lifting also offers additional calorie-burning benefits. In particular, research indicates that you burn more calories in the hours following a weight lifting session compared to a cardio exercise. Some studies report that resting metabolism can remain elevated for up to 38 hours after weight lifting, a phenomenon not observed with cardio. This means that the calorie-burning effects of weight lifting extend beyond the exercise period itself, potentially lasting for hours or even days. Overall, both cardio and strength training have their respective slimming benefits. Hence, both of them should be part of your ultimate exercise plan for weight loss.

Conclusion

Overall, cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting serve different purposes in a fitness regimen, yet both are essential for achieving a well-balanced approach to health. Cardiovascular exercises are basically effective for fat loss, while weight lifting increases metabolism and supports long-term weight management. By integrating both cardio and strength training, you can enjoy the benefits of improved cardiovascular endurance and increased muscle strength. This combination not only aids in your weight loss but also promotes overall physical fitness, thereby ensuring that you have a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to health and well-being.

If you want to engage in other weight loss methods to combine with your current exercise routine, why not try Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with the help of Slim Couture? Slim Couture is an established weight loss expert that offers safe and effective TCM weight loss programmes designed to help you attain all your fitness objectives in the safest and most natural ways. To find out how exactly our weight loss programme can help you achieve your ideal weight naturally and sustainably, feel free to reach out to us anytime.