Q: why are you so against cardio? every doctor i've ever consulted emphasizes cardio, not weight training for losing fat. some of us just want to lose fat, not gain muscles or become bulky. a lot of the advice you give is biased and/or wrong.

A: I am NOT against cardio. I have said it numerous times that cardio is great for you healthwise and is certainly far far better than sitting on your sofa all day. Having said that, relying just on cardio is not the most optimal to lose fat (there can be a very big difference between losing FAT and losing WEIGHT). My reasons for giving this advice are all over this site, but check out http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/difference-between-burning-calories-... and http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/burning-calories-muscle-cardio specifically.

Nobody ever has become overly muscular while weight training and losing weight. It is possible to gain a little bit of muscle during this time (as many male beginners do), but you will certainly not get bulky from that. Women should worry about that even less -- they will NOT become muscular from weight training as long as they're losing weight. Becoming muscular bulky takes years of dedicated diet, gaining weight, and heavy workouts. It certainly doesn't happen while losing weight.

Finally, a note about doctors recommending how to lose weight... I have the utmost respect for the medical profession but that's kinda like asking a personal trainer to perform appendectomy. Going to a doctor may make sense for an overly obese person, but for an average man or woman looking to lose some weight a personal trainer would be a lot more appropriate and the trainer's advice will more than likely to give better results. You should go to a doctor to get checked up and cleared to start an exercise regimen and let your personal trainer take over from there. As far as the whole universe of personal trainers goes, I probably do recommend less cardio than average but that's because I've seen this work so many times. If you want to, do more cardio. Just don't ignore weight training if you want to lose the most FAT (not just weight) in the shortest time AND keep it off afterwards.