Cardiovascular exercises just like running are “1970s solutions for a 21st century problem,” says Jim Karas, the author of the best-seller book, “The Cardio-Free Diet.”
Are you challenged and intrigued? Well, that is expected because all these years we’ve been taught about the benefits of running on the treadmill, getting involved in aerobics and other cardiovascular exercises. Then, suddenly here comes Karas telling us that we are heading the wrong direction in our weight loss journey. He was even quoted saying, “Cardio kills,” in his book, “The Cardio-Free Diet.” So you are not alone in feeling bad and being skeptical about this new approach in losing weight. However, to appease our curiosities and give him the benefit of a doubt, let us examine his diet plan and see if there is indeed a silver lining in it.
Let us start again by learning a little more about what Karas, an ABC News correspondent, celebrity trainer and fitness expert has to say about cardiovascular exercises that he just seem to loathe. According to him, and we quote, “Cardiovascular exercise kills a weight-loss plan, your internal organs, your immune system, your time and your motivation. If your true goal is to lose weight, interval strength training is the only way to go.”
So there you have it, he is an advocate of interval training for weight loss. His words are somewhat more focused on his personal experiences. When he was 21 year old, he tried to lose weight by doing running several miles only to be ravenous thereafter. Hence, he didn’t really lose weight, though his cardiovascular health improved.
Out of disappointment, Karas begun to focus more of his attention to strength training and started to do some weight lifting routines. Within a short period of time, he was surprised to find out significant changes in his body. Of course he became more interested with what he had started, so he continued with it and even pushed himself to do more strength exercises and less cardio. Expectedly, his weight dropped dramatically.

How to do the Cardio-Free Diet

You need to devote 60 minutes of resistance training. It might sound too much, but it doesn’t stop there. The required 60 minutes isn’t for a day, but for a week. In other words, the action plan of the Cardio-Free Diet is to have 60 minutes of strength and resistance training each week. The goal is to allot 20 minutes for exercise three times a week, while following a calorie-controlled diet. In addition, though Karas has a stand on having “no-cardio,” he says that walking and light biking are acceptable. Walking on a treadmill is also good, as long as you take some time on reading for product reviews since there are treadmills out there that are better for walking than the rest.

Foods to Eat

You don’t need to worry about what to eat because the Cardio-Free Diet also offers advice for planning meals. Karas encourages dieters to eat dairy products and take calcium supplements daily because calcium is crucial to weight loss. Below are other food choices that are included in his book:

• High fiber carbohydrates to prevent cravings and to control blood sugar
• A glass of wine daily is allowed
• Dijon turkey
• Feta vegetable omelettes
• Apple balsamic chicken
• Grilled tomato tuna

Foods to Avoid

According to Jim Karas, though you can really eat anything in his program, he encourages that you reduce if not totally eliminate the following in your daily menu:

• Refined carbohydrates such as table sugar and syrup, canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, white rice and pasta made of white flour, etc.
• Sodas
• Sweet tea
• Juices
• Salad dressings

During the initial stages, dieters are recommended to have 1200 calories a day for women and 1500 calories a day for men. Once dieters already achieved their desired weight, they can already increase their daily caloric intake to 1500 calories for women and 1800 calories for men.
Karas also recommends dieters to eat a 100-calorie snack before and after work-out, not to skip meals, and eat six small meals a day. With his diet plan and recommended exercise program, Karas promises that a dieter can see results after 2 weeks.

Pros

• Try to ask those individuals who have been doing cardio exercises for a long time, but still not seeing fruitful result.
• Weight training is crucial in building lean muscles that are helpful in boosting metabolism and in losing weight faster.

Cons

• Like other diet programs, his diet also requires strict portion control and calorie counting.
• The recommended daily caloric intake is way too low and it is also hard to meet the nutritional needs with his diet plan.
• Contradicts with a lot of researches that support the health benefits of having cardiovascular exercises.
• Spending only 60 minutes of exercise every week is unlikely to produce good results.

Although the plan in the Cardio-Free Diet is really appealing given that it has a different approach in weight loss, we still cannot deny the numerous proven health benefits of cardiovascular exercises. It may benefit some dieters who spend most of the time on the treadmill, but eliminating all cardiovascular exercisers is a different story. We cannot sacrifice the health benefits of these forms of exercises just so we can say that this weight loss program really works. It is still possible to hit two birds with one stone – losing weight and having a good heart – but, we doubt if it could happen with this program.

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