The Facts About Burning Fat
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Turn your body into a fat burning machine I once had a client who asked, "When I eat too many calories, how do they know to go straight to my thighs? Do they have some kind of homing device or what?" I suppose that's one way to look at it since our genes usually determine where we store excess fat. But, a more important point is that, if we didn't eat too many calories, we wouldn't have any extra calories to store. We have no problem eating those calories, but getting rid of them is a whole other problem. We all have areas where fat cells seem to congregate and, sadly, thrive. The real challenge is burning that fat and keeping it off. We hear a lot about fat burning, from working out in the 'fat burning zone' to eating foods or taking supplements that supposedly burn more fat. But, gimmicks aside, what we all want to know is: What's the best way to burn fat? Knowing a little more about how your body works can help you become a better fat burning machine. The Basics of Burning Fat If you're trying to lose weight, knowing how your body uses calories for fuel can make a difference in how you approach your weight loss program. We get our energy from fat, carbs and protein but. Which one our bodies draw from, however, depends on the kind of activity we're doing. Now, most people want to use fat for energy, which makes sense. We figure, the more fat we can use as fuel, the less fat we'll have in our bodies. But, using more fat doesn't automatically lead to losing more fat. Understanding the best way to burn fat starts with some basic facts about how your body gets its energy: This is a very simplified look at energy with a solid take-home message. When it comes to weight loss, what matters is burning more calories, not necessarily using more fat for energy. And, the harder you work, the more calories you'll burn overall. Think about it this way: When you sit or sleep, you're in your prime fat-burning mode. But, you've probably never contemplated the idea of sleeping more to lose weight, as lovely as that thought is. The bottom line? Just because you're using more fat as energy doesn't mean you're burning more calories. The Myth of the Fat Burning Zone One thing we know is that exercising at lower intensities will use more fat for energy. This basic premise is what started the theory of the 'fat burning zone,' or the idea that working in a certain heart rate zone (around 55 to 65 of your maximum heart rate) will allow your body to burn more fat. Over the years, this theory has become so ingrained in our exercise experience that we see it touted in books, charts, websites, magazines and even on cardio machines at the gym. The trouble is that it's misleading. Working at lower intensities isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it won't burn more fat off your body unless you're burning more calories than you're eating. One way to increase your calorie burn is to exercise at higher intensities. Does this mean that, if you want to burn more fat, you should avoid low intensity exercise? Not necessarily. There are some specific things you can do to burn more fat and it all starts with how and how much you exercise. Burn more fat with cardio exercise Fat Burning Tip #1: Incorporate a Mix of Low, Medium and High Intensity Cardio Exercise You may be confused about exactly how hard to work during cardio. You may even think that high intensity exercise is the only way to go. After all, you can burn more calories and, even better, you don't have to spend as much time doing it. But having some variety can help you stimulate all of your different energy systems, protect you from overuse injuries, and help you enjoy your workouts more. High Intensity Cardio For our purposes here, high intensity cardio falls between about 75% to 85% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) or, if you're not using heart rate zones, about a 6 to 8 on this perceived exertion scale. What this translates to is exercise at a level that feels challenging and leaves you too breathless to talk much. You're not going all out, as in sprinting as fast as you can. There's no doubt that some high intensity training work can be helpful for weight loss as well as improving endurance and aerobic capacity. For example, a 150-lb. person would burn about 225 calories after running at 6 mph for 30 minutes. If this person walked at 3.5 mph for that same length of time, he would burn 85 to 90 calories. But, the number of calories you can burn isn't the whole story. If you do too many high intensity workouts every week, you risk: Not only that but, if you don't have much experience with exercise, you may not have the conditioning or the desire for breathless and challenging workouts. And if you have some kind of medical condition or injury, forget about doing high intensity training (or any kind of training) without checking with your doctor first. If you're doing several days of cardio each week, which is what is recommended for weight loss, you would probably want just 1 or 2 workouts to fall into the high intensity range. You can use other workouts to target different areas of fitness (like endurance) and allow your body to recover. Some examples of high intensity workouts: You can use any activity or machine, but the idea is to stay in the high intensity work zone throughout the workout. You'll find that 20 minutes is usually the recommended length for this kind of workout and most people wouldn't want to go much longer than that. A great way to incorporate high intensity training without doing it continuously is by doing intervals. Alternate a hard segment (e.g., running at a fast pace for 30 to 60 seconds) with a recovery segment (e.g., walking for 1 to 2 minutes). Repeat this series for the length of the workout, usually around 20 to 30 minutes. There are a variety of definitions of what moderate intensity exercise is, but it typically falls between about 60 to 70 of your MHR (a level 4 to 6 on this perceived exertion scale). The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) often recommends this level of intensity in its exercise guidelines. The lower end of this range usually incorporates the 'fat burning zone.' That means can carry on a conversation without much difficulty and you feel pretty comfortable with what you're doing. Moderate intensity workouts have some great benefits such as: For weight loss purposes, you would likely want the majority of your cardio workouts to fall into this range. Some examples: Low intensity exercise is considered to be below about 50 to 55 of your MHR, or about a level 3 to 5 on this perceived exertion scale. This level of intensity is no doubt one of the more comfortable areas of exercise, keeping you at a pace that isn't too taxing and doesn't pose much of a challenge. This, along with the idea that it burns more fat, makes this a popular place to stay. But, as we've learned, you can burn more calories if you work harder, and that's what you want for weight loss. That doesn't mean that low intensity exercise has no purpose. It involves the kind of long, slow activities you feel like you could do all day and, even better, activities you usually enjoy such as: This doesn't have to be a structured, scheduled workout, but something you do all day long by walking more, taking the stairs, doing more physical chores around the house, etc. For help in setting up a cardio program that includes a variety of different workouts. Fat Burning Tip #2: Exercise Consistently It may seem like a no-brainer that regular exercise can help you burn fat and lose weight. But, it's not just about the calories you're burning. It's also about the adaptations your body makes when you exercise on a regular basis. Many of those adaptations lead directly to your ability to burn more fat without even trying. When you exercise regularly, your body: Increases the number and size of mitochondria, also known as cellular power plants that provide energy for the body. And, don't forget, regular exercise will also help you manage your weight. The more activity you engage in, the more calories you'll burn, and the easier it is to create the calorie deficit needed to lose weight. Tips for Consistent Exercise Fat Burning Tip #3: Lift Weights Adding more muscle by lifting weights can also help with burning fat, especially if you're also dieting. Lifting weights: There is no way around the fact that, when it comes to burning more fat, we have to work at it. There is no magic exercise, workout, or pill that will do the job for us. However, the good news is that it doesn't take much activity to push the body into that fat burning mode. Try incorporating some type of activity every day, even if it's just a quick walk, and build on that over time as it becomes more of a routine. Do that and you're on the way to burning more fat. |
