Hi, my name is Desiree Winkel, owner and founder of Fitness Coaching. Fitness Coaching is a studio/gym where you can work out with professional trainers. Among the workout programs we offer are boot camps, cardio boxing, weight loss training, group training and personal training.
The year started quietly – I can’t believe that 2019 is here already. Well, I can say I am ready for a new year with lots of adventures. When one year comes to an end and a new one begins, it’s funny how the majority of people are talking about food, weight-loss and being healthy. One of the biggest mistakes people make concerning weight-loss is when they say: “I lose or want to lose calories” – thinking that it is the same as losing fat. Unfortunately, this is not the case. I always try to explain what the difference is and why.
To lose weight and get in shape, you must have a good diet and exercise regularly to burn fat. The first thing you must understand about exercise is that just because you are burning calories does not mean you are burning fat. Your main focus when you exercise should be losing body fat, and you can’t lose body fat just from burning calories.
When we exercise, our bodies will start burning calories, but the calories that are burned are the calories from carbohydrates in our system. In order to burn calories from your stored fat, your body requires the presence of oxygen. There is a certain amount of oxygen that your body needs in order to start burning fat, and the only way for you to measure the amount needed for your own body is to keep up with your target heart rate during exercise.
If you continue to only burn calories from carbohydrates, you will lose mostly “water weight” which leads to a decrease in your metabolism. Also, think of the calories that are burned from carbohydrates as your energy calories. If you burn too many carbohydrates, then your muscles will not receive enough energy to increase your metabolism, which indirectly burns fat. Therefore, you must increase your calorie intake when you are on an exercise program to replace your burned energy calories.
Burning fat calories during exercise
During aerobic exercise, your body goes through several stages before it reaches the point where you are burning fat. You will hear people say that you are only burning sugar (carbohydrates) not fat during the first 10 minutes of exercise. This is true to a certain extent. I say this because you will continue to burn sugar past the 10-minute mark if you are not working out hard enough for your body to want more oxygen; or you are working out too hard and you can’t supply your body with enough oxygen for fat burning.
When you exercise, you must move at a steady pace (not too fast, not too slow) so your body will utilize your stored fat (not carbohydrates or sugar) as its energy source. Also remember that just because you reached the fat burning stage does not mean you will stay there. Staying at the fat burning stage once again depends on if you are moving at a pace that is right for your body. Make sure you are within your target heart rate range.
Most people believe the harder they work out, the more fat they burn. Most people are wrong. The truth is that fat-burning occurs at a much lower intensity than many of us realize, which means that even though you’re sweating it out in the gym, you might actually be missing an opportunity to lose fat. Luckily, it’s fairly easy to find the sweet spot where your body begins to burn fat during your workout instead of the snack you just had!
Here’s how:
Step 1: Find your fat-burning zone.
There is a perfect heart rate zone tailored to each individual that burns the most fat-calories. Stay below this zone and you aren’t maximizing the fat burn. Go above this zone and you’re only burning the food in your stomach, not getting rid of the body fat. And you might be surprised to learn the intensity level is fairly low, and you should aim to work out slightly longer at that lower intensity.
Here are three easy ways to calculate your fat-burning zone:
Figure out your max heart rate (Max Heart Rate = 220 – your age). And then determine your fat-burning range, which is 60-70% of your max heart rate.
Step 2: Burn fat, not just calories.
You may have noticed that when you work out harder, the number of calories you expend creeps up, making it easy to assume the higher the intensity the more weight they can lose. But, sadly, not all calories are equal, especially when it comes to fat loss! Getting your heart rate closer to your max heart rate might show more calories being burned, but you’re not necessarily burning fat.
In fact, when you hit a higher level of intensity, your body is most likely burning off the short-term stores of sugar and carbohydrates you took in during your last meal. (This explains why you’re so hungry after an intense workout!) To really target the long-term savings bank where your body stores fat, you need to opt for lower intensity activities that keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone for longer.
Step 3: Choose the right workout.
Choosing a workout and intensity level to reach your fat burning zone will depend on your fitness level. If you are an avid runner, for example, you’ll need to run faster to reach your fat burning zone than someone just getting into running.
Here are a few ideas for every fitness level.
Weight training is the key to burning fat at rest. Weight training is an anaerobic activity that will cause you to burn more calories than aerobic exercise. The calories that you are burning during weight training exercises are mostly calories from carbohydrates (meaning you must eat even more calories per day for energy); but the calories you burn at rest are mostly calories from fat. The reason you are burning fat at rest is because weight training increases your metabolism which uses your stored fat as energy. If you can boost your metabolism at rest, which is very tricky, you will burn fat calories.
Like Fitness Coaching on Facebook or Instagram. We have a lot of knowledge on how to lose weight or get toned or get even bigger. If you do what we say, you will have the results. If you have questions or need more information about Fitness Training, call 524-7700. We are located on Welfare Road, next to North Eastern Insurance, on the first level of the building.
