Fat Burning Zone myth!!

[SHOT]

Why the "Fat Burning Zone" Is a Myth
by Jonny Bowden, M.A., C.N.S.

I want you to do me a favor. I know you're gonna hate it, but please do it anyway. I promise you it'll make life so much simpler, make things so much clearer, and save us so much time in the coming months.

I want you to go back to school with me for a minute, and review some math.

Now, when I teach this stuff to trainers, as soon as they hear "math" their eyes glaze over and they look like a collective herd of deer caught in the headlights of a Mack truck. But, honestly, how are you going to talk sensibly about calories, diets like "40/30/30," percentages of calories from protein, decoding a food label, or anything else along those lines without unfuzzy-ing up some of the basics in the math department?

Which brings me to the area of "fat burning" zones.

See, one of the biggest misunderstandings and "myth-conceptions" in the field of exercise and weight loss has been around the field of fat burning. Aerobic teachers are constantly admonishing their students to work at a slower rate so they can "burn more fat." Almost all cardio equipment in the gym has a "fat burning" program, and we fitness professionals are constantly bombarded with questions from clients about how to get their heart rate in the target "fat burning zone."

The misconceptions come from a basic confusion between percentages and absolute amounts. See, at rest, the body is always burning a mix of fuels. All other things being equal, it doesn't like to burn protein, so that leaves fats and carbohydrates (more technically, fatty acids and glucose). At rest, the "average" person burns about 70 percent fat and 30 percent carbs. As one moves from rest to activity, the percentage of fuel coming from fat decreases and the percentage coming from carbs increases. The more intense the exercise, the more carbs and the less fat in the mix, until you reach the point called the "anaerobic threshold" where you're going at about your intensity limit. At that point, 99 percent or more of your fuel is pure carbohydrate and 1 percent or less is coming from fat.

Now, this situation has led many people to assume that in order to "burn fat" they need to exercise at lower intensities. They're missing the boat. Why? Because while at rest, although a higher percentage of your calories is indeed coming from fat, you are ultimately burning a lower absolute number of calories. At higher intensity exercise, the percentage of calories from fat goes down, true -- but it is a percentage of a significantly higher number.

To illustrate this critical difference, I often ask audiences to picture Ross Perot standing next to me. Then I ask them, "Would you rather have 90 percent of all the money I have in the world, or 3 percent of all the money Mr. Perot over here has?" When they give the obvious answer, I say, "But why? 90 percent is so much higher than 3 percent!"

They get the picture.

So, let's say you're exercising at a fairly low intensity that burns, oh, 100 calories in a half-hour. Let's say that 70 percent of those calories come from fat. Your neighbor, however, is working out much harder, outside the magical "fat burning" zone: She's burning up, say 300 calories in that same half hour, but only 50 percent of those calories are from fat. Now do the math. You're burning a higher percentage of fat, but 70 percent of your 100 calories equals 70 fat calories burned. Your neighbor, on the other hand, is burning a lower percentage of fat, but she has burned up 50 percent of 300 calories, or 150 fat calories, more than twice what you've burned in the same period of time!

Get it?

I hope this whets your appetite, cause it's going to get even more interesting as we progress over the next year. Stay tuned!

[Bouncer79]

Your post looks like it makes so much sense, but how does this cardio method affect your muscle stores? Also, the FBZ (Fat Burning Zone), from what I know, is keeping your heart rate in balance with your lungs oxygen intake. Now this question may seem way out in left field... but if my heart rate goes over the FBZ then how is my body compensating for lack of oxygen compared to my heart rate? Would this cause more muscular breakdown if my glycogen stores are depleted and my energy used is down to a low percentage used from fat?

[Chi_town]

So, let's say you're exercising at a fairly low intensity that burns, oh, 100 calories in a half-hour. Let's say that 70 percent of those calories come from fat. Your neighbor, however, is working out much harder, outside the magical "fat burning" zone: She's burning up, say 300 calories in that same half hour, but only 50 percent of those calories are from fat. Now do the math. You're burning a higher percentage of fat, but 70 percent of your 100 calories equals 70 fat calories burned. Your neighbor, on the other hand, is burning a lower percentage of fat, but she has burned up 50 percent of 300 calories, or 150 fat calories, more than twice what you've burned in the same period of time!

Get it?


The question still looms.....what does one want to do......"Lose the most amount of fat"........or maintain the most amount of muscle"......as a result of their cardio.

The key IMO is really making sure protein is high enough in the diet to stave off muscle wasting.

I personally feel that a mix of moderate intensity coupled with a few HIIT cardio sessions a week is the way to go for most of us.

PEACE

[liftingchic]

to the top.. good read..

[mach5]

SIMPLE:
WORK HARDER = BURN MORE

EAT LESS = LOOSE MORE

[hardest]

Sorry mach 5,

but that last post,

"SIMPLE:
WORK HARDER = BURN MORE

EAT LESS = LOOSE MORE"

Sounds pretty inaccurate. I have a roommate who still has his head in the low fat / high carb dieting doctrine of the 80s. He runs (hard) about 4 times a week. Needless to say, he's a big, unhealthy, muscle-free fat-ass. I was on the same routine until last year: I was skinny yet chubby, and completely screwing with my hormone levels. I've since switched to an informed lifestyle that includes medium intensity cardio cut cycles following bulk cycles. Now, only a year later, I'm down to about 12% BF and have retained whatever amount of muscle was in the 25+ lbs. of bulk that I stacked on.

True, work more you burn more. But unless you'd like to recommend knee problems and muscle loss, I'd suggest you give a little more thought to the zone "myth."

-A

[mach5]

Originally posted by hardest
Sorry mach 5,

but that last post,

"SIMPLE:
WORK HARDER = BURN MORE

EAT LESS = LOOSE MORE"

Sounds pretty inaccurate. I have a roommate who still has his head in the low fat / high carb dieting doctrine of the 80s. He runs (hard) about 4 times a week. Needless to say, he's a big, unhealthy, muscle-free fat-ass. I was on the same routine until last year: I was skinny yet chubby, and completely screwing with my hormone levels. I've since switched to an informed lifestyle that includes medium intensity cardio cut cycles following bulk cycles. Now, only a year later, I'm down to about 12% BF and have retained whatever amount of muscle was in the 25+ lbs. of bulk that I stacked on.

True, work more you burn more. But unless you'd like to recommend knee problems and muscle loss, I'd suggest you give a little more thought to the zone "myth."

-A

Junk Science

Keto diets are bull****.

I don't believe in low fat: 40%pro / 40%carb / 20% fat

While dieting I cut my calories to 1000 below what I burn each day w/ exercise. I only lower my fats and carbs to keep up my protein.

[Chi_town]

Originally posted by mach5
Keto diets are bull****.



You know what is BS ?

Uneducated statements like this.

While you may not like or care for ketogenic Dieting, it stilll remains a great way for many people to diet.

mach5,
Here is a good idea for your future posts.....

SHUT THE **** UP ABOUT THINGS YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

[mach5]

Originally posted by Chi_town
You know what is BS ?

Uneducated statements like this.

While you may not like or care for ketogenic Dieting, it stilll remains a great way for many people to diet.

mach5,
Here is a good idea for your future posts.....

SHUT THE **** UP ABOUT THINGS YOU OBVIOUSLY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

State your logic you fuc*in bitch. I've heard it all before and it's crap. Yeah walk 3mph for an hour and burn 200 calories and little stored fat, I would love to see you loose weight based on that, it's a fuc*ing joke for lazy people, just like idiots downing packages of bacon to loose weight.

They are bull**** in the sense that these fuc*in idiots I see falling for marketing bull**** drinking Miller Ultra Lite and downing packages of bacon while eating 4000 calories a day are thinking that they're doing something right. If you eat more than you burn you will gain weight you cannot argue that FACT.

I'm not saying that all calories are equal, if you're eating candy all day long with no nutritional value you will look like **** whether your dieting or not.

I believe in carb control only to keep up protein levels and to control your appetite. If you don't use carbs they are stored as fat, SO FUC*IN WHAT! If you are controlling your calories that stored fat will be used later, not to mention you have to burn calories to convert carbs to stored fat.

FU*K YOU!

Go research your studies, I'll stick with common sense, get a life.

[hardest]

Originally posted by mach5
Junk Science

Keto diets are bull****.

I don't believe in low fat: 40%pro / 40%carb / 20% fat

While dieting I cut my calories to 1000 below what I burn each day w/ exercise. I only lower my fats and carbs to keep up my protein.

Fine, I'll agree that super Keto (zero carb) diets are just as bad as zero fat diets, or maybe even zero protien diets for that matter. But what ratio do you recommend? 60C/30P/10F, 50/30/20, what?

[mach55]

Real mature; tell me to shut the fu*k up and when I retaliate u ban me. You are pathetic. Ban me again and I'll just re-reg.

[Bouncer79]

Originally posted by mach55
Real mature; tell me to shut the fu*k up and when I retaliate u ban me. You are pathetic. Ban me again and I'll just re-reg.

He told you to shut the **** up because you're a fu*king ignorant little **** who has nothing but his own di*k in his hand to back up his assinine statements. Poor little pri*k that you are probably couldnt even hold a serious debate in the first place...

"keto diets are bull****". WOW... I admit it IS really hard to follow up a statement like that... I mean, you just proved every single ketogenic theory and dieter wrong with those 4 words. All this time I thought I was actually preserving muscle and cutting up for competition, when actually, all I was doing was.... bull****! I'm going to have to go back to my pizza and beer and failure at dieting.... oh, wait, that was you.

Stupid little fat-ass punk... when you get passed the point of sucking on your mommy's tits, come back and say something worthwhile... until then, have fun with being fat and and making up nonsense on message boards.

[mach55]

Originally posted by Bouncer79
He told you to shut the **** up because you're a fu*king ignorant little **** who has nothing but his own di*k in his hand to back up his assinine statements. Poor little pri*k that you are probably couldnt even hold a serious debate in the first place...

"keto diets are bull****". WOW... I admit it IS really hard to follow up a statement like that... I mean, you just proved every single ketogenic theory and dieter wrong with those 4 words. All this time I thought I was actually preserving muscle and cutting up for competition, when actually, all I was doing was.... bull****! I'm going to have to go back to my pizza and beer and failure at dieting.... oh, wait, that was you.

Stupid little fat-ass punk... when you get passed the point of sucking on your mommy's tits, come back and say something worthwhile... until then, have fun with being fat and and making up nonsense on message boards.

Instead of talking pure **** respond to what I said, back up you're bull****. I stated why they're bull**** and you have done nothing but talk ****. Damn mother fu*ker I wish we talking face to face.

"Marketing/advertising coordinator & Bouncer" what a fu*kin joke, you're a dumb fu*k who sits at a door all night and passes out flyers during the day, who do you think your kidding dip****! How about you watch your mouth, just b/c your an overgrown idiot who beats up on little bitches at a bar doesn't mean that you're tough.

Not that I have anything against bouncers you just seem like one of the dumb ones with nothing better to do but beat up on little kids.

By the way what bar/club do you bouce at? Maybe I'll stop by for a friendly chat.

[SHOT]

Lets put a end to this flamming right now...consider this a first warning to you all...if you can not post like grown men then go into the misc forum where the kiddys play

[mach55]

Originally posted by SHOT
Lets put a end to this flamming right now...consider this a first warning to you all...if you can not post like grown men then go into the misc forum where the kiddys play

Fair enough

[Chi_town]

ROFLAMO............Bouncer sh#ts bigger then you. Not sure if I would want to meet him if I were you.

Ok, listen up, mach5, mach55 or whoever you are.

You have done nothing constructive in this thread other then bash something you obviously know nothing about. Without the evidence or even a beginning of a mature debate..........I highly recommend you to find another forum..........one you can go on your childish rants.

Your posts speak as if you are under 21 anyway......you're probably better suited in the teen section of another forum.

Spew your uneducated crap somewhere else !

oh.......and BTW.......F#cking with mods here is not looked upon kindly.........LOL........maybe you're not smart enought to figure that out.......I don't know.

[Gavin77]

Great post!! I enjoyed the read

[rlee1185]

Ok, um. I'm not smart by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm trying, so work with me if you can, and if you have the patience.

I may not be smart, but I do know something about money. If you make a certain amount of money, and you spend less than you make, then you have money left over, and that's good, if it's money. BUT, if you spend more than you make, then you're in debt, and that's always a bad place to be. . . IF it's money.

Now, talk about calories, if you use more than get in a day, then you will start to loose weight, cause you have to use the back up stuff you didn't use yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, etc. Kinda like rollover minutes in a cell-phone plan.

I'm not saying that Keto diets don't work... Keto diets are the low-carb diets, right? Anyway, I'm not saying those don't work, cause I think that they do, but I also think that if you're eating healthy anyway (good amounts of veggies, with right amount of protein for muscle building), and you put on some lean muscle (not much), then you should be ok. If you're already at 1% body fat, don't do a use-more-than-you-take-in calorie diet.

Now, that's my ignorance. Please correct me in all places possible, because I need to learn. Thanks

Rob