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April 21, 2011
ISDN 191-5737
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Hi ,
Do you get those emails too? Telling you about the latest 'fat burning' this or 'fat burning' that?
I'm betting you do too. Alluring, aren't they? They hook the magic bullet dream.
Just between us, not a day goes by that I don't get some kind of announcement about a workout that 'melts the fat off' or, worse, a supplement that does the same.
 Yes, there are some legitimate tools out there for us to utilize to maximize exercise time and dietary choices to optimize our potential to slim down. Yet 'fat burning workout' is a misleading term. I hope the details in today's Feature Article help to clarify this. Then come by my blog and leave your thoughts, OK?
Last week's '6 Steps to Conquer Food Cravings' Teleclass was exceptionally well attended and thank you dear readers for your lovely notes regarding this call. Have you been able to put some of these simple tools to use? How did you do on the fiber quiz?
P.S. An exciting welcome to everyone who has already registered and snapped up No-Brainer Bonus Gifts for the May Body Transformation Booty Camp! Liftoff is just 10 days away and watch for Countdown and Prep information in your email box soon. It's going to be an amazing session!
P.P.S. Before I send this out to you, I have to tell you about the amazing
photo above right. Greg took this snapshot in 'Jellyfish Lake' a couple
of weeks ago. This is an isolated saltwater lake
in Palau with its very own species of jellyfish - and they're non-stinging, so
you can snorkle with them! Which we did - you can see the video - along with me in full scuba gear with the sharks (!)
and turtles - on Greg's newest travel video published today: Outdoor girl and her guy on scuba adventure, Palau. Micronesida.
Just what does it mean, anyway?
"Fat burning workout!", or "A Workout That Blasts Away Belly Fat!" Or any other variation on the theme.
The lure of
the "fat burning workout!" via emails and newsletters comes across my
desk often, as you can imagine. And I know you see it a lot, too.
Yet I've seen this phrase create so much confusion among those eager for fitness and fat loss.
Yes, exercise
is important when it comes to helping you "burn fat". It creates an
extremely valuable fat burning effect. And I applaud my fitness pro
colleagues for encouraging us to move as an important tool to reducing
fat stores. But....
Which Brings Me To My Point
The truth of the matter is, though exercise is important for reducing body fat, you really "burn off" relatively little fat during exercise.
It is rather the overall consumption of calories and conditioning of the body during your exercise that are key.
A workout
isn't so much "fat burning" as it can create, more or less, a "fat
burning effect". And yes, some techniques and intensities do this
better than others.
 When
you are exercising, though there are some fatty acids being utilized in
the fuel "mix" for your muscle's demands, much of the energy that you
are using is coming from that which has been stored in your muscles and
liver in the form of glycogen.
This fuel
source is much more readily available than fat. It also allows your
body to continue to protect its most prized fuel back-up resource, fat.
Your body
does utilize fat and glucose in slightly different ratios depending on
the intensity of your activity, whether you're in couch potato mode or
sprinting intervals. Fat requires a complex pathway to be accessed,
released and utilized as energy for your exercise. So the more intense
the exercise, generally speaking, the more you are utilizing glycogen
stores vs. fat stores.
Sounds like an argument for lower intensity exercise, doesn't it? Not so fast.
Burning "Fat" Or "Sugar"?
Again, yes,
it's true that depending on the intensity of your exercise as well as
the duration of activity, among other factors (your fitness condition,
for example, being one of them), you are utilizing a greater or lesser
amount of fatty acids for fuel; this is known as "lipid metabolism".
Glycolysis is
the term for the conversion of glycogen, as stored in the muscles and
liver, for energy. (As noted above, there are other sources of energy
for our activity as well, but for the purposes of our discussion, let's
stick with these.)
First: yes, lipids are accessed more deeply when it comes to sustained exercise of lower intensity, during the exercise itself.
And yes, if
the anaerobic threshold is approached, then there isn't enough time for
the body to "aerobicize" much in the form of fatty acids for fuel.
However,
these simple facts have led to misunderstanding about the overall effect
of difference intensities of exercise in general, when it comes to "fat
burning". Let me explain.
When It Comes Right Down To It
Basically, here's what it comes down to.
- You don't use more calories at lower exercise intensities given an equivalent amount of time exercising at higher intensities..
- If you're trying to lose fat weight and you have only 20 minutes to
exercise, you would burn fewer calories walking at a moderate pace
compared to walking at a fast pace, or climbing. Working out at higher
intensities may cause you to burn a lower percentage of fat, but since
you burn more total calories, you still use more fat calories overall.
At the same
time, keep in mind that what is low intensity for one may be high
intensity for another. Moderate-intensity exercise still burns calories
over a longer duration, and it is important to be respectful of our
individual fitness and condition when it comes to exercise selection.
What About 20 Minutes To"Fat Burning Zone"?
The
practice of seeking the "fat burning zone" during exercise comes from
the fact that, technically, after you have been exercising for
approximately 15 minutes or more, your body has shifted into using a
greater percentage of fat as fuel source.
Still,
if you are trying to lose fat weight, then essentially you are more
concerned about the overall number of calories burned, not necessarily
the fuel source.
It is the
overall energy demand creating a calorie deficit that has the effect of
dipping into fat stores above and beyond that burned during the exercise
itself. More about this in my articles on Excessive Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or EPOC, .
The body
relies on fat and sugar (glycogen) for energy all of the time; the
ratio varies depending on exercise intensity. But the ratio does not
vary so much that we need to be overly concerned about "staying in the
fat burning zone" during exercise.
Let me give
you an example
As you are sitting here reading, you may
be "burning" about 50+ percent fat and 50- percent carbohydrates.
Overall, you're not really utilizing much of either, because your energy
demands are relatively low (even though your brain activity is the
highest energy demand your body experiences, but that is another topic
altogether).
Your calorie
demand sitting still might be a couple of calories a minute. If you
were to start vigorously walking, obviously you would need more energy
that was quickly accessible, so you would shift into a higher percentage
of glycogen utlilization, say 70 percent, depending on the intensity.
After some time, given the intensity is not too high, your body would
shift into a greater percentage of fat-burning to protect the glycogen
stores for emergency.
Sounds Like a"Fat Burning" Workout, Doesn't It?
Here's my point; and here's where we've gone awry in application of this principle.
These ratios
of energy source don't make a lick of sense to you when it comes to fat
loss. What matters is how much of a calorie deficit you create overall.
And higher intensity exercise creates a deeper calorie deficit than
low intensity (again, see EPOC).There's also the building of muscle tissue, but that again is another topic.
I remember
years ago in aerobics classes being mindful of the aerobic training
charts that were on all the studio walls. Remember them? They were
color coded for intensity levels and "zones". We religiously kept our
heart rates within "fat burning zone" - with all of the best intentions,
of course!
But intensity trumps long, slow distance when it comes to negative energy balance because of the excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption it creates. It is a deeper, longer term calorie demand that extends far beyond the exercise session itself.
And though I
don't like people to get obsessive or compulsive about how many calories
they are burning during exercise itself, along with EPOC, there is a
point to be made. Take a look at the following table:
| Activity |
Approximate Calories Burned |
%Calories from fat |
| Walking 20 minutes |
100 |
65 |
| Jogging 20 Minutes |
250 |
40 |
On the face of it, we see the greater percentage of energy draw from "fat", right?
Yet looking
at the overall calorie requirement, the higher demand exercise is going
to be the one that creates the greater calorie deficit.
Does This Mean I Should Always Exercise At High Intensity?
Absolutely not. We need a variety of exercise modalities to be healthy, functional human beings.
And walking -
GOOD! I make a point to get in at least one leisurely walk a day,
often two. Do not by any stretch of the imagination take this to mean
that I think you should be jogging instead of walking. Oh contrere!
Walking is excellent for overall health, and for many presents a fitness
challenge, depending on individual condition.
The point
is, we need to look beyond just the immediate fuel source at the overall
picture to help us assess what is going to be most beneficial for our
condition and overall fitness and fat loss or body composition goals.
Exercise Prescription?
1) Be a good animal.
I recommend daily walking, AND
2) Tune up your fat-burning mechanism. 3 times a week a challenging workout
that is of enough intensity to build muscle and push your energy limits
to create a deeper calorie demand, EPOC,
and create an overall conditioning response. As always, decisions
about what type, intensity, and duration of exercise is a personal
decision that must be made in concert with the wisdom of your health
care provider. OK, disclaimer in place.
And as for
those "fat burning workout!" commercials and emails? I'd like them to
clarify that the workouts create a fat burning effect so that we don't
addle our brains with trying to figure out what kind of fuel we are
using and instead put our energy into getting ourselves moving. Those
with athletic endeavors involving endurance activities might try to dial
this in to extend their aerobic capacity, but not so important for most
of us who are looking for a little less avoir du pois.
"Who else wants to lose 5 lbs and an inch off their waist in 3 weeks (or less) without white-knuckle hunger or hours of mind-numbing, exhausting exercise?"
next session: May, 1 - 21, 2011
with Lani Muelrath, M.A.
From anywhere in the world, via online community,
via Teleclass, Online Community, and Webcast
FitDream Fusion Inner Circle Inner Circle Coaching Call for April:
May 19, 2011 5:00 p.m. Pacific 8:00 p.m. Eastern
Topics:
Plant-based nutrition fundamentals, Part 2
 Lani Muelrath, M.A, specializes in helping women who struggle with weight and energy transform their bodies - without hunger or exercising like a maniac.
She is the creator of the Body Transformation Formula, Fit Quickies, and Woman's Fitness Blueprint. Her signature system of food plan, targeted body shapers, and mindset for mastery is a match made in heaven for busy women looking for a no-nonsense, simple, surefire solution to their fitness, energy, and weight challenges. While Lani is best known for her expertise in fitness and nutrition, her clients share that she is unique in the impact that results from her compassionate and knowledgeable approach combined with her expertise.
Lani is a Guest Lecturer in Kinesiology at San Francisco State University and presenter at the Cornonary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). She is recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Instruction. Lani created and starred in her own CBS TV show, and is the Healthy Living Examiner at examiner. com. She is also the Fitness Expert for Dr. John McDougall's Health and Medical Center. Her Fit Quickies(TM), targeted body shapers for people on the go, have recently exploded on the marketplace.
Lani overcame her own lifetime struggle with weight over 12 years ago when she lost 50 lbs, which she has maintained easily with the tools that she now coaches other women to be successful with in weight loss, body shaping, and health.
For more valuable tips and resources, and to learn more about Lani and her courses, programs, and products go to www.lanimuelrath.com.
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