If we maintain this situation over time, the body reabsorbs the extra empty fat cells and discards them as waste, leaving us leaner and healthier on multiple levels. David Prologo is an associate professor in the department of radiology and imaging sciences at Emory University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Register or Log In.
The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe. This 3D rendering shows fat cells in the human body. Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Sign Up. Already a subscriber? Want more? More From Discover.
The body primarily uses fat and carbohydrates for fuel. A small amount of protein is used during exercise, but it's mainly used to repair the muscles after exercise. The ratio of these fuels will shift depending on the activity you're doing. For higher-intensity exercises, such as fast-paced running, the body will rely more on carbs for fuel than fat. That's because the metabolic pathways available to break down carbs for energy are more efficient than the pathways available for fat breakdown.
For long, slower exercise, fat is used more for energy than carbs. When it comes to weight loss, it doesn't matter what type of fuel you use. What matters is how many calories you burn as opposed to how many calories you take in. 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.
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 is that just because you're using more fat as energy doesn't mean you're burning more calories. Exercising at lower intensities will use more fat for energy. 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.
This doesn't necessarily mean that you should avoid low-intensity exercise if you want to burn more fat. There are some specific things you can do to burn more fat and it all starts with how and how much you 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. You can set up a cardio program that includes a variety of different workouts at different intensities.
What this translates to is exercise at a level that feels challenging and leaves you too breathless to talk in complete sentences. But 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 pound person would burn about calories after running at 6 mph for 30 minutes. But, the number of calories you can burn isn't the whole story. Too many high-intensity workouts every week, can put you at risk in a number of ways. 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. If you have some kind of medical condition or injury, check with your doctor before doing high-intensity training or any kind of training.
If you're doing several days of cardio each week, which is what is recommended for weight loss, you would probably want only one or two workouts to fall into the high-intensity range. Here are some examples of high-intensity workouts. That means you are breathing harder than normal but can carry on a conversation without much difficulty and you feel pretty comfortable with what you're doing.
The lower end of this range usually incorporates the fat burning zone. Moderate-intensity workouts have some great benefits. Here are some examples. For weight loss purposes, you would likely want the majority of your cardio workouts to fall into this range. Some examples include:. This level of intensity is no doubt one of the most comfortable areas of exercise, keeping you at a pace that isn't too taxing and doesn't pose much of a challenge. This approach, 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. Even better, it includes activities you usually enjoy such as taking a stroll, gardening, riding a bike, or a gentle stretching routine. Low-intensity cardio doesn't have to be a structured, scheduled workout, but something you do all day long by walking more, taking the stairs , and doing more physical chores around the house.
Exercise such as Pilates and yoga are at a lower intensity but help develop your core, flexibility, and balance.
They can be a part of a well-rounded routine. It may seem like a no-brainer that regular exercise can help you burn fat and lose weight. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. How on earth does this happen? Smaller amounts of energy are stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen.
When you diet , you take in fewer calories than your body needs. Because of this deficit, your body turns to fat reserves for energy. Your muscles first burn through stored glycogen for energy. They also recommend weightlifting and resistance training.
0コメント