Burning fat vs burning calories

[sea shells]

So with all sorts of spammy search results that pop up when I google "burn fat," I figured Id get some insight for the LSers here.

 

I workout approx 5 days a week, mixing it with running and weights, and recently started a dvd workout (30 day, Im on day 4). Although I sweat hard after I workout always, I havent really noticed INCHES coming off.

 

My goal is really focused on thighs/inner thighs, and I totally understand that you cannot spot reduce an area before anybody attacks me on that statement, but can anyone enlighten on how to burn FAT specifically as opposed to "burn 100 calories with 100 jumping jacks!!" Is it diet? Length of time working out?

These fire hydrants better be doing something to these legs!!

[Emilia]

It's intensity. You need to tell us in detail what you mean when you say 'running and weights'. What is your heart rate in terms of maximum heart rate % when you are running? What weights do you use? I suspect the 30 day DVD is not very useful

 

Your diet will have a very big impact on your shape yes but it will need to depend on the type of exercise you do

[USMCHokie]

It's intensity. You need to tell us in detail what you mean when you say 'running and weights'. What is your heart rate in terms of maximum heart rate % when you are running? What weights do you use? I suspect the 30 day DVD is not very useful

 

Your diet will have a very big impact on your shape yes but it will need to depend on the type of exercise you do

 

I agree on all points. And I will stress that proper diet and nutrition is significantly more important than exercise in achieving your goals.

 

But yes, we need more info...

[futuregopher]

So with all sorts of spammy search results that pop up when I google "burn fat," I figured Id get some insight for the LSers here.

 

I workout approx 5 days a week, mixing it with running and weights, and recently started a dvd workout (30 day, Im on day 4). Although I sweat hard after I workout always, I havent really noticed INCHES coming off.

 

My goal is really focused on thighs/inner thighs, and I totally understand that you cannot spot reduce an area before anybody attacks me on that statement, but can anyone enlighten on how to burn FAT specifically as opposed to "burn 100 calories with 100 jumping jacks!!" Is it diet? Length of time working out?

These fire hydrants better be doing something to these legs!!

 

The way you burn fat is keeping your calories in lower than your calories out...simple as that. No gimmicks, etc. It will take time but you will eventually burn off the fat. Be careful of what type of running you are doing. Are you doing longer runs at the same pace? Or are you doing higher intensity interval running? Longer runs at the same pace will burn off calories but will also destroy muscle. HIIT burns off calories and spares muscle a lot better. Take a look at the body of a sprinter and marathon runner. Which look are you going for?

 

I'm trying to burn fat too but the way I look at it is to try to have a perfect diet so I don't have to do cardio of any sort. Same pace cardio will burn off calories but you may find it to be muscle destroying (depends on what look you want). HIIT supposedly keeps you burning off calories a few hours longer even after the workout. You may burn off more calories during your gym session of a same paced run but over a 48 hr time span, the HIIT burns more calories even though not all of those calories are burned at the gym.

[darkmoon]

don't eat after six, a chance to burn off cals without eating new ones

[Emilia]

The way you burn fat is keeping your calories in lower than your calories out...simple as that.

 

You lose muscle this way as well. This is why we need to know what the OP is doing in terms of exercise.

 

No gimmicks, etc. It will take time but you will eventually burn off the fat. Be careful of what type of running you are doing. Are you doing longer runs at the same pace? Or are you doing higher intensity interval running? Longer runs at the same pace will burn off calories but will also destroy muscle. HIIT burns off calories and spares muscle a lot better. Take a look at the body of a sprinter and marathon runner. Which look are you going for?

 

Completely wrong. Long distance running builds slow twitch muscles that are smaller in size because they are built for endurance, sprinting builds fast twitch muscles which are larger because they are used for power and power-endurance in the body. The fat burning aspect is whether it is an aerobic exercise (longer distance, lower intensity) or anaerobic (short, intense bursts like sprinting). Fuel is used differently in either.

 

I'm trying to burn fat too but the way I look at it is to try to have a perfect diet so I don't have to do cardio of any sort. Same pace cardio will burn off calories but you may find it to be muscle destroying (depends on what look you want). HIIT supposedly keeps you burning off calories a few hours longer even after the workout. You may burn off more calories during your gym session of a same paced run but over a 48 hr time span, the HIIT burns more calories even though not all of those calories are burned at the gym.

 

I'm not even....

[Emilia]

don't eat after six, a chance to burn off cals without eating new ones

 

Always eat after exercise regardless of the time. It's the diet that matters, timing has been discredited.

[fucpcg]

Burning fat is very complex. There are BOOKS written on the subject. One post in here won't help ypu much. If you really want to learn what to do, buy the books The Zone Diet, and Bodyopus.

[futuregopher]

You lose muscle this way as well. This is why we need to know what the OP is doing in terms of exercise.

 

 

 

Completely wrong. Long distance running builds slow twitch muscles that are smaller in size because they are built for endurance, sprinting builds fast twitch muscles which are larger because they are used for power and power-endurance in the body. The fat burning aspect is whether it is an aerobic exercise (longer distance, lower intensity) or anaerobic (short, intense bursts like sprinting). Fuel is used differently in either.

 

 

 

I'm not even....

 

Yes...you may not want to believe it but the only way you burn fat is by consuming less calories than you burn. I know, I know. It was hard for me to fathom too when I first realized this. But all those gimmicks, weight loss pills, are just examples of great marketing. The only way you don't lose as much muscle during a cut is if you keep on lifting heavy and eating correctly.

 

2) You are actually completely wrong about the sprinters and long distance runner. Take a look at a sprinter and long distance runner. Just look at how different their bodies are. Long distance runners are always destroying their muscles when running for that long. Sprinters look more like bodybuilders. The moral of the story is that long distance running at about the same pace will always destroy muscle. Look at any bodybuilder when you go to the gym. How many of them are on treadmills? That should answer the question. But it's all relative because if you want to look like a long distance runner with no muscle mass, then that's the workout program you need to follow.

 

3) Yes I am right about this one too. Many bodybuilders NEVER do cardio to burn fat because they keep their diet perfect. If you have a perfect diet to control your calories in vs calories out, you never have to do cardio in your life. The only thing I regret about not doing cardio is that my overall fitness may not be as good as it can be. I used to be able to run a 6:30 mile average a 640 pace for 2 miles but I will probably struggle to get under 8 if I ever run a mile right now.

[sea shells]

Ooh, sorry for not being specific enough. I was hoping I could keep it general.

 

For running, if Im on a treadmill Ill do 30minutes, interval program, going between 3 and 5 as the speeds. Outdoors Ill run 3miles around the lake. I dont check my heartrate =P It usually takes me 30-35minutes to do the 3miles.

 

For weights/strength, Ill do squats,lunges, deadlifts with weights, and then in the gym will do latpulldowns, legextensions, and this other one idk the name of where you pull it forward. Those are all 30pounds. I tend to do 10minutes of the machine stuff after treadmill workouts.

 

The DVD is Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30. Its a 30min workout where she does 3minutes of strength (mostly squats, lunges with weights), 2minutes cardio, 1minute abs, then continues that pattern.

 

Everyday except tuesday I do a youtube video called pop pilates--inner thigh intensity because, well, the whole goal is for these legs =) Sometimes Ill even do Tuesdays, so basically the full week. But Id rather keep tuesdays open as a rest day.

I also plank everyday, 5 times a day, for at least a minute each. My personal record is 3minutes haha.

 

I usu eat either cheerios with soy or scrambled eggs for breakfast, after workouts/lunchtime ill eat half a container of cottage cheese mixed with greens+olive oil, dinner is usu a sandwich with roasted veggies, or fish.

 

I aim for 9 glasses of water, I usually get in about 7. Throughout the day Ill snack on raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and/or bananas.

 

Mostly concerned if Im burning away everything else except for the fat. Too much? Too little? Not eating enough?

Edited July 12, 2012 by sea shells

[Celtica]

Burning Fat:

 

Supposedly after 45 minutes of running, our bodies use energy from fat in our bodies. As women, we generally have more subcutaneous fat than men. This is why many studies have noticed that although women aren't in the lead during marathons, they generally come head to head with men in ultramarathons due to high energy endurance reserves. Women have more subcutaneous fat because we need the estrogen levels that are synthesized through the fat and because we need enough fat and nutrient storage during pregnancy, for both mother and child.

 

 

Burning Calories:

 

Interval training and Sprinting. Since men are have less subcutaneous fat, they are more likely to develop visceral fat if overweight. Studies have found that sprints and interval training can cut out visceral fat faster than long distance running. One theory is that because men were the hunters in primitive society, visceral fat provided the energy in the form of extra glucose needed for such activities. Stress, which conducts the fight or flight response, raises cortisol levels in the body, which increases abdominal visceral fat (AVF). It is the body's way of providing more glucose in case quick decisions need to be made.

 

Therefore, the amount of subcutaneous fat you have on your body will be determined on which energy source you tap into by means of your training. Less than 45 minutes and you are in calorie burning zone, not fat burning.

[Emilia]

This is where tman and Hokie can help you more because they have vastly more experience than I have. I can only rely on my own personal experience but here it goes:

 

For running, if Im on a treadmill Ill do 30minutes, interval program, going between 3 and 5 as the speeds. Outdoors Ill run 3miles around the lake. I dont check my heartrate =P It usually takes me 30-35minutes to do the 3miles.

 

30-35 minutes is ok for 3 miles but if you do an interval program, don't rely on what the treadmill tells you, you have to do it in a way that sets your heart rate at around 80-85% when you are running. Interval training is usually for increasing the speed factor in your running training by forcing your body to increase its ability of oxygen intake. If you are running it at the same speed/effort level as your 3 mile dash, it's not really useful.

 

For weights/strength, Ill do squats,lunges, deadlifts with weights, and then in the gym will do latpulldowns, legextensions, and this other one idk the name of where you pull it forward. Those are all 30pounds. I tend to do 10minutes of the machine stuff after treadmill workouts.

 

Ok, here is the part where it's more my personal opinion without knowing much about your circumstances: I don't think 30 pounds helps you much. In most cases (if not all) it's probably too low and I think also that for something like legs it must be a complete waste of time. Squats, lunges and deadlifts with free weights are very different from leg extension on an assisted machine for example. We would also need to know the number of reps but I'm guessing since the volume is so low that you do over 12, quite possibly over 15 in each set? That's more cardio. I did strength training yesterday for example and I did 5 sets of 5 reps while increasing the weights for each set. I started with a weight that was about 70-80% of what I can lift only once (1RM) and by the time I got to the 5th set, I was working to failure, ie I got to a weight level where I couldn't lift further. Doing 30lbs of everything 15 times will do nothing for you. I'm not a weight lifter by the way, I'm 5'6'' and around 130 lbs, I'm not muscular by any stretch but have a very firm, tight body with good strength in my upper body and shoulders as I also box.

 

The DVD is Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30. Its a 30min workout where she does 3minutes of strength (mostly squats, lunges with weights), 2minutes cardio, 1minute abs, then continues that pattern.

 

Everyday except tuesday I do a youtube video called pop pilates--inner thigh intensity because, well, the whole goal is for these legs =) Sometimes Ill even do Tuesdays, so basically the full week. But Id rather keep tuesdays open as a rest day.

I also plank everyday, 5 times a day, for at least a minute each. My personal record is 3minutes haha.

 

So your training is aerobics really and that doesn't work for fat loss in my experience. If you can plank for 3 minutes I'd say in your current conditioning status you are probably not doing it properly. Most people I see in the gym have their butt sticking up while doing plank.

 

I've watched a bit of the DVD

and it doesn't have any intensity to it whatsoever. She didn't get those shoulders by swinging around a couple of 2 lbs weights in her hands. The trouble with stuff like this as far as I can see is that women that body build (or body sculpt) come out with these low intesity aerobic DVDs conning other women into thinking that their look is easily achievable while it isn't. None of those girls are particularly agile by the way and I can see that sometimes they execute the exercises in bad form or what they do is completely useless

 

I usu eat either cheerios with soy or scrambled eggs for breakfast, after workouts/lunchtime ill eat half a container of cottage cheese mixed with greens+olive oil, dinner is usu a sandwich with roasted veggies, or fish.

 

I aim for 9 glasses of water, I usually get in about 7. Throughout the day Ill snack on raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and/or bananas.

 

Mostly concerned if Im burning away everything else except for the fat. Too much? Too little? Not eating enough?

 

I don't know the number of calories in your diet but it seems low to me, which is why it's not surprising that you are getting smaller by the sound of it but maintaining body fat.

 

Personally I think you need to change your exercise and eating habits completely. You need to build strength and muscle size (hypertrophy) by lifting heavy, increase your interval training intensity and eat more protein and carbs. And throw those DVDs in the bin. When I'm saying build muscle size and strength, I don't mean body building and bulk. I mean strength and tightly packed muscles that give you a toned look.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Emilia

[syz]

lots of good information here without knowing more..

 

I used to be a personal trainer and I worked with Greg Glassman before what he was doing became known as Cross Fit.

 

Here is some information that I found useful and changed up my workouts a lot. Kettle bells.. I'm not sure what the rules are about linking other sites here but do a search for "Neghar Fonooni top 5 exercises" it will take you to nicktumminello's website.

 

Anyway I finally really quit doing any type of isolation move and just did compound exercises. My arms look great. I do believe it is a matter of intensity. And lifting heavy enough. Many women fail to do that out of fear and lack of knowledge. I have spent many years in the gym watching women waste their time with virtually no changes. Primarily because they were afraid to work out like men because they thought somehow they would look end up looking like men.

[D87]

wow nobody here knows anything about burning fat lol. When you eat carbohydrates, the body stores it as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue. That is the primary source of energy, you burn glycogen when you work out, not fat. The only way to burn fat is to deplete glycogen via low carbohydrate diet and/or working out first thing on the morning before ingesting carbohydrates. Or another option is doing weight training before cardio, which will deplete glycogen and you can go straight to burning fat via cardio.

[Emilia]

wow nobody here knows anything about burning fat lol. When you eat carbohydrates, the body stores it as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue. That is the primary source of energy, you burn glycogen when you work out, not fat. The only way to burn fat is to deplete glycogen via low carbohydrate diet and/or working out first thing on the morning before ingesting carbohydrates. Or another option is doing weight training before cardio, which will deplete glycogen and you can go straight to burning fat via cardio.

 

Partially correct. The more you exercise, the more your body draws on its fat reserves rather than on glycogen.

 

You need a carb rich diet for anaerobic exercises - which should be part of an exercise regime, not just aerobic. High intensity exercise is the best way to burn fat and you need a well balanced diet (ie carbs, protein and fat for your joints) to be able to cope and recover physically.

[D87]

Partially correct. The more you exercise, the more your body draws on its fat reserves rather than on glycogen.

 

You need a carb rich diet for anaerobic exercises - which should be part of an exercise regime, not just aerobic. High intensity exercise is the best way to burn fat and you need a well balanced diet (ie carbs, protein and fat for your joints) to be able to cope and recover physically.

 

I disagree. You don't need carbohydrates at all since your body can convert fat to energy when glucose is low (ketogenesis). Carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient, and has never been a major part of a human diet until recently. The reason for the obesity epidemic is the over-consumption of carbohydrates (especially simple ones), which not only leads to obesity, but also to diabetes and a wide array of health problems. I urge everyone who is overweight to watch this video, it will open your eyes:

 

[futuregopher]

Partially correct. The more you exercise, the more your body draws on its fat reserves rather than on glycogen.

 

You need a carb rich diet for anaerobic exercises - which should be part of an exercise regime, not just aerobic. High intensity exercise is the best way to burn fat and you need a well balanced diet (ie carbs, protein and fat for your joints) to be able to cope and recover physically.

 

You really don't need a "carb rich diet". You just need to make sure you get enough for body maintenance and sanity. I try to stay away from simple carbs to avoid insulin spikes so my body can burn more fat. Eating simple carbs gives you insulin spikes that prevent fat burning. Fats do help with joints, etc but make sure they are good fats such as fishoil, avacado, almonds, etc.

 

FWIW, I consume about 330g protein, 150g carbs (90% complex), and 60g fats (95% "good fats") daily.

[EasyHeart]

Partially correct. The more you exercise, the more your body draws on its fat reserves rather than on glycogen.

 

You need a carb rich diet for anaerobic exercises - which should be part of an exercise regime, not just aerobic. High intensity exercise is the best way to burn fat and you need a well balanced diet (ie carbs, protein and fat for your joints) to be able to cope and recover physically.

Seriously, where do you come up with this silliness?

[Celtica]

My goodness does everyone think they are a scientist here. Really, unless you are one, you are basically taking information from what you've read, whether from published studies (if so, please post them with your arguments so we can see your secondary source references) or from books, internet articles, or magazines, all of which are taking their information from elsewhere and interpreting it in their own way, meaning it's a tertiary source. Either way, you are not taking any of your information from primary sources (your own studies - unless you are a scientist), so stop being so arrogant in thinking that what you are saying is the one and only Truth. So far, what works for some people, doesn't work for others. I tend to lose fat by eating lots of carbs and going for nice 45 minute jobs, whereas others may not.

Amen.

[D87]

My goodness does everyone think they are a scientist here. Really, unless you are one, you are basically taking information from what you've read, whether from published studies (if so, please post them with your arguments so we can see your secondary source references) or from books, internet articles, or magazines, all of which are taking their information from elsewhere and interpreting it in their own way, meaning it's a tertiary source. Either way, you are not taking any of your information from primary sources (your own studies - unless you are a scientist), so stop being so arrogant in thinking that what you are saying is the one and only Truth. So far, what works for some people, doesn't work for others. I tend to lose fat by eating lots of carbs and going for nice 45 minute jobs, whereas others may not.

Amen.

 

There have been countless studies that show high-protein, low carbohydrate diet is optimum for weight loss and maintaining ideal weight. Below is the largest study recorded on this topic (~1,000 study participants) which compares 5 various types of diets, the results speak for themselves.

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CGEQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.diogenes-eu.org%2FDiogenes%2520press%2520release%2520English%5Bmvb%5D.pdf&ei=w3cRUPOTCIqC8ASX1YH4CQ&usg=AFQjCNHmBHAK2U_tBiGtWkYnGAVjqG-g5g&sig2=fHSLVHOq7Xbhh-h68h4EWQ