If You Want To Burn Fat- Eat Less and Exercise Harder

at 6:51 PM

Today while I was on the elliptical, some one asked me 'what is the target for fat burning?'  I think what she was trying to ask was how hard should I work out to burn fat?  The whole reason people ask this question is the misconception that there actually is 'a fat-burning range' for exercise and if you are out of that range you will not burn the fat in your body.  I would like to clear that up once and for all.  First of all you can't get rid of you fat cells- you are stuck with your fat cells. After your teen years, you can't get rid of fat cells- once they are formed they can only get bigger or smaller, they DON'T DISAPPEAR.  While I am on this subject, let me talk about another mis-conception: fat cells don't turn into muscle cells or vise versa.  Fat cells are genetically programmed to be fat cells, just like bone cells and nerve cells are genetically programmed to be bone and nerve cells.

The harder and longer you work out the more likely you are to burn SOME fat in your body.  When you start to work out, your body first burns the glycogen (a sugar stored in your body) in your muscle cells and your liver.  Then as you deplete your glycogen stores, if you are still exercising, whether it is cardio or weights, then your muscles will need another source of energy and fat cells will be source for that energy. If you are doing a leisurely walk around the block for 20 to 30 minutes, chances are you have plenty of glycogen for energy for your leg muscles.  But if you are running, doing the elliptical or any other cardio exercise for longer than one hour then depending on how depleted or full your glycogen stores in your muscles and liver are, then you may or may not use the triglycerides (fat) for energy.

So then this is where nutrition comes in... if you have had a full meal before exercise, then you are more likely to have plenty of glycogen for a short cardio session.  And it is more efficient for your body to use the glycogen for energy rather than fat.   If you want to use the fat molecules, then you either need to eat less, or exercise harder.  The answers are not clear cut and black and white.  It all depends on how you exercise, how long you exercise,  and what you put in your mouth before and after exercise!