Weight Loss Rumors and the Truth Regarding Belly Fat
November 10, 2009 by Michelle
Filed under How To Lose Weight
The intensity of the activity you are doing is the most important aspect of burning fat. However, if we talk about weight loss, your calories are the calories to burn. It is true that you are still burning fat even when you are just sitting but there is a lot of misunderstanding presently.
Now, let us look at all the rumors spreading around and see if they are all true.
Rumor #1 – The body knows how to switch off one source of energy when it starts switching another.
It is true that the body’s major sources for fuel and energy are fats and carbohydrates, despite the difference in the ratio, but there are also other sources of energy where the body gets energy. As you sit, you are actually burning about 50 to 60 percent of fat and about 40 to 50 percent of carbohydrates. But as you burn you are not using them either.
You see, when seeking out the quickest way to lose weight, you need to understand that your body knows how to balance its needs to its supplies. It does you good if you keep your needs met without exceeding anything so that your body will not store the excess as fats. The amount of calories you need is actually equivalent to 1 – 2 calories per minute. If you do cardio (i.e. jogging and other related activities), your body will need a lot of energy to do this. Therefore, your body will supply the necessary calories to burn. Your metabolism will draw out carbohydrates. And as you continue this said activity, your body will tend to preserve carbohydrates and burn more fats instead. But it does not mean that your body is turning off the other fuel source so that it can draw out more fat.
So let’s just say that your body will make the balance shift. In the first event, your body will draw out 60% carbohydrate and 40% fat. In the second event, your body will draw out about 70% fat and 30% carbohydrate. With this fact, you are actually burning much more if you do cardio exercises.
Rumor #2 – Lower intensity levels of exercise (i.e. walking) burns fat more than higher intensity exercises (i.e. cardio)
Strictly speaking, when you work out at lower intensity, your body will require quick energy lesser, which means that a higher amount of fat is burned. However, the calories you burn on low intensity workouts are fewer than when you work out at high intensity activities given at the same amount of time.
If you lose weight, lower intensity level of activities is not enough even though a higher percentage of fat is utilized. You need to burn more calories (the total calories burned namely – fat and carbohydrates).
If you workout on low intensity activities, you will need to increase your time spent in order to achieve the same amount of calories burned when you are working out at higher intensity activities. Therefore, this just means that cardio exercises play a vital role in weight loss. It is simply arriving at the same amount of calories you will burn both in low intensity and high intensity activities. In order to do this, the greatest factor is time. But, if you want to burn calories fast, cardio exercises are your best choice.
