Myths Of Burning Fat

Myth: The body completely shuts off one fuel source when it turns on another. Fact: What has often been misunderstood by both exercisers and exercise instructors alike is that the body relies on both fat and carbs for energy all the time, albeit in different ratios. In fact, right now as you sit here reading, you may be burning about 50-60 percent fat and 50-40 percent carbohydrates. You're not using very much of either, however, because the amount of calories you need probably amounts to about one or two calories a minute. If you were to get up and start jogging in place, your body would need to supply you with some quick energy to do so, so the metabolism ratio might shift to drawing on more carbohydrates, say 70 percent and less fat, say 30 percent. If you were to continue jogging, then, in order to preserve the carbs (which can run out since you have limited stores in the body), your body would gradually shift its metabolism ratio again to say, 60 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrates. From an energy-efficient point of view, it pays to be fit. The endurance athlete would be able to make the shift sooner and his fat-burning percentage might be 65-75 percent.

However, in practical terms this is just so much technical jargon and these ratios make very little difference when it comes to losing weight and decreasing your body fat. For the most part, athletes are often leaner not because they might rely on slightly more fat than fuel, but because they practice their sport many hours a day - this burns a lot of calories. If you had the time, energy and fitness level to work out three hours a day, being overweight would probably not be an issue. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than your body consumes and uses every day. Exercise is one main way to burn a lot of calories. But when it comes to weight loss, what matters is how many calories you burn, not so much where the calories come from.

Myth: Exercise done at low intensity, such as walking, is better at fat burning than other high-intensity activities, like running or cardio activities where you push yourself very hard.

Fact: In a strictly scientific sense these claims are true because working at a lower intensity requires less quick energy and a higher percentage of fat is burned. But you will also burn far fewer calories than would if, for the same amount of time, you worked out at a harder intensity (running versus walking). If you're trying to lose weight, even though a higher percentage of fat is being used, a lower total amount of fat is lost.

Whether increased fat burning will result in actual weight loss is dependent on several variables, including the total calories burned (including both fat and carb calories) and the total fat calories burned. If you do work at a low intensity, you need to increase the time spent exercising to burn more calories. What matters most is the total number of calories burned.