So what’s with this fat burning state you keep hearing about?
Is it truth, or is it fantasy?
A lot of the online forums, keyboard junkies, and “experts” that provide no credentials, or references, are arguing that burning calories is all it takes to lose fat.
The logic goes, if I burn more calories than I consume, then I will lose fat.
If I do activities that burn more calories, for instance run, rather than walk, then I will lose fat faster then, right?
So why doesn’t this work? Why do so many people have trouble losing fat?
Why is the fat epidemic the largest it has ever been and the supposed “solutions” have been promoted and real results are sought after more than ever?
It’s because even though it’s true that you burn more calories running than walking, the calories burned aren’t made up of the same energy sources.
In other words, you might be burning something other than fat while exercising.
So what is the critical factor that separates burning fat from other sources?
It is your heart rate.
To learn more about how your heart rate controls whether you burn your precious muscle, and slows your metabolism, versus getting rid of that stubborn fat, we have to look at the energy systems involved.
The fat burning state is actually determined by a heart rate calculation.
The formula goes like this: (220-age in years) x .6
For example, 220-25 = 195
195 x .55 = 107
195 x .65 = 127
Any zone between .55 – .65 of the above calculation, in this example 107 – 127bpm will be the most efficient for burning fat.
How efficient might you ask?
Here’s a little secret
Relatively zero amount of fat is burned before the first twenty minutes, when the body is running on glucose, a type of sugar, instead.
Then the body begins burning fat at about 6/10 of the calories, when the other 4/10 is coming from glucose.
The longer you stay in the heart rate zone, the more fat begins to burn, and eventually the body is running on mostly fat, even though it will always burn glucose.
During rest, your body burns more fat in comparison to carbohydrates. As intensity and activity increases, utilization of sugar increases. Exercise increase EPOC however, which can increase energy metabolism of fat.
My Signature Method, Your Signature Move!
