Go Faster! Go Slower! Oh, Just Go!
Burn a (Relative) Myth to Burn More (Absolute) Calories
Dear Kymberly and Alexandra: What is the appropriate intensity or heart rate for a 56 year old woman who wants to burn fat? A while ago, I won a free membership to a gym and was surprised when my personal trainer informed me that I needed to slow down on the treadmill. I always thought that walking faster would be better for losing weight. Diane, Santa Maria, CA
Alexandra: The appropriate heart rate for a 56 year old woman is to have one! Yup, now that you’re officially in the “second half,” how much does it matter if your heart is beating like a rabbit? Mine goes shooting sky high when I see actor Clive Owen, and you don’t see me slowing down as I stalk him in Hollywood!
Kymberly: How shall I put this diplomatically and professionally?? Umm, get a new trainer. This one fell for a long time myth and does not understand the diff between burning calories to lose fat and using fat vs carbos as the energy source for activity. Do you hear me tearing out my low fat hair? Read our post on how you don’t have to burn fat in order to be low fat: Best Workouts to Burn Fat for Women Over 50.
To reduce fat, you must get to caloric deficit whether those calories are fueled by stored fat…
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Alexandra: Ah, I thought that sound was you burning some fat. On the stove. In a frying pan. With an empty bacon wrapper on the counter. When you’re done setting off the smoke alarms, Kymberly, please tell Diane the difference between burning fat calories and using energetic fat!
Don’t Dread this Treadmill
Calories In vs Calories Out Still Counts
Kymberly: Alexandra is jealous of my cooking abilities and my superior fitness knowledge. So sad, so obvious. Here’s the deal. To reduce body fat you need to:
- Burn more calories than you take in. You can do that by working out longer (but who the heck has time? You are too busy finding a qualified trainer and walking faster. Believe me);
- Or you can work out more intensely;
- Or you can do both. The key is to use up calories faster than a Hummer uses gas. Or faster than Alexandra runs when the near naked scene with Clive Owen in the James Bond movie comes on screen. Whether those calories you burn up are fueled by stored fat or stored carbohydrates, the bottom line is to get to caloric deficit.
Forget Speed; Go with Style!
Alexandra: As a true professional (“professional what?” you may ask) I want to add this little caveat. Do you take any meds that would cause your (shall we call him or her “former”?) trainer to worry about your heart rate? If so, you had better talk to a real doctor instead of we two fitness weenies about your walking pace. Otherwise, here is the deal. If you walk faster, you lose weight faster. How soon is your next high school reunion? If it’s really soon, you had better walk so fast that it comes to resemble a heavy, panting trot. And will someone please let Kymberly know that my close personal friend Clive was not in a James Bond movie.
Caloric Deficit is Key: “Fat Burning Zone” is Myth
Kymberly: Hey running rabbit sis, slow down! But Diane – speed up your heart rate. Last time Alexandra panted as hard as her advice suggests, Clive Owen was….. Oh never mind. As I was saying, get to caloric deficit. The trap your trainer got caught in is that low intensity activity relies on stored body fat to fuel the casual stroll. High intensity activity uses mostly carbohydrates as fuel, also known as “energy,” also known as “calories.” And while low intensity exercise might use a higher relative percentage of fat instead of carbos, you need not care about relative percentages in this case. You care about total, absolute number of burned cals. To lose one pound of weight you must burn 3,500 more calories than you take in, ie, caloric deficit. Therefore, do what it takes to burn as many calories as you can, need, or want. You can either go longer, go with more intensity, or go more often if you have a weight loss goal.
Alexandra: Can you really walk your way to a more fit you? Click that <—— link and read our post on how to pace yourself depending whether you are walking to be healthy, avoid weight gain, or lose weight. Can Walking Really Get You to Your Fit Destination? Also take a look at this great guest post from Jody Goldenfield: Managing Your Weight As You Age . She’s one of the most fit 50+ women we know and is over at Truth2BeingFit.com.
Action: Tweet, comment, and share our post on Facebook if you think others might benefit from this fat burning info as well.
Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA and Alexandra Williams, MA
The post To Burn Fat, Do I Go Faster or Slower? appeared first on Fun and Fit: Active Aging Answers for Boom Chicka Boomers.