Tuesday Update (Updated Again)
March 25th, 2008 by Rian | Filed under Miscellaneous.Today is a good day so far. So far I’ve had some healthy stuff: two glasses of fresh carrot juice, one tall glass of water with an organic lemon squeezed into it, a banana and half of an apple, and some grilled chicken for lunch. (I also had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a protein shake after the gym).
Today’s gym visit had me trying a new strategy: the elliptical machine first - at which point I managed to get up to a level 9 resistance (higher than I’ve ever gone!) without going too far over my fat-burning target heart rate. I ended with the treadmill but wasn’t able to get over a 4% incline…
I will address a couple of comments about the “fat-burning heart rate” shortly. But first…
I’m starting to notice a trend at the gym. It seems like I expend most of my energy on whatever machine I start on. For instance, if I start on the treadmill, I can put the machine higher and do a great workout on it. But whatever I do afterwards is affected and I can’t go as high. So it’s either power-walking on the treadmill at an 8% incline for 30 minutes, then the elliptical afterwards at a 3 or 4. OR it’s a great elliptical workout for 30 minutes, then the treadmill at 3 or 4. I just don’t seem to have the energy to do both at higher levels. Today, for example, by the time I got onto the treadmill, my ankles and legs were hurting pretty badly. (Not sure why). When I was at a 4% incline I really was in pain (and not a good pain). So I had to cut things short.
What I am going to start doing is this: One day, I’ll use the elliptical for 45 minutes at the highest level I can sustain, then the bike for 15. The next day, I’ll do the treadmill for 45 minutes as high as I can go, then the bike for 15. That way I can focus on certain muscle groups each day. I only do the stationary bike/spinning machine for my thigh muscles anyway. I never use it for cardio. So it doesn’t matter how tired I am, I can still do it for 10 or 15 minutes after I do my “main” workout.
Now, onto comments… first off, I truly appreciate your guys’ ongoing support! I know I have a tendency to ramble on and on. So thanks for reading. 
A couple of people have left comments asking why I feel the need to keep my heart rate at a certain level. I thought everyone knew about the “fat burning zone” thing, but maybe not…
Basically, according to a few trainers I’ve spoken with, plus after extensive research, I’ve learned that in order to “effectively” burn the most fat, you have are supposed to train at a certain level, or “zone” (heart beats per minute during a workout). 60-65% is considered the “fat burning” zone. 80-85% is considered “high intensity cardio”. These numbers are on every single machine in my gym, so obviously it’s pretty important. Since I’m 30 years old, my “fat burning zone” is around 123 beats per minute. My “high intensity cardio zone” is up to 152 bpm.
Since I don’t want to stop burning fat [in the most efficient way] at any time during my workout, I never let my heart rate get over 152 bpm. I mainly try to stay around 130bpm or so but mostly between 130-140bpm.
Somebody claiming to be A physician left a comment on my last post telling me I am misinformed about this, but… this information is everywhere. It’s not something I made up, but it’s well-known fitness information! A search on google about “fat burning zone” will reveal millions of results with plenty of info about this.
So anyway….. today is Tuesday which means pool day. In about 20 minutes I’m going to walk the mile over to the pool hall and play a couple of games with B. I’m allowing myself 2 alcohol drinks - Mic Ultras, which are only 95 calories each. And I’m walking both ways (when I could easily drive) for the extra exercise!
Later Edit:
It’s 2am, I should be asleep but… I’m not tired. Tonight was OK - I shot a couple of good games of pool. I ended up driving to the pool hall though because it was cold and windy out. (Still winter-like here in NH). As a result I only had 1 1/2 of the Mic Ultras.
The bad news is that I feel once again like I’m coming down with a cold. I’m guzzling Vitamin C cocktails like there is no tomorrow, so hopefully that will once again do the trick.
As for the fat burning zone thing, I’m going to stick with what I’ve been doing for now. However, as much as it pains me, I’m going to keep an eye on the scale and start measuring myself again. I know for a fact that my bottom is benefiting from the exercise I’m doing because I can tell that it has gotten smaller already. (Actually, I started noticing this about 2 weeks ago and it’s becoming more obvious by the day. Seriously!) And B also commented on it tonight and said that he can tell I’m losing in that area. How nice of him to notice.
Hi Rian,
Way to go on the progress! I got curious about the fat-burning zone, and according to all the websites I found (the legitimate ones, not the ones trying to sell me stuff), the fat-burning zone is something of a myth. You DO burn more fat there, but if you have a higher intensity workout, you burn more calories, which leads to more fat-burning anyway…so it’s more effective to lose weight by doing workouts that are not stuck in that zone. Here, look at this:
http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/busting-the-fat-burning-zone-myth/9f3868f271903110VgnVCM10000013281eac____/weight.loss/weight.loss.coaches/michele.stanten
or this:
http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/diet-fitness/fat-burning-zone-lets-do-math.html
Maybe this will help you have even higher success!
The person “claiming” to be a physician IS for real. She’s my sister. : ) She only mentioned her career field to give validity to her comment. I did mention before that I’m a registered dietitian with background in endurance sports.
A lot of people believe what you have written, but it’s inaccurate. People - trainers too - have mixed facts with misinformation. Remember that many trainers have a high school degree and an online training certification!
Here is a link from a respectable website why low intensity exercise is not enough:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/41/1671_51993
Basically, in the “fat loss zone” your body is using fat for energy more than other substrates. However, you are burning significantly fewer calories overall.
Exercise at higher intensities does indeed burn fat, though at a much lower percentage. Your body will burn significantly more calories though. Burned calories leads to fat loss.
As an example, a 150# woman burns 13.1 calories/minute running a 9-min/mile pace and only 6.6 calories/minute walking 4mph. The after effect of the higher intensity exercise also has more impact on fat loss than lower intensity exercise. Why spend 30 minutes burning only 180 calories when you could burn 400 in the same amount of time? The greater caloric deficit can yield more weight/fat loss.
My sister and I enjoy reading your site, but we do question some of your exercise/diet “facts.” We hope that this information helps you and perhaps triggers an interest in learning more. : )
You burn a higher percentage of your kcal from fat at a lower intensity, but unless you are burning more kcal than you would at a higher intensity, you still aren’t burning as much fat. For example, I might run 6 miles at an 8 minute pace (say, burning around 700 or so kcal) and burn a lower percent of my kcal from fat, but still burn more fat than if I had used a stationary bike (say 400 kcal)for the same length of time. Those are just ballpark guesses of kcal burn. You have the basic idea correct, but you aren’t going to stop burning fat if your HR is higher. It’s just that lower intensity exercise burns a higher percentage of kcal from fat. But the way I see it, you work out the way you want, you know yourself and your body better than anyone commenting does, and if that exercise is for you, of course do it!
this might interest you–
http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/l/aa022601a.htm
according to this source, while you DO burn more fat calories percentage-wise in the “fat burning zone,” you burn more overall calories, including those from fat, in the high intensity zone. just thought you might like to check it out.
Thanks for the comments! I have actually researched the fat burning zone thing extensively.
I usually train between the “fat burning zone” and the “high intensity zone” - between 130-145ish. If it goes up to 150 or higher, I slow down a little.
I think when I get more physically fit - another month or two down the line - I will feel more comfortable training at a higher level from time to time.
Mandy - I am studying nutrition (my major is community nutrition, not dietetics, though)! I have observed too just in general that most people (in general, not picking on Rian or anything) just hear something and run with it…you know what I mean? One study will be published about some health benefit of something and then everyone’s jumped on the bandwagon before we really know the consequences. I just wanted to comment that I agree with you about “facts” - they’re in quotes for a reason, and I think in general the public needs to look at things more critically, especially when it comes to health practices. (I know I don’t believe something someone tells me a lot of the time unless they can tell me they read it from a credible source and I can then look it up myself!)
But also…kudos to Rian for being so diligent with her workouts!
Holly - It’s nice to hear from someone who can relate to what I’m saying. I think the media is partially to blame. They convert one research study into a nutrition fact. Then additional research eventually disproves the so-called fact. And, ultimately, the public, loses faith in any nutrition information because in their eyes WE are to blame.
My masters degree focused on community nutrition, and I currently work in that field!
To make this post relevant - Rian, I am going to tell my sister that you edited your post regarding her career field. She tried to prove it to you through the e-mail address she used on her post.
130-145 sounds like an appropriate heart rate range, by the way.
MK
hey…Im studying nutrition and sports in europe and I have to say that this whole “fat-burn-level” isn’t completly wrong but not that important because even if your heart range is higher your are still burning something…like carbs!and it doesn’t matter what you burn it just matters THAT you burn something, fat and carbs, both lead to a weight-loss if your balance is negative
regards
mel
so