Fat Burning on an Elliptical...what speed is best?!


Question: Fat Burning on an Elliptical!.!.!.what speed is best!?
Hey, folks, the title pretty much says it all!. I use an elliptical machine a good 5 days a week!. When I'm on it, I run at a heart rate of about 155 and burn nearly 700 calories in 1 hour!.

Now, the whole time I'm exercising, my heart rate is in the "cardio" or "Max" portion (although I breathe just fine) But I can't help but notice that the "fat burn" section is much, much slower!

So!.!.!.what should I do!? I sweat a LOT going as fast as I do, but it seems that the weight loss is lower!

I am
24 yrs
5'11"
250 lbs (in shape, though!)Www@Answer-Health@Com


Answers:
I love this question - people are so confused by this!. The idea of working out in the "fat burning zone" is a misconception when it comes to weight loss!. When you workout your body will burn a mix of fats and carbs to fuel itself!. The ratio of fat versus carbs changes depending on the intensity!. While it is true that at a lower intensity your body will burn a greater percentage of fat for fuel, you will burn more total fat if you work out at a higher intensity!.

Here is some math to hopefully make this more clear:

Workout #1: 20 mins: Low intensity; 80% of the calories burned are from fat; 100 calories burned; 100 x !.8 = 80 fat calories burned!.

Workout #2: 20 mins: High intensity; 33% of the calories burn are from fat; 300 calories burned; 300 x !.33 = 100 fat calories burned!.

Plus with workout #2 you have also burned and extra 180 carb calories and since unused carbs get stored as fat this also helps your weight loss efforts!. Hopefully this all makes sense!. Bottom line is higher intensity workouts are better for fat/weight loss so don't freak out if you aren't working out in your "fat burning zone!."Www@Answer-Health@Com





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