Does Burning Calories Mean Burning Fat?
Does Burning Calories Mean Burning Fat?
The truth is that just because you are burning calories that doesn’t mean you are burning fat as well. When you are exercising, the first calories that your body uses are from the carbohydrates in your system rather than the calories in your stored fat.
In order for your body to burn stored fat there are a few factors involved. The first thing you must keep in mind is that in order to get at those fat reserves you need O2 (oxygen), and in order to get that O2 you will need to keep your heart rate in your target zone. The target heart rate is different for everyone but is achieved the same way, through aerobic exercise (aka cardio). The very word aerobic means “with air” air being oxygen of course.
Keep in mind that if your body does not get the oxygen it requires then your body will not burn the stored fat and you will only lose water weight. This is a negative result because this can cause your metabolism to slow; this will actually cause you to gain weight.
To really get at that fat you have to find the perfect heart rate “zone” where you are working out hard enough to need/want more oxygen, but not so hard that it isn’t getting enough, in which case it will resort to burning the carbohydrates in your system again. The idea is to reach that level where your body needs more oxygen than normal but is getting it supplied by your increased heart rate and maintain it, and then you will start burning those fat stores.
Confusing right? How do you know if you are in the “zone” and burning fat you ask? That’s a good question; go to our target heart rate calculator and let us give you the numbers.
After your aerobic workout you should move on to anaerobic exercise (weight training) to continue to get into that stored fat. Anaerobic exercise helps to increase your metabolism and so will help your body continue to burn stored fat even while at rest.
