• Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archive
  • Contact
    • Letter to the Editor
  • Find us
Thursday, February 21, 2019
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
San Diego Uptown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Photography
    • Film
    • Dance
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Feature
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Community Updates
      • Hillcrest Town Council update
      • SD Zoo News
  • Food & Drink
    • Uptown Food Briefs
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Uptown Brews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Expert Advice
      • Sponsored links
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • History
      • PastMatters
    • Homes & Garden
      • HouseCalls
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Parenting
    • Pets
  • Business
    • Best Of Uptown
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
  • Neighborhoods
    • Adams Avenue
    • Balboa Park
    • Bankers Hill
    • Downtown
    • Golden Hill
    • Hillcrest
    • Kensington
    • Mission Hills
    • North Park
    • Normal Heights
    • Old Town
    • South Park
    • Talmadge
    • University Heights
  • Calendar
San Diego Uptown News
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Photography
    • Film
    • Dance
    • Music
    • Books
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Feature
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Chris Ward
        • Mara Elliott
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Community Updates
      • Hillcrest Town Council update
      • SD Zoo News
  • Food & Drink
    • Uptown Food Briefs
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Uptown Brews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Expert Advice
      • Sponsored links
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • History
      • PastMatters
    • Homes & Garden
      • HouseCalls
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Parenting
    • Pets
  • Business
    • Best Of Uptown
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
  • Neighborhoods
    • Adams Avenue
    • Balboa Park
    • Bankers Hill
    • Downtown
    • Golden Hill
    • Hillcrest
    • Kensington
    • Mission Hills
    • North Park
    • Normal Heights
    • Old Town
    • South Park
    • Talmadge
    • University Heights
  • Calendar
No Result
View All Result
San Diego Uptown News
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Fat-burning zone — fact or fiction?

Get Fit!

February 8, 2019
in Featured, Health & Fitness, Lifestyle
0
Fat-burning zone — fact or fiction?

(Courtesy YMCA)

2
SHARES
23
VIEWS

By Erica Moe

This new year, it is likely that you have already, or soon will be, entering a fitness center. As you step onto that treadmill, sit on the bike or pedal the elliptical, you’ll have to make some decisions.

First, you will adjust the incline for the treadmill, the seat for the bike or the ramp height for the elliptical. Once the machine is physically set for you, the real brain-teasing begins. Which program to select? Some options include aerobic, interval, rolling hills, mountain peaks, and the all-alluring fat-burning zone program. Who doesn’t want to burn more fat?

Interestingly, your body uses a great percentage fat for fuel when you are less active.

Fact: You are the least active when sleeping, and it turns out that’s when your body uses the greatest percentage of fat for fuel — about 80 percent. At a lower exercise intensity, which has been coined the “fat-burning zone,” the percent of fat for fuel is still high — approximately 70 percent. However, the overall total calories burned can be less than a more intense workout, which will use about 50 percent fat and 50 percent carbohydrates for energy.

Let’s do the math:

  1. Sleeping 30 minutes burns approximately 25 calories, with 20 calories coming from fat energy.
  2. Walking at 2 mph for 30 minutes burns approximately 100 calories, with 70 calories coming from fat energy.
  3. Cycling moderately for 30 minutes burns approximately 250 calories, with 125 calories coming from fat energy.

Fact: In the three options above, both A and B burn a higher percentage of fat, but yield few total calories used. Therefore, if you want to burn more calories, aim for a more intense workout, which will help you achieve your goal faster.

Fact: This doesn’t mean that you should throw out your walking shoes. Walking, or other low-intensity exercise, is a great place to start a fitness regimen. For beginners, it may be a comfortable starting point and allow for a longer exercise session when building a fitness base. However, if and when it is feasible to find ways to increase intensity, it is well worth the effort to go beyond the fat-burning zone.

Fact: When moving your body, burning calories (fat or otherwise) should not be the first and definitely not the only measurement of success. Instead, focus on increased cardiovascular endurance with longer exercise sessions or increased strength and flexibility as beneficial health rewards, not just the readout on the screen.

Fiction: Selecting the fat-burning zone workout on a machine at the gym will help you lose fat more quickly. Selecting that program will burn a higher percentage of fat and that is where the confusion starts. To lose weight, it is imperative to understand that it is a balance of calories in (nutrition) and calories out (exercise).

If you need assistance understanding this more, or learning which program will help you get to your goals more efficiently, contact your local YMCA.

—Erica Moe, M.S., is an ACSM-certified exercise physiologist who writes on behalf of the Mission Valley YMCA where she is fitness director.

Related Posts

  • Cardio options when your treadmill is takenCardio options when your treadmill is taken
  • Get the most out of your workoutsGet the most out of your workouts
  • The unconscious eater’s playbookThe unconscious eater’s playbook
  • Target your glutes with these muscle workoutsTarget your glutes with these muscle workouts
  • Exercises to cure ‘tech neck’Exercises to cure ‘tech neck’
  • Sleep more, weigh lessSleep more, weigh less
SDCNN
Next Post
Come with Me Now

Come with Me Now

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More from SDCNN:
Mission Valley News: Church celebrates 150 years
Downtown News: ‘Thar she blows!’
Mission Times Courier: A holistic approach to fitness
La Mesa Courier: Report on police incident at Helix draws ire
Gay San Diego: ‘Trans’formation

Follow us on Instagram!

  • The  missionhillslibrary debuted their updated location last month  Community volunteers did a    book pass    at the inauguration  Read more     link in bio         sduptownnews  missionhillshillcrestlibrary  missionhillslibrary  missionhills  hillcrest
  • Have you checked out our latest issue of  sd uptownnews  This week includes news about the opening of the upgraded  missionhillslibrary  a feature  a South Park landlord  and  theoldglobe    diversionarysd theater reviews  Read it all online     link in bio    sduptownnews  sduptown  sandiegonews  uptown  newspaper  hyperlocalnews
  • Venture into the Uptown jungle this week with our feature on  wildisland collective in Normal Heights  Other local coverage includes an update on Honeymoon Bridge restoration plans in Balboa Park and news of North Park   s Red Fox Room closing  Read in print or online  Link in bio         sduptown  sduptownnews  sandiegouptownnews  localnews  localnewspaper  hyperlocal
  • Happy rainy Monday        This issue we covered a transfer in ownership for a Hillcrest Arts staple  previewed the Springboard West Music Festival  told the story of a same-sex couple   a legal parentship battle and more  Visit our website to read the latest  UptownNews  Link in bio
  • After three years as the largest artist collective in San Diego  Creative Crossroads is transferring ownership from founder Aimee Baca to glass artist Dawn Wesalo  Check out our cover story featuring Calypso Collective and take a peek at our new website  link in bio
  • When this year   s North Park Toyland Parade was canceled last minute due to financial difficulties  North Park Main Street  local businesses  community members and others stepped in to save the day  Was all the scrambling and last-minute effort worth it  Read more in Katherine Hon   s latest Past Matters column  up online     website link in bio
  • HAPPY NEW YEAR UPTOWNERS  This year we covered new events  launched a new website  created an Instagram and listened to shared your stories to our community  Thank you for    liking        following    and reading our  UptownNews  What are you looking forward to in 2019  Comment below  we   d love to hear
  • Happy holidays Uptowners  Looking for something to do in  Uptown this weekend or for New Years  Pick up a copy of the latest  UptownNews or visit our website for a calendar of local concerts  shows  happy hours and events
  • Congrats to all of our  BestofUptown 2018 winners  Visit bit ly BestofUptown2018 to view our Facebook album or check our our full list of winners in the latest  UptownNews        BestofUptown2018

© 2019 San Diego Uptown News All rights reserved. San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN).

Navigate our site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow us

No Result
View All Result
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Photography
    • Music
    • Books
    • Dance
    • Film
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
    • Feature
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Uptown Food Briefs
    • Suds in the city
    • Uptown Brews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Expert Advice
      • Sponsored Links
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Fashion
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • History
  • Neighborhoods
    • Adams Avenue
    • Bankers Hill
    • Balboa Park
    • Old Town
    • Kensington
    • University Heights
    • Normal Heights
    • South Park
    • Mission Hills
    • Community Updates
      • Hillcrest Town Council update
      • HouseCalls
      • SD Zoo News
  • Best Of Uptown
  • Calendar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Archive

© 2019 San Diego Uptown News All rights reserved. San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN).

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In