Quite confused about heart rate and fat loss.?

Question

I've seen on the forums that a high heart rate during cardio will start to burn muscle, instead of fat. So should I be doing low intense to lose fat? Can somebody explain

Answer 1

IF your body doesn't have enough energy, it will indeed burn muscle cells (and other more imporant cells eventually).

However, that's when you've been without food for a long time, or you're doing marathons, etc. I get the idea that you're just starting out, and not a marathon runner.

Don't worry. Your body burns carbs first, and when it runs out of carbs, it will dip into your fat reserves. You'll want to take in enough carbs (sports drinks?) to have a good exercise session, but not so much that the body doesn't burn fat (or worse yet, stores those carbs for later!).

Get a heart rate monitor, and check the charts at the gym for your best heart rate. Roughly it is 220 minus your age for your max, and "experts" tell you to try to keep it at 80% of that max. I'm 44, and I try to keep my heart rate at 165... I can certainly tell when it hits 185, and I'm dying (not literally) when I get to 200.

Unless you're into endurance sports, you won't run out of carbs if you stick to good ole water during your workout.

Answer 2

cardio done for more than 30 minutes will help you burn more calories all day. Doing lower intensity exercise will burn calories while you are doing them, but not all day. After an intense cardio workout, eat a bit of protien or even one of those protein bar things.

I do a cardio for an hour on the arc trainer and it burns over 900 calories. Doing an hour on the treadmill will burn about 500.

Answer 3

i've got lost 5 pounds in my first week. it relatively is my 10th day and that i've got blanketed salad with some protein (eg. egg/ lean chicken) as you reported. After 4 years of attempting, the fat is ultimately coming off. It relatively feels like magic! get all started at present!