Cardio isn't for "fat burning".

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  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?

    Once glycogen in the muscle is used, the body pulls glucose from the blood to refill the glycogen supply and decreases blood glucose levels in the process. Were you thinking of something different?

    There is a caveat with IR. Vigorous exercise can sometimes cause extra glucose to be released to the bloodstream, so T2 diabetic, etc, folks should watch their intensity level if that makes their BG go too high for too long. Mine goes up some if it's very vigorous, but not too high, and the vigor is good for the cardio system and still helps with BG levels overall (and later in the day).

    Low-intensity exercise always lowers mine very nicely, so I also do that often to bring my level down after my carbiest meal or snack, etc. That only takes about 10-15 minutes of exercise for me! I highly recommend it. T1 folks have to watch their insulin dosage with exercise, so theirs is a bit different and may require snacks, etc., more than T2 or other folks.

  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
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    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?
    I have not. He didn't go into specifics of what I should be doing, other than that I should keep up exercising. While I'm sure there are other factors involved, I do know though that for a few months I did a lot of low to moderate intensity exercise (not much vigorous) and surprisingly my overall blood sugar level actually increased.

  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    Options
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?
    Low-intensity exercise always lowers mine very nicely, so I also do that often to bring my level down after my carbiest meal or snack, etc. That only takes about 10-15 minutes of exercise for me! I highly recommend it.
    In those instances, are you eating a mostly carb centered meal/snack? Or is it a mix of macros but still with an ample number of carbs?
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Options
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?
    Low-intensity exercise always lowers mine very nicely, so I also do that often to bring my level down after my carbiest meal or snack, etc. That only takes about 10-15 minutes of exercise for me! I highly recommend it.
    In those instances, are you eating a mostly carb centered meal/snack? Or is it a mix of macros but still with an ample number of carbs?

    It is usually relatively high in carbs, yes. I plan to eat my little sweet a day before I do it, because that's the snack that makes my BG the highest during the day. I've also done it often after waking up with high BG and eating nothing, and it works quickly then, too. Just a kind of brisk walk, nothing I'd call vigorous, but not completely leisurely either.
  • lizlemon4
    lizlemon4 Posts: 36 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    so 100% of people eat this way?????????? How do you know this? Have you studied the eating habits of every person on the planet?

    go to a super market for any length of time. watch people. youll see.
  • lizlemon4
    lizlemon4 Posts: 36 Member
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    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    Incorrect. While some of these foods are higher in saturated fats there's nothing inherently wrong with them. Mostly they're just calorie dense. If you don't have high cholesterol or health issues that prevent you from having these then eating them is fine. Just don't comprise your entire diet of them.

    Cardio is to make you healthier. It can improve so much of your life. It makes it easier for me to do high altitude hiking, lowers my blood pressure, cholesterol , and my HDL was 100 on my last checkup. It does burn fat but that's as explained in the opening post when you do longer lower intensity zoned endurance.

    Also worth noting. It does not make you skinny. Professional marathon runners are skinny on purpose because you lose about 2 seconds per mile for each extra pound you carry. Light weight = greater speed. Your net calories determine your size. That is all.


    so you can out run a bad diet?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    so 100% of people eat this way?????????? How do you know this? Have you studied the eating habits of every person on the planet?

    go to a super market for any length of time. watch people. youll see.

    Lots of people shop at grocery stores. Do you spy on their purchases and make judgements?
  • lizlemon4
    lizlemon4 Posts: 36 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    so 100% of people eat this way?????????? How do you know this? Have you studied the eating habits of every person on the planet?

    go to a super market for any length of time. watch people. youll see.

    Lots of people shop at grocery stores. Do you spy on their purchases and make judgements?

    YES! lol i am not ashamed.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Options
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?

    Once glycogen in the muscle is used, the body pulls glucose from the blood to refill the glycogen supply and decreases blood glucose levels in the process. Were you thinking of something different?

    There is a caveat with IR. Vigorous exercise can sometimes cause extra glucose to be released to the bloodstream, so T2 diabetic, etc, folks should watch their intensity level if that makes their BG go too high for too long. Mine goes up some if it's very vigorous, but not too high, and the vigor is good for the cardio system and still helps with BG levels overall (and later in the day).

    Low-intensity exercise always lowers mine very nicely, so I also do that often to bring my level down after my carbiest meal or snack, etc. That only takes about 10-15 minutes of exercise for me! I highly recommend it. T1 folks have to watch their insulin dosage with exercise, so theirs is a bit different and may require snacks, etc., more than T2 or other folks.

    No, this was what I wanted him to research but he has a history of resisting any information given here so I thought I would refer him back to someone who he might listen to.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    Options
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    For low intensity exercises, is it body fat or dietary fat burned, or both?

    You'll do better if you just think of it as energy. During lower intensity exercises the body will pull some from the muscle cells themselves, and some from blood stream. The blood stream energy will be replenished by energy stored in your liver. Once that is used up it will then use stored body fat for energy. This is released into your blood and is no different than the dietary fat that you've eaten that day which might be remaining. It doesn't wait until your totally out of energy so the stored fat/energy is mixed in with things you may have eaten recently.

    There are strategies for helping your body to prefer stored fat over glycogen but that includes starting the exercise in a fasted state and doing 90+ minutes of exercise. You can run out of glycogen energy storage in your cells too but that's all really outside the scope of this discussion.
    Ok thanks guys. I understood the glycogen/carbs being burned for higher intensity exercise but the fat component for lower intensity exercise is what had me confused.
    I'm trying to get my body to burn through glycogen more, so it seems like I need to stick to higher intensity exercise.

    Why are you trying to burn through glycogen more? Is that for training purposes?
    I'm trying to cut down on excess blood sugar floating around in my bloodstream, since my overall blood sugar level is too high.

    Have you discussed this with your doctor and learned the difference between glycogen in the muscle and blood glucose numbers?
    I have not. He didn't go into specifics of what I should be doing, other than that I should keep up exercising. While I'm sure there are other factors involved, I do know though that for a few months I did a lot of low to moderate intensity exercise (not much vigorous) and surprisingly my overall blood sugar level actually increased.

    Then definitely talk to your doctor. Exercise increases your insulin sensitivity and should help lower your numbers but if you blood sugar is rising after exercise then there may be a medical issue that needs to be addressed.
  • BobJ19956
    BobJ19956 Posts: 32 Member
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    I am not following this whole discussion. I currently weigh 200 lbs. Supposedly my daily calorie need to maintain this weight (without exercise) is about 2600 calories. That essentially is just to breath and function. I decide to watch my calories and strive to take in just 2000 calories per day ... a deficit of 600. That by itself should lead to weight loss. BUT I also throw in 60 minutes of daily cardio exercise which burns an additional 500 calories. I do not eat back my exercise calories. This makes my total daily deficit 1100 calories. One could argue that this deficit is too much, BUT how can one say that the added cardio exercise is not going to increase your weight loss?
  • xLyric
    xLyric Posts: 840 Member
    edited March 2016
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    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    Incorrect. While some of these foods are higher in saturated fats there's nothing inherently wrong with them. Mostly they're just calorie dense. If you don't have high cholesterol or health issues that prevent you from having these then eating them is fine. Just don't comprise your entire diet of them.

    Cardio is to make you healthier. It can improve so much of your life. It makes it easier for me to do high altitude hiking, lowers my blood pressure, cholesterol , and my HDL was 100 on my last checkup. It does burn fat but that's as explained in the opening post when you do longer lower intensity zoned endurance.

    Also worth noting. It does not make you skinny. Professional marathon runners are skinny on purpose because you lose about 2 seconds per mile for each extra pound you carry. Light weight = greater speed. Your net calories determine your size. That is all.


    so you can out run a bad diet?

    You don't need to outrun anything, you need to eat less. People aren't fat or unhealthy because they eat pizza, it's because they eat too much of whatever it is they're eating. If you ate enough broccoli to go over your maintenance level you would gain weight. On broccoli. I've been losing weight steadily and consistently on things like Taco Bell and pizza (among other things, obviously), and as long as I'm under my calorie goal and getting enough nutrients, I'm fine. Fats and processed foods aren't the devil.

    What they were saying about cardio making you healthier had nothing to do with food or your diet, they're saying cardio, in and of itself, can make you healthier, but it won't by itself make you skinnier.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
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    BobJ19956 wrote: »
    I am not following this whole discussion. I currently weigh 200 lbs. Supposedly my daily calorie need to maintain this weight (without exercise) is about 2600 calories. That essentially is just to breath and function. I decide to watch my calories and strive to take in just 2000 calories per day ... a deficit of 600. That by itself should lead to weight loss. BUT I also throw in 60 minutes of daily cardio exercise which burns an additional 500 calories. I do not eat back my exercise calories. This makes my total daily deficit 1100 calories. One could argue that this deficit is too much, BUT how can one say that the added cardio exercise is not going to increase your weight loss?

    This was my question also
  • codygish
    codygish Posts: 63 Member
    edited March 2016
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    BobJ19956 wrote: »
    I am not following this whole discussion. I currently weigh 200 lbs. Supposedly my daily calorie need to maintain this weight (without exercise) is about 2600 calories. That essentially is just to breath and function. I decide to watch my calories and strive to take in just 2000 calories per day ... a deficit of 600. That by itself should lead to weight loss. BUT I also throw in 60 minutes of daily cardio exercise which burns an additional 500 calories. I do not eat back my exercise calories. This makes my total daily deficit 1100 calories. One could argue that this deficit is too much, BUT how can one say that the added cardio exercise is not going to increase your weight loss?

    Yes, but the point is that your CO is now greater than CI, not that the cardio actually 'burned fat'. The cardio helps with CICO, but does not target fat in any way. You would get the same result if you ate only 1100 calories and did no cardio. The exercise is allowing you to eat more, that is all.

    I have no complaint with this reality - cardio makes me feel better and allows me to eat a few more calories every day while losing weight.
  • xLyric
    xLyric Posts: 840 Member
    Options
    BobJ19956 wrote: »
    I am not following this whole discussion. I currently weigh 200 lbs. Supposedly my daily calorie need to maintain this weight (without exercise) is about 2600 calories. That essentially is just to breath and function. I decide to watch my calories and strive to take in just 2000 calories per day ... a deficit of 600. That by itself should lead to weight loss. BUT I also throw in 60 minutes of daily cardio exercise which burns an additional 500 calories. I do not eat back my exercise calories. This makes my total daily deficit 1100 calories. One could argue that this deficit is too much, BUT how can one say that the added cardio exercise is not going to increase your weight loss?

    They're not saying it won't increase your weight loss, they're saying that cardio isn't a magical fat burner that you have to do to lose weight. It even says in the original post that cardio helps burn more calories.
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    mjwarbeck wrote: »
    Problem that I have the original post is that it is too simplistic. I can easily argue that you do cardio to lose fat. Take my own example. It was by doing the cardio that I built up the endurance capability to burn the calories either through lifting or cardio....and therefore have a cardio deficit.
    Eat the same amount of calories you burn and you don't burn fat regardless of how much cardio you do. It's not the exercise that burns fat, it's the reduction in energy storage that does.
    Cardio burns more calories that anaerobic exercise, but again without a calorie deficit (with the exception of recomp), the body will retain fat.

    @ninerbuff Could you please rephrase this or explain what you mean in some other way, because this reads like a contradiction to me. I'm not sure that I'm following you.

    I was under the impression that when one is trying to "recomp", one eats at maintenance TDEE, but I may be confused, as I've never researched the process. I'm still in full-on weight loss phase, and haven't read much of anything about recomposition.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Recomp is usually a small deficit (like 100-200 calories) + a progressive overload lifting or body weight program.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,547 Member
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    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    lizlemon4 wrote: »
    People these days eat straight up crap. Chips, soda, hot dogs, McDonald's, and everything else. Never a veggie or a fruit oh how about some old fashioned water and a good run around the block. Take account for the things you consume or they will consume you with obesity and disease.

    Incorrect. While some of these foods are higher in saturated fats there's nothing inherently wrong with them. Mostly they're just calorie dense. If you don't have high cholesterol or health issues that prevent you from having these then eating them is fine. Just don't comprise your entire diet of them.

    Cardio is to make you healthier. It can improve so much of your life. It makes it easier for me to do high altitude hiking, lowers my blood pressure, cholesterol , and my HDL was 100 on my last checkup. It does burn fat but that's as explained in the opening post when you do longer lower intensity zoned endurance.

    Also worth noting. It does not make you skinny. Professional marathon runners are skinny on purpose because you lose about 2 seconds per mile for each extra pound you carry. Light weight = greater speed. Your net calories determine your size. That is all.


    so you can out run a bad diet?
    You can in the penitentiary.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,547 Member
    edited March 2016
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    minizebu wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    mjwarbeck wrote: »
    Problem that I have the original post is that it is too simplistic. I can easily argue that you do cardio to lose fat. Take my own example. It was by doing the cardio that I built up the endurance capability to burn the calories either through lifting or cardio....and therefore have a cardio deficit.
    Eat the same amount of calories you burn and you don't burn fat regardless of how much cardio you do. It's not the exercise that burns fat, it's the reduction in energy storage that does.
    Cardio burns more calories that anaerobic exercise, but again without a calorie deficit (with the exception of recomp), the body will retain fat.

    @ninerbuff Could you please rephrase this or explain what you mean in some other way, because this reads like a contradiction to me. I'm not sure that I'm following you.

    I was under the impression that when one is trying to "recomp", one eats at maintenance TDEE, but I may be confused, as I've never researched the process. I'm still in full-on weight loss phase, and haven't read much of anything about recomposition.
    If one's TDEE is say 2000 and they eat 2000, they would NOT lose fat. Reduce intake by 250 calories and fat loss will happen. The body usually has to be in deficit to lose fat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • Shrinking_Erin
    Shrinking_Erin Posts: 125 Member
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    I'm down 73 pounds with only calorie counting. No regular cardio in my life, just the occasional walk to the store or day out in Amsterdam. And I eat everything.. Aside from fast food on the regular. We don't have it here in my little town.