Polar RCX3 HRM - What is Fat Burn % of Calories?

rach503
rach503 Posts: 86 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, I have the Polar RCX3 Heart Rate Monitor and use it for runs and bike rides. One of the data points the watch displays after a workout is Fat Burn % of Calories. Does anyone know what that actually signifies? I can't seem to find any information in the manuals that came with the HRM & doing a search online didn't turn up results. I'm mostly just completely curious at this point, can't figure it out!

Replies

  • rach503
    rach503 Posts: 86 Member
    bump
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Theoretically, it's the percentage of the calories you burned that came from fat.

    Realistically, it's a magical number that your HRM gets from the Magical Twinkly Weight Loss Fairy, who makes it up to give you more numbers to look at. It is highly unlikely to mean anything useful, and you should ignore it.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Don't worry about it as, unless you're an endurance athlete, it's completely meaningless.

    Low intensity cardio is frequently referred to as the "fat burning" zone; in the so-called fat burning zone you do burn a proportionality higher percentage of calories from fat but, overall, a considerably lower number of calories (which is what's important in terms of weight loss) . Despite its name fat burning zone =/= fat loss.
  • rach503
    rach503 Posts: 86 Member
    Oh, got it! I wasn't paying it any attention / giving it any weight.

    Thanks for the info!

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