Fat Burner?

ffd1022

How do I make sure I am burning fat and not muscle?

gp79

Work out at 60-65% of your max heart rate is the easiest way.

ffd1022

Thank you. Know of a good heart rate monitor? I have one on my treadmill, but now that the weather is improving, I would like to run/walk outside.

Nursebeachnut

The heart monitors on cardio equipment are not very accurate. I suggest a a Polar(F4) heart rate monitor. I have one with a chest strap and it is awesome. It is extremely accurate and tells me exactly how many calories I have burned. Most machines tell me that I have burned up to 100 calories more than I actually have.

dmanakho

How do I make sure I am burning fat and not muscle?

easy.... if you do weight (and free weights are the best, forget about machines with cable machines being a notable exception) and strength exercises your muscles will be forced to grow... just feed it with enough protein in your diet while keeping your overall daily calorie deficit.

Your muscles will grow as a result of the weigh lifting workouts and using the protein you provide with your diet You fat will burn itself out because, you keep the calorie deficit in your diet and you body still needs more energy than you provide it with your food.

It gets a bit trickier when you are male and go below 15% of fat percentage (not sure about the women here)... the less fat you get the harder it gets to continue getting rid of the fat without burning some muscle mass.

I'm very opinionated about this, but i truly believe that regular weight and strength workouts exercises are much more effective than cardio if we are talking strictly about the weight loss. It applies to both men and women.

ffd1022

Thank you all. Very informative!