dumb question regarding Polar HRM

lilsassymom

So, on December 28th I did Jillian Michaels Banish Fat Boost Metabolism dvd and in 55 minutes with warm up and cool down my HRM says the effect was "maximal performance improving" and I burned 464 calories, 18% fat.

Yesterday, I did Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 5 mile Fat Burning Walk (I only did 3 miles) and in 37 minutes it says the effect was "Fitness and Fat Burning Improving" and 235 calories and 32% Fat.

So, even though I burned more calories and sweated a ton more with Jillian's dvd because it is way more intense---I burned more body fat with Leslie Sansone walking? Am I understanding this correctly? If I want to lose more body fat should I stick with workouts that give me a higher % body fat at the end of the workout? Does that make sense? Should I not do Jillian Michaels dvd if it gives me a lower percent of body fat % if my goal is to lose flab and tone?

Also, I am also doing Chalean Extreme to tone---so I am lifting as well. I am not just doing cardio.

lilsassymom

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Kimsied

So, on December 28th I did Jillian Michaels Banish Fat Boost Metabolism dvd and in 55 minutes with warm up and cool down my HRM says the effect was "maximal performance improving" and I burned 464 calories, 18% fat.

Yesterday, I did Leslie Sansone Walk At Home 5 mile Fat Burning Walk (I only did 3 miles) and in 37 minutes it says the effect was "Fitness and Fat Burning Improving" and 235 calories and 32% Fat.

So, even though I burned more calories and sweated a ton more with Jillian's dvd because it is way more intense---I burned more body fat with Leslie Sansone walking? Am I understanding this correctly? If I want to lose more body fat should I stick with workouts that give me a higher % body fat at the end of the workout? Does that make sense? Should I not do Jillian Michaels dvd if it gives me a lower percent of body fat % if my goal is to lose flab and tone?

Also, I am also doing Chalean Extreme to tone---so I am lifting as well. I am not just doing cardio.

Remember, heart rate monitors just give estimates not direct measures of calorie burn and fat burn. But assuming all are accurate and my math is right...

Your Jillian workout would have burned: 83.52 calories from fat (18% of 464) or approx 9.28 grams of fat.
Your Leslie workout would have burned: 75.2 calories from fat (32% of 235) or approx 8.35 grams of fat.

So the workout that burns more calories also tends to burn more fat. Though really, it shouldn't matter whether the fuel used for the workout is fat or carbs. My understanding is if you burn off the carbs stored in your muscles,then your body will need to replace it (most likely from your stored fat if you are dieting) and if you burn from your stored fat. Well it should be more or less the same either way. There are fitness benefits for the higher intensity (and probably the lower one too) and you get a better overall calorie burn from the more intense workout. Personally I would alternate between them if you do cardio every day so you have a harder day and a recovery day and wouldn't worry too much about the percentage of fat burned. If you only do cardio a few days a week, I would go for the one that works at the highest intensity/calorie burn. I know there are different opinions even from experts on the "fat burning zone" thing, but for the most part it seems the word is go with what gives you the better overall calorie burn and fitness benefits. But if you do a lot of cardio, it can be good to mix it up to avoid boredom, injury, and burnout and use the muscles differently.