Whoa whoa whoa!! You can't burn fat via exercise????

IronPlayground

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

Dammit! I've always cherished the claim that you continue to burn higher calories for a while after exersizing!!! I HATE exersizing and I want to gleen every last bit of benefit from it! :sad:

Your body can still burn exercise calories for a period of time after anaerobic exercise (resistance training). Usually after aerobic training (cardio), the exercise calories stop being burned upon completion of the workout.

No, this is not true. It used to be thought that metabolism slowed back to at rest state within an hour of doing aerobic exercise. But it's been shown to last for several hours.

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

bcattoes

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

Dammit! I've always cherished the claim that you continue to burn higher calories for a while after exersizing!!! I HATE exersizing and I want to gleen every last bit of benefit from it! :sad:

Your body can still burn exercise calories for a period of time after anaerobic exercise (resistance training). Usually after aerobic training (cardio), the exercise calories stop being burned upon completion of the workout.

No, this is not true. It used to be thought that metabolism slowed back to at rest state within an hour of doing aerobic exercise. But it's been shown to last for several hours.

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

I meant consistent cardio also. The NC study was done on cardio alone - 45 min of intense cardio using exercise bikes. 100% of the participants (all men, if I remember correctly) showed an afterburn of several hours. The average was 14 hours.

ETA: Here is an article describing the carefully controlled study, if you are interested.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-01/health/sc-health-0201-fitness-burn-20120201_1_post-exercise-exercise-scientists-metabolism

IronPlayground

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

Dammit! I've always cherished the claim that you continue to burn higher calories for a while after exersizing!!! I HATE exersizing and I want to gleen every last bit of benefit from it! :sad:

Your body can still burn exercise calories for a period of time after anaerobic exercise (resistance training). Usually after aerobic training (cardio), the exercise calories stop being burned upon completion of the workout.

No, this is not true. It used to be thought that metabolism slowed back to at rest state within an hour of doing aerobic exercise. But it's been shown to last for several hours.

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

I meant consistent cardio also. The NC study was done on cardio alone - 45 min of intense cardio using exercise bikes. 100% of the participants (all men, if I remember correctly) showed an afterburn of several hours. The average was 14 hours.

ETA: Here is an article describing the carefully controlled study, if you are interested.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-01/health/sc-health-0201-fitness-burn-20120201_1_post-exercise-exercise-scientists-metabolism

Thank you for the article. However, it does back up more of what I'm saying. Very little EPOC is provided from running on a treadmill at a constant speed for 3 miles. Your article states the the participants in the study went through "vigorous" cycling workouts. This suggest they were performing a workout closer to HIIT than steady cardio. In that scenario, EPOC would be greater based on the intensity of the workout.

ninerbuff

The MOST simplistic answer is YES you can burn fat via exercise. But you'd have to burn off your glycogen stores first.

What most people DON'T know is that you burn more fat AT REST (not exercising) than you would exercising.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

scottb81

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

IronPlayground

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

Not sure I completely agree with that. This is just my opinion, but I would think running at a constant pace for 30 minutes would not burn as many calories as a HIIT workout for 30 minutes.

bpotts44

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

Exactly, cardio exercise burns way more calories than weight lifting. You see many people promoting weight lifting on here versus cardio. If you have 30 minutes of exercise time it is your best bet to do cardio in increase weight loss. It makes maintaining a caloric deficit much easier.

bcattoes

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

Dammit! I've always cherished the claim that you continue to burn higher calories for a while after exersizing!!! I HATE exersizing and I want to gleen every last bit of benefit from it! :sad:

Your body can still burn exercise calories for a period of time after anaerobic exercise (resistance training). Usually after aerobic training (cardio), the exercise calories stop being burned upon completion of the workout.

No, this is not true. It used to be thought that metabolism slowed back to at rest state within an hour of doing aerobic exercise. But it's been shown to last for several hours.

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

I meant consistent cardio also. The NC study was done on cardio alone - 45 min of intense cardio using exercise bikes. 100% of the participants (all men, if I remember correctly) showed an afterburn of several hours. The average was 14 hours.

ETA: Here is an article describing the carefully controlled study, if you are interested.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-01/health/sc-health-0201-fitness-burn-20120201_1_post-exercise-exercise-scientists-metabolism

Thank you for the article. However, it does back up more of what I'm saying. Very little EPOC is provided from running on a treadmill at a constant speed for 3 miles. Your article states the the participants in the study went through "vigorous" cycling workouts. This suggest they were performing a workout closer to HIIT than steady cardio. In that scenario, EPOC would be greater based on the intensity of the workout.

I didn't see anything to suggest the cycling was HIIT and not a steady pace, but you are correct that for the afterburn the intesity matters. But it is quite possible to do intense consistent (steady state) cardio.

scottb81

Not sure I completely agree with that. This is just my opinion, but I would think running at a constant pace for 30 minutes would not burn as many calories as a HIIT workout for 30 minutes.

It largely depends on how well trained the person is. One person running steady state may be running 14 minute miles. Another is running 11 minute miles. Still another is running 7 or 8 minute miles.

Another factor is that of that 30 minutes HIIT only about half of that is actually spent running fast. The other half is spent recovering at a significantly lower calorie burn. Just because the heart is still beating fast, the calorie burn still goes down when the muscles reduce their energy expenditure.

Jynus

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

false. Metabolic chamber study, 45min of 70% VO2MAX 188bpm HR caused about a 30% metabolic increase over the next 24 hours vs no cardio done. This was on top of the 420 calories burned directly from the exercise done.

In addition to that, the more you increase intensity, the more the metabolic increase is. When you damage tissue, it needs repair. Resistance training by definition damages tissue. Thats how you get a hypertrophic response. This repair is not done from thin air, it requires calories to do. Ask ANYONE trying to gain weight while lifting heavy. it's not easy. They eat and eat more until they are stuffed. Gaining weight while resistance training is dam hard once you're able to lift decently heavy.

This is comparable to burn victims. Ask any doc what the caloric requirements of burn victims are. easily 10k+. It takes a ton of every to repair damaged tissue.

To note though. This is resistance training that actually pushes progressive overload. If you're following those cardio routine ment to look like resistance training, then ya, no overload means no epoc.

Jynus

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

Exactly, cardio exercise burns way more calories than weight lifting. You see many people promoting weight lifting on here versus cardio. If you have 30 minutes of exercise time it is your best bet to do cardio in increase weight loss. It makes maintaining a caloric deficit much easier.

nope, weight lifting burns way more calories than cardio once you can lift heavy. Otherwise you are correct.

RobynMWilson

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

It happened to me. I started storing extra fat when I hit 39 from being a cardio addict so I had to revamp my routine in the past year. After 15yrs of doing primarily cardio, it finally failed me. I had to start hitting weights, hard! Not 5lb weights for 150 reps, more like heavy weights and few reps. Now I'm back where I wanna be!

I believe you can't burn fat from exercise alone or from diet alone. It's been my experience that it's a two-part...all the exercise in the world will not get me where I wanna be if I didn't clean up my eating. Just like I can eat perfectly "clean" all the time but if I'm not getting up and moving, I'm not gonna get where I wanna be. Especially at 40 yrs old!

AlsDonkBoxSquat

If you are not exercising and eating at a surplus you will gain weight and increase your bf %.
If you are not exercising and eating at maintenance you will maintain your weight and bf%.
If you are not exercising and eating at a deficit you will lose weight and decrease your bf%.


If you are exercising and eating at a surplus you will gain weight and increase your bf %.
If you are exercising and eating at maintenance you will maintain your weight and bf%.
If you are exercising and eating at a deficit you will lose weight and decrease your bf%.

If you are not exercising and eating at a deficit you will lose weight, decrease your bf%, and possibly be a little jiggly.
If you are exercising and eating at a deficit you will lose weight, decrease your bf%, and possibly be not be a little jiggly.

DavPul

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

That's a very simplistic understanding of the caloric deficit caused by weight training. So many people here are only trying to figure amount the calories burned during the actual 45-60 min workout and make a comparison some form of cardio. They don't add in the massive calorie intake your body needs over the next 48 hours to replenish, rebuild and grow the muscles damaged during that 60 minute workout.

Sharyn913

Take everything you read here with a grain of salt...

bcattoes

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

It happened to me. I started storing extra fat when I hit 39 from being a cardio addict so I had to revamp my routine in the past year. After 15yrs of doing primarily cardio, it finally failed me. I had to start hitting weights, hard! Not 5lb weights for 150 reps, more like heavy weights and few reps. Now I'm back where I wanna be!

I believe you can't burn fat from exercise alone or from diet alone. It's been my experience that it's a two-part...all the exercise in the world will not get me where I wanna be if I didn't clean up my eating. Just like I can eat perfectly "clean" all the time but if I'm not getting up and moving, I'm not gonna get where I wanna be. Especially at 40 yrs old!

While I agree that a mix of cardio (aerobic) exercise and strength training is usually most effective and healthiest option. It was not cardio 'messing with your hormones' that caused you start storing extra fat. Our metabolisms naturally begin slowing at about age 20. It's likely the cardio that allowed you not begin storing that extra fat until age 39.

If you think it's bad at age 40, wait till you hit menopause!

bpotts44

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

Exactly, cardio exercise burns way more calories than weight lifting. You see many people promoting weight lifting on here versus cardio. If you have 30 minutes of exercise time it is your best bet to do cardio in increase weight loss. It makes maintaining a caloric deficit much easier.

nope, weight lifting burns way more calories than cardio once you can lift heavy. Otherwise you are correct.

I've lifted a lot of weights in my lift and at one point I was a very competitive cyclist. You burn many more calories in an hour of cycling or running than you would in an hour of lifting. Long term you will get some metabolic gain from increased muscle mass, but for most people on here trying to lose weight with limited time cardio is the answer.

Jynus

So many exercise facts get twisted and turned around partly because none of them are 100% proven.

Exercise absolutely can burn fat. Most likely what got twisted is that we used to think that exercise would burn tons of extra calories even once we were done performing it and that doesn't seem to be true. Of course I'm sure someone will argue with me on that.

Excessive cardio can mess with women's hormones and cause them to store fat. It's individual though - I've never had that issue.

It happened to me. I started storing extra fat when I hit 39 from being a cardio addict so I had to revamp my routine in the past year. After 15yrs of doing primarily cardio, it finally failed me. I had to start hitting weights, hard! Not 5lb weights for 150 reps, more like heavy weights and few reps. Now I'm back where I wanna be!

I believe you can't burn fat from exercise alone or from diet alone. It's been my experience that it's a two-part...all the exercise in the world will not get me where I wanna be if I didn't clean up my eating. Just like I can eat perfectly "clean" all the time but if I'm not getting up and moving, I'm not gonna get where I wanna be. Especially at 40 yrs old!

While I agree that a mix of cardio (aerobic) exercise and strength training is usually most effective and healthiest option. It was not cardio 'messing with your hormones' that caused you start storing extra fat. Our metabolisms naturally begin slowing at about age 20. It's likely the cardio that allowed you not begin storing that extra fat until age 39.

If you think it's bad at age 40, wait till you hit menopause!

external factors can make hormonal changes that affect your base BMR. This is nothing new. There was a harvard study recently done that found macro breakdown alone can change your base BMR, even with equal calories. There was another doc called why skinny people are skinny or something like that. Basically they fed 20 skinny people who claim they can't gain weight 5k calories a day. So like 3k+ their normal intake. No other changes were made. End result is every last one of them gained weight, but NONE of them gained the amount of weight math says they should gain by adding 3k calories a day. In every case, their base BMR increased to try and compensate.

How many people on here do you constantly see saying I do tons of cardio, only eat 1k calories a day, but I just cannot lose weight.

Your BMR is NOT constant, and can easily change based upon external factors. Not just age.

Jynus

Maybe I should be more specific. Consistent cardio provides very little EPOC (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) while HIIT and weight training provide significantly more EPOC.

HIIT and weight training provide approximately 7% more. However, since HIIT and weight training both burn significantly fewer calories during the workout the total calories burned, including EPOC, is significantly less than that burned with a normal steady state exercise.

Exactly, cardio exercise burns way more calories than weight lifting. You see many people promoting weight lifting on here versus cardio. If you have 30 minutes of exercise time it is your best bet to do cardio in increase weight loss. It makes maintaining a caloric deficit much easier.

nope, weight lifting burns way more calories than cardio once you can lift heavy. Otherwise you are correct.

I've lifted a lot of weights in my lift and at one point I was a very competitive cyclist. You burn many more calories in an hour of cycling or running than you would in an hour of lifting. Long term you will get some metabolic gain from increased muscle mass, but for most people on here trying to lose weight with limited time cardio is the answer.

Again, once you can lift heavy, this is no longer true.

You said you've done a lot of lifting. What are your 1rep maxes for the big lifts?

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf

Are you in the intermediate level of strength? Advanced? I'm going to have to say no you're not because of this claim you're making. Once you start getting solidly into intermediate then try and tell me that lifting doesn't create a huge caloric requirement.

ashlafer

I recommend scheduling an appointment with a nutritionist. Try to find somebody who is a registered dietician, since basically anybody can call themselves a nutritionist. If you have insurance, it's usually not too pricey (mine costs $15/appointment). A nutritionist will work with you to figure out YOUR body's needs, both in terms of exercise and diet. I wouldn't rely too much on MFP for tailored exercise advice. Borrow some exercise books from the library (try New Rules of Lifting), and get some solid basics down before you invest too much into a certain workout/diet regimen.

It's not that I don't trust MFP's advice! MFP can be a great starting point for research and discussions, and has helped me a ton! Just keep in mind that with so many different bits of advice, experience, and opinions being thrown at you, your best bet is to visit a few different professionals to set the record straight.