2 Questions! Please help! :-)

amysol

Please help this newbie understand!!!

So I have been doing 3.0 and 3.0 incline (walking) 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes at night.

Q#1 At night should I do it before or after dinner?

Q#2 What is the "fat burning zone" as compared to the "cardio zone" and how can I set my treadmill to be in the right one AND what's the right one for me?

THANKS :-)

BONUS QUESTION: I drink lots of water, about 2/3 is carbonated water. Does that do me just as well as non carbinated water?

PLUS - to eat the calories burned or not eat the calories burned, THAT is the question! :-)

ForeverTrying

hello, ok here is what i think......how many days are you working out? does your treadmill have pre-programmed workouts?

if you just did 1 hour in the morning you would see results faster than splitting the workout....when you do an hour it raises your core temp enough (as long as your sweating) to burn about another hour after your done!! you don't start burning until after about 22 minutes so your only burning 8 minutes on each 30 workout.....start slow...bring it to 45 minutes 5x a week then up to 60 minutes.....do 30 of fatburning and 30 cardio or whatever to break it up!

i did this 5-6x's a week and believe me i felt like a rockstar!!! and started shedding....i never ate the calories burned but did have a bit extra but VERY healthy.....
carbonated water is ok but flat is better (i heard too much of carbonation isn't good for bones or joints, i can't remember which)

hope i helped!!!

good luck

DrBorkBork

Eat some of your calories back, especially if you're really hungry. Also, while natural water is better for you, carbonated will do ya! So will tea, coffee, and juice. Just don't rely on them for your primary water source.

jhb090107

I don't know what they person above is talking about but hey I have seen some posts on here that can only be called a little crazy. However, posts here have been some interesting jumping off points for my own research.

I always feel a little sick if I try to do the treadmill with anything much in my stomach. If your walks can be accomplished on full stomach you may need go a little harder. I would also suggest that you do it before you eat b/c when I'm done the last thing I want to do is eat, so when I get around to it I usually eat less.

Also when I am using the treadmill I keep track of how many calories burned. The treadmill I use calculates them based on weight, time, and heart rate. I like to keep an eye on how long it takes me to hit my daily goal but that is really only and ego thing. I use this number b/c it will stay the same as my weight drops, I get into better shape, and as I have good days and bad days. This way I can also bump the speed up and down as well as the incline (I love drawing those mountains) to push my heart rate up then back off and when my heart rate drops back to push it up again.

I did 1641 calories in 115 mins today! A personal best! If you can do 30 then you can do 20 mins hard, 5 slower, 10 hard, 5 slower, hard for 5, then 5 cool down.

DrBorkBork

jhb, I was answering her last couple questions about water intake & eating back calories burned after an exercise.

PSUgrl921

About calories burned...

EAT THEM! There are so many posts on this board about that. You don't necessarily have to do it everyday and if you aren't hungry that's ok if you don't eat but if you consistently do not get the minimum calories your body needs your body will hold onto everything you eat... this is starvation mode. You will see results at first and then you will hit a peak because your body won't let go of anymore. As I said, if you go under every now and then that's fine but not consistently.

MadWorld

I workout about an hour after I eat a bowl of oats in the morning-- but, I think everyone's stomach is different. I think that's something you will have to find out on your own-- your stomach will tell you, no doubt.

If you have to split your workouts up, I see nothing wrong with it. What matters is, you are moving. The more you move, the more you burn. I would, however, recommend trying speed intervals each 30 minute workout. For instance-- walk at a reg/comfortable pace 3 min, speed up to a bit of an uncomfortable pace for 1-2 minute (enough to where you notice your heartrate increasing). Over time you can gradually build up speed and burn more calories.

I don't trust any machine calorie calculations. Most are off by a little or a lot. I would prefer to use a HRM.

Water is great, it's the best.

I eat my exercise calories back bc if I don't I feel like crap... and I am no fun to be around.

amysol

Thanks everyone for the great answers! That's very helpful! I have a hard time doing the 30 right now. I am very out of shape and 240 pounds. So that's why I split them up for now. I also find at night, I can push harder and do more then in the morning which I find odd. But, I think I will start to try to do 45 in the morning then some days do 30 at night as well....for now! :-)


As far as the calories, if I am hungry I wll eat them, if not I won't! THANKS! :-)

lessertess

Q#1 At night should I do it before or after dinner?

There's no real evidence that one is better than the other. Go by whatever works best for you and feels best for you.

Q#2 What is the "fat burning zone" as compared to the "cardio zone" and how can I set my treadmill to be in the right one AND what's the right one for me?

You will burn a higher percentage of fat at a lower heart rate than at a higher heart rate. However, if you are working out harder, and at a higher heart rate you are burning more calories, and therefore, normally will net out at burning more fat. Again, a lot depends on your personal preferance. You can work at a lower intensity for a longer time, or a higher intensity for a shorter time and get just about the same results. If you really want to maximize your workout then do a combination of these. Do intervals, short bursts or really high intensity followed by a short recovery periods. Usually anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes alternating is pretty effective.

THANKS :-)

BONUS QUESTION: I drink lots of water, about 2/3 is carbonated water. Does that do me just as well as non carbinated water?

Controversial topic around here. There are the purists who will tell you that only water counts as water. Others, myself included, feel that any liquid (coffee, tea, crystal light, etc) counts towards hydration.

PLUS - to eat the calories burned or not eat the calories burned, THAT is the question! :-)

Eat your exercise calories but keep in mind that calories burned and caloric intake are just estimates. Generally exercise machines overestimate how many calories you burn by anywhere from 10% to 30%....

SHBoss1673

Thanks everyone for the great answers! That's very helpful! I have a hard time doing the 30 right now. I am very out of shape and 240 pounds. So that's why I split them up for now. I also find at night, I can push harder and do more then in the morning which I find odd. But, I think I will start to try to do 45 in the morning then some days do 30 at night as well....for now! :-)


As far as the calories, if I am hungry I wll eat them, if not I won't! THANKS! :-)

Amy, good job thinking outside the box with your exercise. There's absolutely no need to do all your exercise at the same time, if 15 minutes, 4 times a day works, that's fine. Do what you can and when you can. My only caution with walking is this: If you have no conditions that would force you to NOT up the bar, as soon as you possibly feel you can, I would consider upping the pace, either by just increasing your walking speed incrementally (over weeks or months), or adding something else into your routine. That's just a little helpful advice from me to you.

Cardio vs fat burning zone are two heart rate levels that companies put out there to give you a goal Heart Rate to shoot for.

While the Fat burning zone may seem like the best zone to be in, and in truth you burn the highest percentage of fat per calorie burned in that zone, the total fat burned in the Cardio zone is actually higher. Why? Because the total number of calories burned goes way up as your heart rate approaches that 75 to 80% max range. Assuming you have been cleared for higher intensity cardio by a doctor (alway, always ask your doctor first, especially if you're new, or overweight), I generally tell people to go as high as you can toward the anaerobic threshold. If you can sustain 75% for 30 minutes, that's far better than sustaining 65% for an hour. I know this explaination actually creates more questions, and you're welcome to PM me if you have more, but we could go on for hours on the subject of ideal exercise levels for weight loss.

As to eating exercise calories, well, first I'll refer you to my technical explaination of how our body uses calories here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

once you read that, then I'll give you the simple version:

As we abuse our bodies, and become more and more out of shape, our body's internal mechanism for deciding what we need to eat (calorie wise) becomes distorted. This means that A) we shouldn't rely on only eating when we feel hungry, because at this point our body doesn't really know when it's hungry (truly hungry). And MFP is a specific program that already creates a deficit for you, that deficit doesn't include exercise in any way until you perform and enter it. So NOT eating them is equivalent to creating a larger deficit than recommended or specified. NOW, sometimes this is ok, especially when you have a lot of weight to lose and your body can afford to pull the extra calories from fat, but it's still a risk you are taking, the longer you deprive your body of enough calories to simply sustain, the more comfortable your body will be with it, and a comfy body does NOT drop fat.
Obviously, this is the non-technical explaination, but it's enough for now. Ideally it's about patience and willpower, we all WANT to lose weight fast, but doing so can (and eventually will) sabotage your efforts. If you really want to understand the details (which I would recommend), PM me, I'll explain in GREAT detail

I guess that's about it, go get em lady! You deserve to be healthy, don't let anyone stop you!

kerrilucko

I don't have anything to add to these great answers but I happened onto this thread and wanted to happily exclaim that I am so glad some of my favourite insight givers are still around so I can pick their brains with all my repetitive questions :flowerforyou:

SHBoss1673

we miss you're happy face on here kerri! Hope all is going well for you.

amysol

YAY! It worked! Thanks everyone! :-)

SHBoss1673

what worked? Asking? LOL!


oh by the way, to answer your before or after dinner question, my opinion is: when ever you feel fits your schedule best. While there are some slight advantages to exercising a specific time after or before eating, those advantages play more into the realm of people who are working to gain specific muscle type and the like (I.E. people who are already at their goal body fat %). For now, I wouldn't worry too much about when you exercise, as the fat comes off, you can do a little more research into what's the best way to eat and exercise to gain muscle tone, strength, and size.

And no, really doesn't matter if your water is carbonated or not, not a lot at least.

stephcheers

My only caution with walking is this: If you have no conditions that would force you to NOT up the bar, as soon as you possibly feel you can, I would consider upping the pace, either by just increasing your walking speed incrementally (over weeks or months), or adding something else into your routine. That's just a little helpful advice from me to you.

I agree 100%.
I was a regular at a gym for years (same time/ same people) and as I got to know the regulars it always baffled me that after months and even years many (if not most) were still doing the same thing religiously. I saw very few people actually ever appear to have lost weight or get in better shape. I am not the kind of person who goes up and offers advice to people who don't ask. But challenging your body is the best thing you can do for it.

Have fun getting healthy! :flowerforyou: