Calories from fat and exercise

hkystar
hkystar Posts: 1,290 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok... so when I work out where does it burn the calories from? For example my workout today said I burned 770 calories, 25% from fat, so thats 192.5 calories from fat. Where does it get the rest of the calories from?

Replies

  • fabmst
    fabmst Posts: 42 Member
    I am assuming from the food that you consumed that day. but I am not an expert. :blushing:
  • Emi_the_dork
    Emi_the_dork Posts: 62
    you also have to take in consideration water weight and also if you ate before you worked out....
  • hkystar
    hkystar Posts: 1,290 Member
    The reason I was asking, is cause I see things about keeping my heart rate in a target zone, but I burn less calories there.

    So say I burn 770 in an hour of working out, 25% from fat, so 192.5 from fat. The remaining 577.5 is from food? Should I eat that much to replace the nutrients I need? Even if the remaining 577.5 calories aren't from fat by burning them, dont I keep them from becoming new fat?

    I am just starting to be very curious about how the body works with regards to exercise and eating, more in depth information that I have seen posted yet. If anyone have a good reference site, let me know.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I wouldn't worry about what % is from fat or whatever.
    Just worry about the total calories. I don't think you can get an accurate breakdown % without using some extremely sophisticated equipment.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    it's not an easy question to answer, it has everything to do with your own personal body chemistry. What I can say is, most of the calories you burn will be from the glycogen stored in your liver and at the muscle site. And that glycogen is then replenished throughout the day by food you eat (and to a far smaller amount, via the fat in your body). There is also some amount of energy being leeched out of your muscle and bone. Assuming the need is not to great (I.E. you have a deficit to large for energy from fat to compensate for) the amount of calories canabalized from muscle and lean tissue mass should be relatively low.

    Exactly how much, we can't say, not without direct testing, everyone is different. That 25% you reference is the average based on studies and research done, that doesn't mean that's what your body uses, but it's probably relatively close.
  • blbeane
    blbeane Posts: 11 Member
    Just because you are burning calories does not mean you are burning fat. Our bodies will start burning calories, but the calories that are burned are the calories from carbohydrates in our system. In order to burn calories from your stored fat, your body requires the presence of oxygen. There is a certain amount of oxygen that your body needs in order to start burning fat and the only way for you to measure the amount needed for your own body is to keep up with your target heart rate during exercise.

    I am a group fitness instructor and I workout in zone 4 or at AT (anaerobic threshold), which means most of the time the calories I burn is from sugar, not stored fat. The way for me to correct this is to watch my HR zones and keep myself in zone 3 to burn fat and sugar.

    Back in the day, you never felt like you got a good workout unless you pushed yourself to exhaustion and were practically falling over. Not true anymore, that is why training with a HR monitor is so important. Keeps you in your zone, to train more effectively, and burn stored fat.
  • mirror135
    mirror135 Posts: 3
    So I'm curious now, too. How does interval training work into this?
  • antiadipose
    antiadipose Posts: 447
    im new to this HRM thing... but i do have one now. i only use it to track calories burned. how do i know what ZONES im in?!??!?!?
  • hkystar
    hkystar Posts: 1,290 Member
    My HRM was saying that I burned 25% fat.

    "I am a group fitness instructor and I workout in zone 4 or at AT (anaerobic threshold), which means most of the time the calories I burn is from sugar, not stored fat. The way for me to correct this is to watch my HR zones and keep myself in zone 3 to burn fat and sugar."

    So if that is the zone I end up mostly in (just due to the nature of my work outs). I am doing the c25k trying to get where I can run for 80 mins straight (so I can play rugby this fall). At the same time I am trying to drop the weight (which will only help my rugby playing).
  • bellanean
    bellanean Posts: 220
    During my "burning fat zone" I feel like I am barely working out! I never stay in the zone and my body fat is SLOWLY moving. I know I need to change it up.
  • blbeane
    blbeane Posts: 11 Member
    Antiadispose,

    We help members at our club through various tests, but you can determine your heart rate zone on this page. Keep yourself in zone 3 while working out. Through intervals, you can push to zone 4, then back to 3, repeat! This is the most effective way to burn fat, and not just sugar. :)

    http://www.fitzones.com/members/Fitness/heartrate_zones.asp
  • DJH510
    DJH510 Posts: 114 Member
    This whole talk of heart rate "zones" and burning fat from calories is irrelevant for most people's purposes. In order to lose weight you need to focus on burning off the highest amount of overall calories, not focusing on keeping your heart rate in a certain "zone". That sort of theory is unhelpful and misleading. Your body may not use as many calories from fat whilst exercising at higher intensities, but it will even itself out within 24 hours at the most, by replenishing carbohydrate stores used up during exercise calories that would have been stored as fat had you not exercised.
    Remember, there are a lot of bogus theories about tips and tricks you can use to aid weight loss out there, many of which come from apparently authoritative sources. Use common sense, and a but of science, to separate fact from fiction.
  • antiadipose
    antiadipose Posts: 447
    Antiadispose,

    We help members at our club through various tests, but you can determine your heart rate zone on this page. Keep yourself in zone 3 while working out. Through intervals, you can push to zone 4, then back to 3, repeat! This is the most effective way to burn fat, and not just sugar. :)

    http://www.fitzones.com/members/Fitness/heartrate_zones.asp

    THANK U!
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