Healthy Everytime

The Two Common Cardio Workout Approaches

There are definitely a couple schools of thought when it comes to burning body fat. Personal trainers recommend varying cardio workouts, depending upon their training. A common way of doing cardio is by exercising at a low intensity level. It is suggested that the majority of calories burned will come from body fat at a lower intensity level. A common belief is that if one exercises too hard, then the calories burned will come from carbohydrates in the muscles and not from body fat.

Many people make the point that more total calories are burned if people exercise at a higher intensity level. They reason that if you simply burn more calories than you consume in a day, you will lose body fat. So now we will look in more detail at each school of thought.

Low Intensity Cardio Workout Approach

When you walk into most gyms, you will see people walking on treadmills at a slow and steady pace...You are witnessing the low intensity cardio workout in action. This form of aerobic exercise became very popular after university studies proved it was the best way to target body fat directly. A very large percentage of calories burned come directly from body fat. No wonder why this form of exercise is so popular!

When you are trying to work at a low intensity, you need to monitor your heart rate. Most gyms these days come equipped with treadmills and exercise bikes that have built in heart rate monitors, so this won’t be a problem. It normally takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the ideal heart rate...then you just want to continue working out at that level for 20-30 more minutes.

The High Intensity Cardio Workout

This form of aerobic exercise can be tougher to perform than the lower intensity version. Although not as popular, this is a very effective way at burning tons of calories. The calories burned in high intensity cardio workouts come from both carbs stored in the muscle (glycogen)...as well as stored body fat.

When you burn more calories in your cardio workout than what you consume, you create a calorie deficit. If you burn a more calories during the day than what you eat in food, you will lose weight.

The Imperfections of The 2 Versions of Cardio Workouts

With low intensity cardio, it takes about 10 minutes to get to the point where you are burning body fat. Those first 10 minutes aren’t very productive. After the first 10 minutes things are great, but it is a bit of a waste of time getting to that point.

Very few people have the pain tolerance to push hard for more than 10-15 minutes. This is the challenge with high intensity cardio...it is miserable after 15 minutes!

How to Combine The Two Approaches Into One Awesome Cardio Workout

Why not start out at a high intensity level for the first 10-15 minutes and end with low intensity for 20-30 minutes? If you think of the two approaches...this completely makes sense! You are making the first 10-15 minutes of a low intensity cardio workout productive. Instead of wasting those first 10 minutes, you are burning a ton of calories...after 10 minutes you are burning a ton of body fat!

What you want to do is find a cardio machine like a treadmill or exercise bike. After 2 minute warm up, push yourself really hard for 10-15 minutes. Set it at a level where it is tough to push past 10-15 minutes. You should be breathing hard and sweating at after 10 minutes if done properly. At this point, back down to a slower comfortable pace and keep it at that level for 20-30 more minutes. You will burn a bunch of calories as well as a bunch of fat. I use different variations of this cardio workout year-round to keep at a low body fat level.

You have tried losing weight on your own and you have even had some success. But life is hectic and stressful and in time, the pounds always creep back. Now you weigh more than you did a year ago.

This is discouraging and depressing and like many others you might be thinking that you just can’t face another diet alone. When you were at the end of your rope did you ever consider the support of a formal weight loss program?

For many, this is a good idea. By having professional guidance and an organization as your “buddy” you have a much better chance of success.

BUT BE CAREFUL! Not all programs are created equal. If you want to choose wisely, here are six questions you should ask.

1. DOES THE PROGRAM EMPHASIZE OVERALL FITNESS AND GOOD HEALTH? If the advertising emphasizes dramatic before and after photos with claims of the ease and speed of pounds lost per week, beware. Average weight loss during an extended program should not exceed two pounds per week. This is equal to fifty pounds in six months or one hundred pounds a year. Is the goal of the program to achieve a normal bodyweight as the natural result of a balanced lifestyle that promotes health and fitness?

2. IS THE MEAL PLAN PALATABLE AND NUTRITIOUS AND AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL GROCERY? Your first consideration is that the meals on a plan include a variety of tasty foods that supply all the nutrients necessary for long-term health. This eliminates menus that prohibit entire categories of food or limit portions to the point that you are always hungry. Some plans “do it for you” by providing prepared meals and snacks to manage what and how much you eat. This is easy and effective (and expensive) but your success is dependent upon the prepared meals. How long do you plan to buy prepackaged food? What happens when you start shopping and cooking for yourself and return to eating out? See number three below.

3. IS THE PROGRAM BASED ON LEARNING HOW TO CHANGE DIETARY AND LIFESTYLE HABITS? Lifestyle behaviors can be “relearned” and this should be the backbone of any good program. This is the only way that you will become permanently lean, fit and healthy. This is the only way that you can walk away, free of the oppressive burden of lifetime, yo-yo dieting.

4. WILL YOU LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH SITUATIONS THAT CAUSE YOU TO BACKSLIDE? Will you have live support when the going gets tough? Will you learn strategies to deal with lifestyle saboteurs when they arrive to ruin your plans?

5. IS EXERCISE A PART OF THE PROGRAM? Exercise is an indispensable part of a balanced fitness plan. Exercise provides a big metabolic boost to losing weight and simultaneously reduces stress and elevates your mood. Equally important however, is that exercise prevents the loss of lean muscle mass during periods of reduced caloric intake and is also critical for long-term weight maintenance. See number six below.

6. ARE THERE FOLLOW-UP PLANS TO HELP YOU KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF PERMANENTLY? People experience different learning curves when it comes to changing their lifestyle. No matter how effective a plan is over the short-term, you have wasted your time, effort and money if you have to start from the beginning over and over again. Make sure that the plan you choose emphasizes permanent weight loss and has a system to support your efforts until you are comfortable going it alone.

With news media showing us that being overweight, both in adults and children, causes some of the most serious health problems for our generation. There’s never been a better time than now to lose that extra weight you have gained. No matter if it’s from an over abundance of food during the holiday season, like Thanksgiving, to simply being unmotivated to begin a new exercise routine, dropping the pounds will have enduring health benefits and make you feel more confident.

However, it will take time so be patient with yourself if you don’t see fast results. You now see too many drugs and “wonder” diets now advertised. These are simply hunger suppression methods as opposed to healthy calorie controlled options. They may offer a “quick fix” and stop you from being hungry, and thus helping you lose weight, but the effects of it, being the equivalent of starving yourself, can have long term repercussions. Pills, and other quick fixes, prevent you from focusing on the crucial points of the reason your weight increased in the first place.

So despite what the drug makers want you to think, some of the most reliable ways to lose weight and maintain it are the old tried and true methods:

Diet- Okay, no surprise here, what you consume has a direct effect on what you weigh. Yet this isn’t as insane as it may sound you can still eat the same amount of food that you did prior, just in healthier and more frequent options. So, instead of a cookies for a snack, have a piece of fruit. And instead of over eating on one enormous meal that is harder to diguest, eat scaled down portions spread throughout each day. This can have the net effect of reducing calories without reducing food!

Breakfast- You may think that it’s an old wives tale that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it’s indeed true. Since the most active part of any day is usually between 11.00am and 4.00pm, having a good yet healthy breakfast will not only help keep starvation at bay but ensure that your metabolism has something to feed off. This in turn take care of any impulses for midday binges, which often are no more than unhealthy fries or burgers.
Eat Regularly- A number of men and women think that the less they eat, the less they will weigh. While this is true to a certain extent, it’s starvation and that becomes a concern. So, instead of not eating a meal, make sure you eat often, but with reduced sized healthy quantities of fruits and veggies, dairy and protein. This will make sure that hunger pangs are kept to a minimum.

Exercise- Again an obvious one, but one that is skipped. You aren’t required to work out 24/7 at the gym to keep weight under control. Simply enjoy a long walk with a loved one, or a swim. This helps to burn off excess calories and will have you feeling much healthier and happier.
By sticking to a controlled meal plan, yet still eating tasty food that is nutritious at the same time, in addition to exercising regularly, you’ll soon begin to not only see the difference, but feel it too. And once that occurs, you’ll never need to accept being obese again.

Do you assume that because someone is thin that they are also fit? Well, hold on to your hat, researchers are saying that many thin people have the same heart disease risk and type 2 diabetes risk as obese people. In fact, they say that some thin people are at higher risk than sumo wrestlers! The reason? Intra-abdominal fat.
According to Dr. Jimmy Bell, a professor of molecular imaging at Imperial College London, “being thin deosn’t aurtomatically mean you’re not fat”. It’s what’s inside that makes a difference to your health. Internal fat surrounding vital organs such as the heart and liver can be as dangerous as the fat that you see. Since 1994, Dr. Bell and his collegues have been mapping the fat stores of people to show where people store fat. They have scanned and recorded more than 800 people.

When most people gain weight, the fat is subcutaneous and we see it. We have known for years that a person who gains fat around the middle of their body is at increased risk for heart disease etc., but this was viewed as an obesity related issue. Now, it’s clear that even thin people are at risk.

Of the women scanned in the study, 45% of those with normal body mass indices (BMI) had excessive levels of internal fat. Of the men? 60%!
Dr. Bell’s research indicates that people who control their weight with diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of fat around their internal organs, no matter how slim they appear on the outside. This leads us to the idea that exercise is the key to controlling levels of fat you can see and fat you can’t see.

What’s the difference in the health risks of subcutaneous fat and intra-abdominal fat?

The metabolic characteristics of intra-abdominal fat are different from subcutaneous fat (the stuff you see). Intra-abdominal fat releases free fatty acids to drain directly into the liver, whereas subcutaneous fat drains into the systemic circulation. The influx of free fatty acids in the liver results in overproduction of very low density lipoprotein, and retention of low density lipoprotein, the “bad cholesterols” in the bloodstream. This can also lead to a lower level of high density lipoprotein, the “good cholesterol”.

This research offers a possible explanation for, while the population in developing South East Asian countries still have lower rates of obesity, have a high per capita incidence of Type II diabetes and heart disease. Of course, smoking is still prevalent in this region as well…

What to do? Exercise and eat healthily! And remember… Muscles burn fat.
Around age 35, unless maintained through exercise, the body begins to lose muscle and gain fat. Since muscles require energy where as fat cells act as energy storage, a person who stays slim by dieting will require fewer calories as they lose muscle. Over the years, the metabolism slows down because the body has less muscle to burn energy. Any extra energy will be stored as fat somewhere even if it’s not visible to the naked eye.

If the muscle mass is maintained, the body will simply use fat rather than store it.
It’s a simple concept, really…. Dieting may keep a body slim; but healthy eating and a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise keeps a body slim, strong and disease resistant. Hmmm…just more proof that exercise keeps you younger.