training zone for fat loss?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I have bought a Garmin 305 watch and heart rate monitor, what heart rate zone should i try to keep in for fat loss?

Thanks.

[Deleted User]

No such thing, the fat burning zone is a fallacy

cougie

And also - if you havent done a Max Heart Rate test - your zones could be all over the place anyway.

Moraghan

Contribution ratio of energy at different paces:

20% of vo2 max:  80% fat, 20% carbs

60% of vo2 max:  50% fat, 50% carbs

80% of vo2 max:  25% fat, 75% carbs

PhilPub

So basically you burn a higher proportion of fat to carbs... but when you're not working as hard!  So it's a slightly higher proportion of a much smaller total of calorie burn.

Forget about 'zones'.  You best bet for weight loss is to run at an intensity which is enough to get the heart going and get you fitter, running for longer and enjoying it, without getting injured.  In terms of HR, that's up to ~75% of max HR, but as cougie says you'll have to do a test to estimate this.

cougie

I'd say - roughly roughly - that if you can hold a conversation - then thats about the pace you want to aim for. Holding a conversation is a good idea anyway as I always run longer and easier chatting to someone.


An hours easy run would be better than a 20 minute sprint.

[Deleted User]

There are reports that totally debunk the "run/excercise slower to burn fat" theory, and show, quite clearly, that HIT will burn more fat.

Moraghan, what is your source for that table?

Roger Bacon

I think the key words in Moraghan's post are contribution ratio.

More of the energy expended at low speeds comes from fat, but it's a high proportion of not much.

At a faster pace, you will expend more energy in a given time, burning more fat calories than at the lower pace and even more carbs calories, so the proportion of fat cals goes down but the number of fat cals goes up as pace increases.

At the end of the day, weight loss (in pounds) = (calories out - calories in) / 3500.

Where calories come from during the run is probably misleading, as no doubt your body redistributes afterwards.  You just have to be careful after a high calorie burning run not to eat too many calories if you want to lose weight, though you need enough to aid recovery or avoid getting the screaming munchies - and there lies the tricky bit.

Moraghan

Roger is correct and pre-empts the rest of the article from which I got the figures. My post referred to proportion and there was not enough information to make any assumptions about total fat burnt. Here you go:

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/exercise-and-weight-loss-part-3-fat.html

SHADES

Christina - fat burning is nothing to do with weight loss.  It refers to the fuel your body uses for exercise.  First choice for our body is to use the available glycogen but this has a limited supply, depending on the intensity and time spent exercising.  When glycogen is low your body will start to use fat as well as fuel.  The advantage of using fat as fuel is that you can exercise for longer. 

Yenzehc

Get a bike, weight will fly off you.