What is the optimal exercise for losing weight?

People are easily confused by the following principle of exercise physiology:

High-intensity exercise, such as running, sprint- swimming or high-intensity aerobics burns 100% carbohydrates. Low intensity-exercise like slow walking or light house cleaning burns exclusively fat.

Generally people are very happy to hear this thinking they won’t have to sweat to shed body fat. However, there are 2 additional factors to consider: the net amount of fat burned during exercise and the post-exercise burn.

Calories Burned During 60 Minutes
Slow walking – 175 (all fat)
Moderate-intensity jogging – 500 (250 fat, 250 carb)
High-intensity running – 750 (all carbohydrate)

The first point is that moderate intensity activities burns the most fat during the exercise session.

Post-exercise burn, however, is even more important. While our bodies cannot process fat quickly enough to fuel a sprint across a swimming pool, we do burn the fat after getting out of the pool. High-intensity exercise draws fat out of our fat cells into the blood stream and increases metabolism for up to 24 hours after exercise. Basically, the harder you work during the exercise, the more fat your metabolism will burn the rest of the day.

If you are working on losing or maintaining your weight, try one of the following moderate-intensity exercises 30-45 minutes 3-6 times a week:

Swim, jog, take an aerobic class, dance, play racquetball, ride your bike, use the elliptical machine, or speed walk (consider carrying hand weights)

If you would like Better Living to calculate your moderate-intensity heart rate, email me at mark@betterliving.biz. Simply provide your approximate age.