Originally Posted by kakman
I see google has made you an instant expert. Congratulations, everyone else is clearly wrong. I could just as easily point you to Nancy Clark or Chris Carmichael or Polar or explain diminishing returns but I've had it with you people.
I'm beginning to see now why Blackberry and FarHorizon disappeared.
//k
I've studied the issues surrounding weight loss for years, both recreationally and professionally.
re: Nancy Clark
Here's what she has to say on the subject:
http://www.active.com/story.cfm?stor...at_right&num=0
Question: I run three to four days per week, mainly to lose body fat. At what intensity should I run to burn fat effectively?
Answer: Although low-intensity "fat burning exercise" burns proportionately more fat than carbohydrates, you are unlikely to lose weight faster if you do low-intensity workouts. (Two excellent "fat burning" activities are sleeping and sitting -- but these are not known for having weight-reduction benefits!).
For fat/weight control, you need to look at you whole day's calorie balance -- not just at fat burned during exercise. If, over the course of the whole day, you have created a calorie deficit by burning off more calories than you eat, you'll lose body fat. However, if you overindulge (as is easy to do after a hard workout because you somehow deserve to eat the whole pizza), you'll end up gaining fat.
The biggest benefits of low-intensity, fat-burning exercise are 1) you are less likely to get injured, and 2) you are able to exercise longer and thereby burn more total calories. But high-intensity exercise tends to contribute to lower percent body fat.
Research on 1,366 women and 1,257 men suggests those who did high-intensity exercise had less body fat than those who did lower-intensity "fat-burning" exercise. (Am J Clin Nutr., Feb '90)