The children are grown and almost gone and now it is time for me. These past several years have been amazing years that brought my children and me closer together and have given me opportunities to grow that I would have never known otherwise. But now my daughter is finished college and son is about finished with college and I will have new opportunities and freedom (ie money and time) to start exploring the world and enjoying the other amazing things this world has to offer. I want to be as ...

The children are grown and almost gone and now it is time for me. These past several years have been amazing years that brought my children and me closer together and have given me opportunities to grow that I would have never known otherwise. But now my daughter is finished college and son is about finished with college and I will have new opportunities and freedom (ie money and time) to start exploring the world and enjoying the other amazing things this world has to offer. I want to be as healthy and energetic as possible to allow for all the possibilities.

This site has provided the knowledge and support I have needed to better understand what healthy living is. I have made some new friends that have the same goals and desires I have and the support and motivation provided by those people has made a world of difference. This site is a blessing!

SparkPeople Experts Answer Your Fitness Questions

Question: A trainer told me that to burn fat I need to exercise at a lower intensity. I also noticed that my treadmill has a "fat burning zone." At this intensity I don't feel like I'm getting a good workout. Do easier workouts really burn more fat?

Expert Answer: The information on those machines can be deceiving. The "fat burning zone" is a myth that is based on a fact, but taken out of context.

It's true that higher intensity exercise uses more glucose and glycogen (the form of energy your body gets from foods) in proportion to fat, but remember that "high intensity" in this context means exercise that you can only maintain for a couple of minutes before becoming exhausted (i.e. anaerobic exercise). It's also true that low intensity exercise uses more fat as fuel; moderate intensity exercise that you can maintain for 20 minutes or more is aerobic exercise, and will burn both fat and glucose.

You're better off exercising in the aerobic zone as much as you can, because exercising at higher intensities burns more total calories. The "fat burning zone" business is very misleading. You will burn a larger percentage of fat in relation to glucose when you are working at a lower intensity, but you will also burn fewer total calories and less total fat.

Bottom line: The relative percentage of fat burned has nothing to do with weight loss--it's the total amount calories burned that counts. So just ignore the machine and continue to exercise aerobically. As a bonus, aerobic exercise also strengthens your heart and cardiovascular system, lowers blood pressure, and improves cholesterol levels.

Read More About DGOOCK (Updated January 15)

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