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Do You Have to Sweat in Order to Burn Calories?

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:05:00 -0800

OK people, just because you're sweating, does NOT mean you are burning calories. Just because you're not sweating doesn't mean you're not burning calories. Caloric burn depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise.

The environment plays a big role in how much you sweat. If you exercise in an air-conditioned room, you will not sweat so much because the cold dry air works to quickly evaporate your sweat. Your body can easily cool the heat generated by your exercise.

Exercising in a hot and humid room will just exhaust you faster, and you won't burn as many calories because you will stop working out sooner.

On the same note, when you go into a sauna, you're not burning calories - you are merely sweating. Any weight loss incurred is likely to be water-loss from perspiration, and will be regained as soon as you drink fluids.

Sweating is simply a way to cool your body so you don't overheat. Some people prefer to workout in ways that make them sweat, because they feel like they've worked hard. Other folks like to sweat because it's cleansing, and releases toxins from their body.

So now we know, a good workout and a good sweat do NOT go hand in hand.

Skipping Meals Won't Help You Lose Weight

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:30:00 -0700

If you want to lose weight, it's simple math - to lose one pound a week, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That's about 500 calories a day that you need to either cut out or burn with exercise. Let me say this out loud: Skipping meals doesn't count.

If you skip let's say Breakfast, or decrease your calories significantly (to less than 1000 calories a day), you're not helping your body lose weight. You're actually decreasing the rate of your metabolism. You go into "starvation mode" where the body tries to compensate for the low calories. Your metabolic rate can actually decrease as much as 10-15%, and your body will hold onto the fat and burn lean muscle instead.

Skipping a meal also makes you really hungry, so when you do go to eat your next meal, you'll probably end up overeating, which also won't help you lose weight. Try to reduce your daily caloric intake by 250 calories and burn the other 250 calories by working out. Try passing on that extra slice of pizza at lunchtime, and take a walk.

Fit's Tips: Don't let yourself go hungry. Eat throughout the day, making sure to eat 3 meals a day, and include small, healthy snacks in between.

Source

Morning Exercisers Burn More Calories

FitSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:00:55 -0800

Whether you're a fan of daylight saving or not most of us have to live with that fact that it gets darker much earlier. That means if you used to sweat it out after work, you may have to rearrange your schedule and make time for it before your nine-to-fiver. Not too motivated to set your alarm early? Here's something that might perk you out of bed and help you deal with the new studies on exercise and weight loss. Researchers at Bangor University in the United Kingdom discovered that a.m. exercisers work out harder than those who exercise at other times during the day. That translates to more calories burned. Why is that? People tend to be more energetic and alert in the morning, and may also feel less rushed than those who squeeze gym time into the middle of their busy schedules.

That's not to say that morning exercise trumps exercise at other times of the day. If you're not a morning person or can't fit it in at that time, don't force it. The most important thing is to fit exercise in, period, whenever you can.

Tell me, have you switched to morning workouts because of daylight saving time?

Spring Exercise Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:45:00 -0700

By now, we all know that burning calories is super important when losing or maintaining weight. Exercising burns calories, so if you just polished off an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream or ate a deep-fried twinkie, you can hit the gym to burn them off your hips (well...not really since we all know you cannot spot reduce fat, right?).

Here's a breakdown of how many calories you burn doing 30 minutes of each exercise. How much you weigh will alter the amount of calories you burn, so I've included different weights. Choose the one that's closest to your weight, or check out this calculator for more exact amounts.

Activity (30 min)	120 lb	135 lb	150 lb	165 lb	180 lb	195 lb
Casual Walking	108	122	136	149	163	176
Brisk Walking (12 min miles)	244	275	306	336	367	387
Jogging (10 min miles)	272	306	340	374	408	430
Running (9 min miles)	299	336	374	411	449	486
Moderate Biking	163	183	204	224	244	258
Intense Swimming	217	244	272	299	326	344
Moderate Hiking	136	153	170	187	204	221
Moderate Volleyball	136	153	170	187	204	221
Moderate Tennis	163	183	204	224	244	258
Moderate Muscle Conditioning (yoga, Pilates, lifting weights, strength training exercises)	136	153	170	187	204	221

Source

Burn it up - Xtra calories, that is

FitSugar — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:30:00 -0800

Maybe you splurged a little over the weekend and ate just a bit more than you meant to and here it is again: Monday. So now you're looking for some everyday ways to burn some extra calories to offset that double-double with cheese.

Well here's a few ideas to try.

If you ride public transportation - don't sit, STAND. Plus it gives you a chance to work your core so you don't fly about the bus or subway car as it jerks you around.
Park as far away as you can from your destination, this way you have to walk more, or get off the bus or subway one stop earlier. More steps means more calories burned.
Clean vigorously - a little elbow grease goes a long way. Just up your speed as you dust, vacuum or scrub.
Eat breakfast. It helps to jump start your metabolism.
Take 3 - 4 minute exercise breaks throughout the day while at work.

Fit's tip: Add some of these to your daily routine and create some fabulous new habits.

Geek Tip: Avoid Extra Holiday Pounds With Lose It

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:50:45 -0800

For me, part of gearing up for the holiday season is the realization that I'm going to overindulge in holiday goodies from time to time. While this time of year isn't the best for trying to shed extra pounds, there's still benefit in watching what I'm eating - even if I allow myself a few "cheat" days here and there. Lose It! is an iPhone app that tracks caloric and nutritional intake as well as calories burned by exercise, giving you a calorie budget for the day.

First, enter your starting weight, your goal weight (if you want to lose, that is), height, and birth date, and the app figures how many calories you need to lose a few pounds or maintain your current weight. Then, enter exactly what you've eaten that day (you can search by meal, favorite foods, previous meals, even brand name foods from supermarkets and restaurants) and any exercise you've done. The app tracks your daily, weekly, and monthly caloric intake, factoring any exercise into the equation.

I'm certainly not shooting for any serious weight loss before January (hello pumpkin pie!), but it will be nice to know how many calories I'm consuming during non"cheat" days.

FitSugar Roundup

FitSugar — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:50:03 -0800

You can go easy on the butter in your mashed potatoes when you use Yukon Gold spuds.
New Moon star Nikki Reed says hiking with her boyfriend is her fitness secret.
How well do you know the calorie counts of Starbucks's holiday drinks?
Worried about falling off the healthy wagon? Here are eight ways to get back on track.
I'm curious to know how many days a week you work out.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz firmly believes in taco night and baby weights.
If you're starting to strength train, check out this guide to beginning weights for lifting.
Learn just how long you need to exercise in order to burn off a slice of T-day pumpkin pie.
I have some great gift ideas for the healthy cook in your life.
Learn a bit more about the fat-burning zone.

Exercise, Weight Loss, and the Fat Burning Zone

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:50:01 -0800

Much has been made of late about exercise and its relation to weight loss. There was the Time cover story The Myth About Weight Loss and a recent article on the topic in the New York Times, which recommended working out in the fat burning zone.

You see the phrase on all types of cardio machines: the fat burning zone, aka the "weight loss zone," means working out at a lower intensity to burn fat as fuel. But these workouts also burn considerably fewer calories. I was confused about how we should all be spending our cardio time, so I took my questions to exercise physiologist Jason Karp, who also happens to be an avid runner.

When I asked him if we should all be scaling our workouts back and aiming for the fat burning zone, Karp explained that it's not the type of fuel your body is burning, but the overall calories that count. "It doesn't matter if you're using fat or carbohydrates. In order to lose fat from your waistline you don't have to be using fat as fuel during workout," he said. He offered up the example of sprinters; they don't train in the fat burning zone, but they're mighty trim in the torso. Losing weight comes down to math - you want to be in a calorie deficit to shed pounds and body fat. Higher intensity exercise puts you at a higher burn rate. To burn the most calories in a cardio workout, skip past the fat burning zone and work out with more intensity. To really burn up calories, Karp recommends intervals. To learn why, read more.

Essentially, interval workouts give you the most bang for your sweat buck. Karp explains that with "intense exercise you're pushing your body more out of homeostasis," that is, the equilibrium of energy the body prefers to maintain. During the few hours after an interval workout, the body must go through a recovery period, and a lot needs to happen to return to the body to pre-exercise levels. "You've got to drop the heart rate, synthesize glycogen for the muscles, remove lactate from muscle and take it to the liver," says Karp. All these actions require energy, which raises the metabolic rate for many hours after exercising. Thirty minutes of exercise at a low intensity doesn't place nearly as much stress on the body as intervals, so you burn fewer calories both during and after the workout.

Before you hit the track and start running intervals, Karp recommends building a strong cardiovascular fitness base and working with a trainer for guidance. Even if you're not ready for sprints, play with your speed during your next cardio session. Slow and steady might win the race, but intervals will burn more calories.

Source: Flickr User pistoldrawn

Are the Kardashians' QuickTrim Diet Products Quackery?

FitSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:50:02 -0800

A very pregnant Kourtney Kardashian is having a hard time accepting her baby weight. Slim sis Kim says that "Kourtney is going crazy. She feels so big right now. She's just ready to have the baby." According to Us Weekly, sisters Kim and Khloe are both dieting with their QuickTrim diet products and expectant mom Kourtney is jealous because she sees how they're both losing weight.

I've got to admit that I'm sick of hearing about the Kardashians, and now they're promoting this diet product and proving that it works. Ever wonder what it is exactly, or if it's even healthy? My gut says it's not, so I decided to check out the website to see what I could dig up. Here's what I found: QuickTrim Fast Cleanse ($30) is a "lemonade flavored drink designed to help rid the body of excess water weight, belly bloating, and intestinal bulk." So are you supposed to drink these magic citrus beverages all day and that's it?

To hear more about QuickTrim and what the ingredients are, read more.

The Fast Cleanse drink I just described is one product made by QuickTrim. It contains many ingredients including pure lemon juice concentrate, chicory root (fiber), and aloe vera gel. Although it's made with natural ingredients, detoxing your body isn't necessary.

QuickTrim makes two other diet supplements, but these are in tablet form: Extreme Burn ($50) and Burn & Cleanse ($60). Extreme Burn claims to burn up to 8,000 extra calories per month. Burn & Cleanse is a 14-day diet system that promises to burn calories all day, and cleanse and detox you all night. They're made with ingredients such as cocoa extract, acai fruit extract, hyssop, false unicorn root, and green tea leaf extract. Sounds like a witch's potion to me. But at least you're instructed to take these tablets between meals, not in place of them.

These pills are supposed to stimulate your metabolism, maintain your blood sugar levels, burn fat and calories, and contain antioxidants to promote a happy mood. Safety-wise, QuickTrim products are not FDA-approved, so I'd skip them completely and save your moolah to buy things you know will help shed pounds, like a gym membership or fresh fruits and veggies. If you're trying to lose weight, don't fall for this quick-fix diet scam. As I've said before, the safest and most effective way to slim down is with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

With Teen Obesity, Inactivity Is Only Part of the Problem

FitSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:32:46 -0800

I panic every time I see another "exercise doesn't work!" story - until I read between the lines and learn once again that exercise is a good thing. On the heels of its conversation-starting cover story on the exercise "myth," Time is tackling a new study of teen obesity that claims inactivity is only partly to blame for heavier kids.

Obesity rates in teenagers have triple between 1976 and 2004, with lack of exercise the suspected culprit. But a new report published in Obesity Reviews says that physical activity levels among teens have actually stayed fairly steady. So does that mean that exercise doesn't matter? Hardly, so read more.

Unfortunately, this latest study only looked at activity levels, not eating habits, and the participants were self-reporting on their own habits, which can lead to unreliable data. These figures merely suggest that the increase in teen obesity can't be explained away by teens' lack of exercise, according to Dr. Youfa Wang, the lead author of the study. Here's more:

So does this mean that exercise isn't important in controlling weight? As tempting as that conclusion might be, Wang and other health experts say that's not exactly what the new data show. . . . While exercise may not contribute directly to weight loss, it is critical for maintaining a healthy weight, since it helps calibrate the balance between energy taken in and energy burned off. "The data is too gross, and too general, to assume that [exercise doesn't count]," warns Dr. Janet Walberg Rankin, a professor in the department of human nutrition, foods, and exercise at Virginia Tech. "We need to have a dual approach to weight involving both activity and diet. I would hate for people to take away from this study that activity has nothing to do with weight."

Phew! Thanks, doc. I also hope that's not what people take away from this study. In fact, to me, it says the opposite. If teen obesity is going up because teens have increased their calorie intake without increasing their activity levels, then that seems to say pretty clearly that exercise does make a difference. Do you agree?