Why do people still believe in....

P

pixie9

Cathlete
the 'fat burning zone'?? You know, when you workout at a lower intensity supposedly to use fat as fuel? I keep reading about this myth on these forums and it surprises me everytime. I suppose this myth just annoys me more than others. Maybe I'm crazy and I should just let people believe what they want to. Thoughts?

Carolyn
 
Probably the same reason people insist on believing in the mythical existence of "cellulite" - some savvy, shabby marketers will never stop pumping it and people who want to believe in magic will never stop buying it.

A-Jock
 
You all know I HATE cardio and I'm forever looking for an easy way out. Yes, I long ago discovered this myth and I...well I cried for 2 days. Please SOMEBODY tell me how I can get out of cardio!!

Carolyn, you recently posted a thread about a cardio camp or something like that. When I read the thread title I thought it was a place where they send bad people for punishment. :eek: :p
 
>You all know I HATE cardio and I'm forever looking for an
>easy way out. Yes, I long ago discovered this myth and
>I...well I cried for 2 days. Please SOMEBODY tell me how I can
>get out of cardio!!
>
>Carolyn, you recently posted a thread about a cardio camp or
>something like that. When I read the thread title I thought it
>was a place where they send bad people for punishment. :eek: :p

I hear ya! Sometimes I feel like I've been sentenced to cardio camp for a life sentence, with NO parole!!;-) I think you know how I feel.;-)
 
If it helps at all I did just read that doing interval workouts helps your body to burn more fat, kind of "teaches" your body to burn fat. And then, causes the body to burn more fat in subsequent workouts, even steady state workouts. It was a recent article in the NY Times.

Hey, every little bit helps, right:) But you were probably already doing tons in of intervals b/c you LOVE cardio so much;-)


Mattea
 
I think that it's because a lot of the "old school" personal trainers are still preaching it. I have a girl at work who insists that she needs to work in her "fat burning zone" because her trainer is pushing her to. I told her about intervals and HIIT but she doesn't believe me....I even showed her several articles to no avail!
 
Carolyn, there are so many myths like that! Spot reducing is my pet peeve. About once a week someone comes on here and asks how to lean out some area of the body. The commercials for fitness equipment push this myth like nothing I've ever seen. If a commercial told the truth: that the latest ab machine will help to develop your ab muscles, but can't get you a visible 6-pack unless you lose fat, no one would buy it. So the myth continues, and everyone gets in on it. (Didn't even Cathe make a workout called "Leaner Legs"? I've heard it mentioned, but don't know what series it is part of. I was surprised, because it's not like Cathe to use titles like that.) It's a myth that will never die.
 
I still believe in it. Not the working out at a lower intensity thing--really the opposite, that my heart rate needs to be above a certain level for a certain amount of time before my body starts burning fat.

I'm definitely old fashioned when it comes to my routine (I went to the Schwarzenegger school of exercise ;-) ), but it seems to work for me.
 
>Carolyn, there are so many myths like that! Spot reducing is
>my pet peeve. About once a week someone comes on here and
>asks how to lean out some area of the body. The commercials
>for fitness equipment push this myth like nothing I've ever
>seen. If a commercial told the truth: that the latest ab
>machine will help to develop your ab muscles, but can't get
>you a visible 6-pack unless you lose fat, no one would buy it.
>So the myth continues, and everyone gets in on it. (Didn't
>even Cathe make a workout called "Leaner Legs"? I've heard it
>mentioned, but don't know what series it is part of. I was
>surprised, because it's not like Cathe to use titles like
>that.) It's a myth that will never die.
>
>Hi Nancy! I hate that one too (I'm so hateful}( !) It's funny that you mention Leaner Legs. Just the other day I was wondering why Cathe would use that phrase. It is an old workout though so I'll let it slide.;-) But the ab thing is just terrible! I'm really so, so sick of that myth! Actually, the more I learn about the myths of 'core work' the more I have to hold my tongue about stuff.
 
>the 'fat burning zone'?? You know, when you workout at a
>lower intensity supposedly to use fat as fuel? I keep reading
>about this myth on these forums and it surprises me everytime.


Because it's actually not a myth, just misinterpreted.

You do burn a higher percentage of fat than carbs when exercising at a certain level. But you burn an even higher percentage of fat vs. carbs when sleeping. The problem is that people then interpret this as meaning you burn more calories at a lower level, or it being a recommendation to work out at the lower levels at all times (not realizing that, even though the percentage of fat may be higher, the total number of calories burned during exercise is less, so there will be less weight loss overall).
 
>>the 'fat burning zone'?? You know, when you workout at a
>>lower intensity supposedly to use fat as fuel? I keep
>reading
>>about this myth on these forums and it surprises me
>everytime.
>
>
>Because it's actually not a myth, just misinterpreted.
>
>You do burn a higher percentage of fat than carbs when
>exercising at a certain level. But you burn an even higher
>percentage of fat vs. carbs when sleeping. The problem is
>that people then interpret this as meaning you burn more
>calories at a lower level, or it being a recommendation to
>work out at the lower levels at all times (not realizing that,
>even though the percentage of fat may be higher, the total
>number of calories burned during exercise is less, so there
>will be less weight loss overall).

Yeah, I know about that but it's a great point. I've tried pointing this EXACT same idea out in other threads and I get no responses. Either some people are not interested in the truth or they don't trust me or they don't care. But you are right to point out that is the number of calories burned that matters. That's why I don't feel bad keeping my HRM on the for the ENTIRE workout, including the stretch. A calorie burned is a calorie burned right?
 
Yeah, the fat-burning zone cracks me up every single time! According to the treadmill at the gym I should be working out at 108 heart rate for maximum fat burning. Huh???? I don't even break a sweat at that level, getting out of my bed and putting my sneakers on brings me to 108 :), I don't see how I would lose even a fraction of an ounze even if I did a whopping 3 hours of "cardio" at that level.

However, the problem is to find the right level because if I work out too hard over several days, my body will also hang on to those pounds for dear life!

The other one of my pet-peeves is low-fat!! If anyone tells me about the benefits of low-fat again, I am gonna scream. All it did was screwing me up and bring me to a level of weight that I had never seen before. There are plenty of researchers out there that say, low-fat was a HUGE mistake and people can't sustain eating at low-fat levels for a long time and the vicious circle of yo-yo dieting begins.
I am the poster child for that after I was put on a low-fat diet during my second pregnancy when my OB/GYN thought I was gaining weight too fast. Big mistake, HUGE!! Low-fat made me hungry ALL the time, my metabolism totally bailed out and within a few years, I (who had never been overweight) turned obese, double the size of what I used to be.

It wasn't until I kicked all diets and nutritionist to the curb together with the non-fat dairy products and skim milk and started eating again how I was eating BEFORE I turned into a big barrel that my weight is actually coming down for good and I actually have the energy to do 6 workouts a week and my bloodwork has turned back to normal.
I am not advocating to eat all the fat you want but 20 or 30 g of fat per day is WAY too low and coincidentally the obesity epidemic in the US started after everyone was eating low-fat.

Ok, getting off my soapbox now :)

Have a great day everyone!

Carola
 
This is true, however, I try to eat reduced fat dairy (never fat free, other than skim milk) and the leanest meats and such I can find. But as far as anything processed that is fat free, forget it!

I despise foods with high fructose corn syrup!
 
>>>obesity epidemic in the US started after everyone was eating low-fat.

I didn't realize that McDonald's and other fast food chains part of the typical American diet were low fat ;)

My favorite has got to be that so many people still believe that certain diets WILL help you lose weight and keep it off even though you always just gain it back after you get off whatever fad diet is in at the moment.

Missy
 
>I despise foods with high fructose corn syrup!

ME TOO!!! Any why does everything have to have that as one of the top 5 ingredients?!? I have resorted to making everything from scratch. Takes a lot of work, but I feel so much better about that decision. :)

Missy
 
I think the important thing is to remember that different things work for different people. I know a lot of people who have been happy and successful with a low fat diet, and others who have been just as happy and successful on low carb or something else. People like to work out at different intensities and maybe that works for them.

Allison
 
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