The easiest and definitely the most effective changes that you should make to your diet is to eat more fiber rich foods, and avoid foods rich in fat. So why boost fiber intake? There are many reasons to boost the intake of fiber while controlling fat, including increased exercise, decreased your weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

The fact of the matter is most people consume too much of the bad stuff – things like sugar, salt and fat, and not enough of the good stuff – like vegetables, fruits, and whole foods. This means that many people are not getting sufficient fiber in their everyday diets, and they may suffer a variety of heath effects because of it.

Well, before you can eat more fiber you need to know where that fiber comes from. You should get in the habit of reading nutritional labels. This will be one way to start the high fiber count and low fat. Most packaged and processed foods in the grocery store must carry these labels, and they label such things as fiber, fat, calories and nutrient values. Getting familiar with these nutritional labels is a necessary first step to getting rid of the fat intake and increasing your fiber.

Ok! Increasing fiber and decreasing fat is certainly a great goal, it is best to take things gradually until your body has time to adjust. Those accustomed to low levels of fiber often experience bloating, cramps, gas and abdominal pain when suddenly boosting the amount of fiber in their diet. However with time and increasing levels slowly you will decrease some of these side effects.

Some of the foods that are highest in fiber, usually contain more than 7 grams per serving, include foods such as dried beans, legumes, dried peas, dried fruits, nuts and sunflower seeds. These foods can be great sources of fiber.

Most vegetables or fruits can also be sources of fiber. Most of these foods contain from 3 to 5 grams of fiber.

It is also very important to take fiber content into account as you do your grocery shopping. Reading labels and choosing high fiber foods is the best way to make a long term commitment to healthier eating and better overall health.

Choosing the right cereals that are rich in fiber is a great way to increase the level of fiber intake while still getting that breakfast every morning. Most of today’s cereals that contain wheat bran and oat bran can be great sources of fiber.

Lots of people have the assumption that cooking or heating up vegetables and other fiber rich foods destroys their fiber content, however this is not the true. While it is true that overcooking certain vegetables can result in some loss of nutrients, cooking has no effect whatsoever on fiber content. So enjoy what you eat, but make sure that you think first about those fiber foods and low fat meals

Eat your veggies – especially your lettuce. But don’t confine yourself to iceberg lettuce or salads! Darker greens have about the same number of calories and carbs – very low! – but pack a lot more punch in the vitamins and other nutrient categories. By substituting radicchio, watercress, escarole or spinach for the iceberg lettuce, you add vitamin C, riboflavin’s, manganese and other essential vitamins that aren’t present in lettuce. Try them braised, steamed or grilled for something a little different from the usual salad.

Here are some recipes for greens that will tickle your taste buds and make your heart happy!

Wilted Spinach Salad:

The onions take on a natural sweetness that contrasts with the tangy yogurt and the bite of the spinach. A family favorite that’s low in calories and high in important nutrients.

Here’s what you need:

2 cups spinach leaves 1 medium onion peeled, sliced 2 tbs. olive oil 1/2 cup plain yogurt.

Sauté onions in olive oil till transparent. Add spinach and toss in pan to coat with oil until leaves are barely wilted. Stir in yogurt while the spinach is still warm. Eat hot or cold. Only 50 calories per serving!

With this recipe, you’ll get: protein, calcium, vitamin c, manganese, iron, vitamin B12, vitamin A, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, beta carotene, vitamin K, ALA.

Grilled Radicchio:

Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce add spice to heart-healthy radicchio without adding much in the way of calories.

1 head radicchio 1 tbs. olive oil 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tbs. Dijon mustard A splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Combine all ingredients except radicchio in small bowl. Cut head of radicchio in 1/4 inch slices. Brush cut side with marinade mixture. Grill over hot coals till browned. Only 25 calories per serving!

With this recipe, you’ll get: magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin E, foliate, vitamin K, beta carotene.

Spinach, Mushroom & Anchovy Salad:

Anchovies are one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids AND they’re low in calories. Simple to fix and delicious for dinner, on its own, or with a bowl of chunky pasta.

6 cups spinach leaves, loosely packed 1 2 oz can anchovies in oil 10-12 small mushrooms Juice of 1 lemon.

Wash and dry spinach. Drain anchovy oil into sauté pan and warm. Add anchovies and gently stir over heat till anchovies are dissolved in oil. Slice mushrooms thickly and add to anchovy oil, sautéing till browned. Add spinach, tossing with oil and anchovies till just wilted. Spritz with squeezed lemon. Only 50 calories per serving!

With this recipe, you’ll get: magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin E, foliate, vitamin K, beta carotene, niacin, thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, omega 3 fatty acids, riboflavin, and calcium.

Walnut & Raisin Greens:

Get even more essential fatty acids and antioxidants in this great tasting warm salad.

6 cups greens, loosely packed (spinach, collard, turnip will all work well) 2 tbs. walnut oil 3 cloves garlic 1/2 cup raisins 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Chop greens and place in shallow bowl. Heat walnut oil slowly over low heat. Mash garlic cloves and sauté in walnut oil till soft and browned. Add raisins and toss, and then add walnuts and heat through. Pour over greens and toss to coat well. Only 150 calories per serving!

With this recipe, you’ll get: magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin E, foliate, vitamin K, beta carotene, niacin, thiamine, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, omega 3 fatty acids, riboflavin, and calcium.

If you’re worried about gaining weight over the holidays you’re not alone.

The average North American gains 7 to 12 pounds over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Follow these simple holiday diet tips and tricks and you’ll avoid the holiday weight gain that afflicts so many other people:

#1 Drink Water – and Lots of It

Boring I know – but the reason this tip stays around year after year is because it works. Adequate water intake keeps your metabolism humming along at a maximum rate and staves off hunger cravings as well.

In fact many people mistake thirst for hunger and end up eating to quench their thirst. This results in more calories than you body needs and – you guessed it – excess pounds.

Models and celebrities all know about the powerful slimming effects of drinking water which is why you often see them holding a bottle of water in their hands as they dash through airports or stand around at fashion shows.

#2 Increase Your Exercise A Little Bit Every Day

Everyone deserves to indulge in holiday treats. Part of the fun of the holiday season is the amazing treats that are only around at Christmas and/or Thanksgiving.

Accept the fact that you’re going to indulge a bit – and then enjoy it! But make sure you make up for it elsewhere by increasing your exercise.

You don’t have to double your exercise time or sweat till you fall off your treadmill. Just increase your exercise time a bit every day, maybe ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there. It all adds up.

You’ll burn off those holiday treats and easily avoid extra weight gain. I have several girlfriends who have been doing this trick for years and they never gain a pound over the holidays (in fact they often lose a few!).

#3 Cut Back Where You Can At Other Meals

Did you know that the average number of calories consumed by one person during a typical Thanksgiving dinner is 7,100! That’s about 2 pounds strictly in terms of calories alone.

But not to worry. All you have to do is make small calorie cutbacks at other meals the week before and you’ll easily make up for the extra calories.

For example, instead a huge slice of pecan pie (which normally will run you about 500 calories) for desert, why not try some blueberries mixed with low fat yogurt? Instead of the bag of potato chips you usually indulge in for the big game, why not munch on air-popped, low fat popcorn?

You can save as much as 500 calories and you’re still having a salty, satisfying snack.

Bottom line: cut back where you can in little ways. You won’t miss the little sacrifices and you can then enjoy your holiday meals – guilt free!

#4 Eat What You Like – But Only A Few Bites

If you absolutely cannot imagine giving up any of your favorite treats this holiday season, give yourself permission to have a bite of everything – but only a bite!

I read somewhere that Jessica Simpson never denies herself any of her favorite foods – but she only allows herself one or two bites. And let’s face it the first couple of bites are the best tasting anyways!

#5 Don’t Eat After 7:00 pm

Experts tell us that the earlier in the day food is eaten, the more likely it is to be burned off. However when you eat late at night, this food is more likely to be stored as fat.

Celebrities like Oprah use this knowledge to their advantage and refuse to eat after a certain time like 7:00 p.m.

So if you know you absolutely must have a sweet indulgence during the day, try to have it before noon. Then towards the end of the day, snack on healthy, lower carb foods like salads, vegetable broth, fruits or lean protein.

This keeps your metabolism elevated but won’t pack on the pounds. I’ve personally used this trick before every holiday Christmas party for 5 years running and it certainly helps for getting into those slinky Christmas party dresses!

So those are 5 diet tips to avoid holiday weight gain this year. Follow them and you’re guaranteed to save yourself the stress of unwanted weight gain. Heck, you’ll probably even lose a few pounds, all in time for New Year’s Eve!

Every Monday the gym fills up with endless amounts of people on Treadmills, Ellipticals, Bikes and any other equipment that they can find. Most of these people want to lose weight, but what they don’t realise is that they are missing a serious form of exercise that will get them burning calories when there not even in the gym.Think of it this way, every time you go to the gym how long do you spend in there? About an hour or less?! So what about the other 23 hours in the day. Aerobic exercise is great for burning calories when you are in the gym but it does very little for you when you’re not in the gym and as a consequence it may take you a longer period of time to lose the excess fat.

Resistance training is the key to revving up your metabolism so that you burn more calories whilst sitting at home.

So how does resistance training help you burn those extra calories? By toning up your muscles you increase the chances of burning extra calories. Muscle is an active tissue unlike fat and as we move throughout the day we use our muscles and thereby burn calories. The more muscle tissue you have the larger amount of calories you will burn.

Hold on there though, I’m not saying you should stop your aerobic training. The most effective way to lose excess fat is to use a combination of aerobic and resistance training. For example you could do 2 days of resistance training and 3 days of aerobic training. In between your aerobic training days you could do weights. One weights day could be for your lower body and the other for your upper. This way you will have more focus rather than walking round the gym aimlessly.

What resistance training exercises should you be doing to get the best results? Compound exercises are the most beneficial to you; these are exercises that work your muscles over 2 joint movements. Examples are, Squats, lunges, chest press, pull ups, etc.

To burn those extra calories through the day, when you are not in the gym you need to start lifting those dumbbells and barbells. Tone your muscles and rev your metabolism to help burn that excess fat.

It’s kind of like running into a wall — that feeling you get when, after a few months on a weight-loss program, you suddenly stop seeing results. This is called hitting a plateau and it is not uncommon. In fact, unless you continually update your program to reflect the changes your body has already experienced, you can almost be guaranteed to plateau at some point along your journey toward reaching your goal weight.

WEIGHT-LOSS WOES

The first thing you should do upon hitting a plateau is try to determine the cause. Could you be eating more calories than you think? Research shows that most people underreport the number of calories they eat — it’s not that they’re lying, they just don’t know how to make an accurate assessment of how much they’re eating. And even if you’re eating less calories than before you lost the weight, you could be eating just enough to maintain your current weight at your current activity level. It is important to keep in mind that as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down because there is less of you to fuel, both at rest and during activity. So, while a diet of 1,800 calories per day helped you lose a certain amount of weight, if you’ve hit a plateau, it could be that 1,800 calories is the exact amount you need to stay at your current weight.

EXERCISE YOUR OPTIONS

This leaves you with two options:

Lower your caloric intake further or increase the amount of time you spend being physically active. The first option is less desirable because you may not be able to get sufficient nutrients from a diet that is very low in calories, and it is difficult to stick to it for very long. It is much better to moderately reduce calories to a level that you can sustain when you reach your goal weight. The same is true for exercise. Trying to exercise for several hours per day to burn more calories is a good way to set yourself up for failure.

Not only does this type of regimen require an enormous time commitment, it is hard on the body, making you more susceptible to injury and overuse syndromes. Another means for getting you off the plateau is strength training, which has been shown to be very effective in helping people manage their weight because the added muscle helps to offset the metabolism- lowering effect of dieting and losing weight. Muscle is much more metabolically active than fat; therefore, the more muscle you can add, the higher your metabolism will be.

GET OFF THE PLATEAU

If you’ve stopped losing weight, the key to getting off the plateau is to vary your program. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, capable of adapting to just about any circumstance or stimulus. By shaking things up a bit and varying your program by introducing some new elements, you’ll likely find yourself off the plateau and back on the road to progress in no time. To help balance the intake with the expenditure, a good rule of thumb is to multiply your goal weight by 10 calories per pound, and add more calories according to how active you are. Again, be realistic. Don’t attempt too much in an effort to burn more calories. Instead, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity most of the days of the week and, as you become more fit, gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions. Choose activities that you find enjoyable, whether that be in-line skating, step classes or even mall walking.

Every second American is overweight. Indeed 1 out of every four Americans is obese. And it is universally known that obesity is a direct invitation to various diseases including hypertension, diabetes, stress and depression.

According to one study at least 65 % of these obese people have tried one or the other methods of weight loss in a single year. Wherein, about 23 % of these people succeeded in their weight loss endeavor.

Reading these mis-adventurous statistics of the Americans, it can well be said that most of these people are disillusioned with the available over the counter medications, prescription medications and the so called instant weight loss programs. People, in their search for weight loss pills, methods and product usually forgo the basics underlying this whole concept of weight loss. They look for quick weight loss methods, wherein they should primarily hunt for healthy and safe weight loss methods.

Let’s peep into the various aspects of healthy and safe weight loss and find out what an ideal weight loss program should be like.

Well, adopting any weight loss technique is like setting up of the process of internal combustion of the additional luggage that you are carrying within in the form of toxic materials and additional flesh. It is initiating the private revolution to become a normal human being from the over sized one. It is atoning for your past eating sins. It is a careful understanding of your internal mechanism and the process of its regular maintenance.

You can adopt various methods to reduce weight. But what is most important for you is to adopt the one that is safe and conducive to your body mechanism. A successful weight loss method may include low crab diet, weight loss pills, weight loss supplements and many other weight loss programs.

But health and wellness should assume the prime slot in any of the techniques employed for the weight loss. What you eat makes your body, therefore for the cause of weight loss switch over to healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates and those items containing lots of fiber. Make it a rule: Unhealthy eating is an ugly habit!

You have to understand the state of your health in the proper perspective and make a suitable program depending upon your own circumstances. Remember what is good for your friend may not be as good for you in this weight loss spree. So always consult a professional dietician or a doctor before you start your weight loss program. For, your agenda is not quick weight loss, but the healthy weight loss!

Here is a list of things you can adopt for healthy weight loss.

Take two spoonfuls of honey in lukewarm water mixed with 1 spoon of lemon juice on the empty stomach. You will be surprised to experience the beneficial results of this discipline, within a fortnight. Not only weight loss, several other health benefits are bound to accrue.

As for the breakfast, give up all junk food and take the juice of any seasonal vegetable like carrot or cucumber. Fruits and vegetables are nothing but the herbs provided to you by the nature.

Next, regular use of the fresh, tender coconut water is definitely going to help you in your weight loss vow. This again, you need to take on the empty stomach, in the morning. You can take this leaving half an hours gap, after you take your honey dose. Diet pills and food supplements which are depended upon the herbal extracts and natural ingredients have decided advantage in the weight loss program. This is a step in the right direction. But you need not endlessly depend upon these products.

All in all, healthy living, the good food habits should evolve in a way that would help the weight loss program in the long run.

The Mediterranean diet a real weight loss program or is the Mediterranean diet just another fad diet? Here is some light on this growing weight loss diet.

We all know that their are many fad diets that suggest carbohydrates and fats are responsible for weight gain and bad health. So, many people taking part in the low carb diet. This has lead to many fad diets to focus on low-carb dieting. However, the facts are revealed that carbohydrates and fats were not main problems, and suggested the “right” fats and carbohydrates can be the basis for a diet that could work for you.

So, exactly what is the Mediterranean diet? How can a diet like this help us lose weight?

True of the matter is there actually is no ‘Mediterranean’ diet. Instead, most people know this diet as compilation of the way that people in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea eat. This is where the Mediterranean diet comes from. While there were some changes in the foods, most other surrounding countries base their diets on the same food groups and calories, and most include olive oil as a main source of fat.

The Mediterranean diet consists of the following guidelines:

• 70% of total carbohydrates from grains, fruits and vegetables.
• This includes wheat rice, vegetables, fruits, whole grain breads and, wheat.
• Use of red meat, fish and poultry.

The average adult Mediterranean consumes about 20 ounces of red meat and poultry per week. Around 10-15 ounces of fish per week. This accounts for the bulk of their protein intake. A typical American diet may include a 1 pound meat for supper one night and 1/2 pound chicken the next night.

Olive Oil

Remember that olive oil is not a cure for weight loss. It is, however a monounsaturated fat. Good Fats! Monounsaturated fats help lower cholesterol. Most Mediterranean lifestyle are active. The typical Mediterranean day might include walking rather than driving, physical activity with others. All the diets in the world are not worth the time or energy if you don’t exercise. Physical activity and exercise are vital in helping the body to get the weight loss you’re looking for.

There is not great miracle to losing weight. With the Mediterranean diet you base your meals on healthy carbohydrates, green vegetables, whole grains and meats. Use meat lightly – no more than 5 ounces per day. Derive dietary fat from vegetable sources – or from fish oil. Always exercise often with a routine that is targeted to weight loss. Remember that the Mediterranean diet is not weight loss program. It’s a new way of eating that may help you get that weight loss you’ve been dreaming about.

Why is it so hard to lose weight and keep it off? We have all heard that weight loss is just a matter of taking in less calories than we expend. That certainly sounds very logical, but is it really that simple?

For example, I had an intention of only eating fruits and vegetables for a day or two, to counteract the recent ‘junk’ food I had been enjoying. This was a solid plan that practically guaranteed a decrease in caloric intake. However, a solid plan doesn’t always mean an easy execution.

I figured I would be relatively safe making a trip to the health food store. So my guard against high fat foods was down. When I got to the store, my sensibilities were assailed by a well meaning clerk hawking some freshly made corned beef and cabbage. I could hardly resist the temptation. And that wasn’t the end of it. Once my armour was breached, the temptation of tasty, ‘health oriented’ cookie samples fought for my attention.

Once again, I capitulated. My normally strong will power seemed to crumble. And once weakened, it seemed reasonable to just continue. It’s like that first drink for the recovering alcoholic.

I am by no means overweight, but once in a while my diet gets out of hand and the fat around my midsection gets a little more sizable than I am comfortable with. Usually, times like these are a great opportunity to get a little detoxification in, so I like to focus on fruits and vegetables for a day or two.

This has the dual effect of decreasing my caloric intake. I was also sticking with the simple plan mentioned above. So where did things go wrong? Did I not have enough discipline? Did I lack willpower, or was it something else?

In retrospect, the problem appears to be a lack of preparation. I failed to use the power of why. Let me explain. When the chips were down, I didn’t seem to have enough reason to maintain discipline. Maybe you have had a similar experience? I rationalized with, “oh, a little won’t hurt me”. The truth is, once you start down that road, it can be hard to turn back.

What would the right preparation be in that case? What is this power of why that I am talking about? A great way to fortify will power with any strategy is to actually write out the reasons why sticking to your plan or achieving your goal is important. It is kind of like stockpiling ammunition. The weaponry, in this case, appears in the form of a list.

With a long list of reasons supporting the plan or the goal, I would have had a lot more reserves to draw on when my front line defenses were being stressed. When the well meaning clerk was pouncing, I should have had a ready list of whys to fall back on. As the clerk was just being nice and sounding really sensible, plus it was a free sample after all, my mind should have responded with my ready made list of why I should not vary from my plan.

That didn’t happen because I never made such a list. Whatever you are trying to accomplish in life, there are bound to be obstacles and obstructions that just leap into your path to stop or block you. These are the times that you need your list. The list is your power. No list, no power.

When anyone sits down to plan something or set a goal, they need a list to support them during weak times. The longer the list, the better. Even if one has to carry the list along in one’s pocket, it is worth it. A list of about 50 reasons, while hard to create, can pay off in a major way.

Imagine the clerk’s surprise, had I pulled out my handy list and read it off for him. My armour would not have been pierced and the clerk would have had to move on to more ready prey or risk having the spear of temptation blunted! No list, no power.

So, how long is your list?

This article is for information purposes only. It is not meant to advise on diet or weight loss or on any health matters. If you have or think you have a health issue, including weight or diet issues, consult your primary care physician for proper diagnoses and treatment.

You CAN Do it! We’ve all heard a hundred times that the key to weight loss and a healthy body is a sound diet and exercise. Many of us work hard to keep our diets in check, but have a hard time when it comes to exercise. Either we’re short on time, feel too tired, or just don’t have the motivation to get up any earlier.

Well, if you’re one of those that has a hard time with exercise, I’ve got good news for you. Exercise doesn’t have to be that hard! You don’t have to spend an hour at it, and you don’t have to join a gym or buy expensive equipment.

In fact, just 20 minutes of exercise per day can give you great health benefits over the long haul. Even if you only do 5 or 10 minutes at a time, you’re still doing your heart–and your physique–a lot of good.

When you’re short on time, you can sneak your exercise in just about anywhere you are. It’s amazing what a little heart-pumping here and there will do for your health AND your mood.

Pulling a stressful 9-to-5 shift? Take a 15-minute break twice a day and go for a walk… even around the office or up and down the stairs. The exercise will not only burn a few extra calories, but it will also help you avoid that afternoon slump and put you in a better frame of mind.

Got too much laundry to worry about exercise? Use your chores as a workout. Take a few extra trips up and down the stairs, dance while you dust, or vacuum whether you need to or not. Load the dishwasher in a squat position to tighten those glutes, and keep those abs pulled in no matter what you’re doing.

While you’re out doing your regular errands, get a little exercise as well. Park at the far end of the parking lot to do a little walking. Contract your arm and back muscles while you push that shopping cart. Carry your toddler instead of having her walk. If you only have a few items to get at the store or have a neighborhood delivery to make, walk!

If you can, set your alarm just 20 minutes earlier and grab your dumbbells. Find a few exercises on the Web and alternate working different parts of the body on different days. Weight-bearing exercise is the best way to increase your lean muscle mass, which will boost your metabolism and help you stay fit. You’ll also get stronger bones! No dumbbells? Use soup cans or gallons of milk.

If you’re trying to lose weight, exercise will get you to your goal much faster, and you’ll form a healthy habit along the way. It takes just 21 days to form a habit, so if you can commit to exercise several times a week for just the next three weeks, it will become easier to keep it up. You will probably even decide you enjoy it!

Remember, exercise is any activity that gets your heart rate into its target zone. You don’t have to sweat it out in front of a video or in an organized class. Your exercise can be walking, dancing, tennis, football, biking, or any other sport or physical activity you enjoy. As long as you keep it up and use variation to keep from getting bored, exercise can be an enjoyable, permanent part of your new healthy lifestyle.

Have you ever heard a personal trainer or fitness professional say that to maximize fat loss you need to maximize exercise time in your “Fat Burning Zone”?  Also have you noticed that just about any piece of cardiovascular exercise equipment has a “fat burn” program spaced between the interval and random programs?  What is the so-called Fat Burning Zone anyway and why should you look for better options to help you maximize your fat loss results?  This article provides some basic information on the fat burning zone and why interval-type training might be provide permanent results faster.

The fat burning zone defined

The Fat Burning Zone (FBZ) is an intensity (e.g. walking speed) of aerobic -type exercise that concentrates the use of fat as a fuel.  Exercise intensity is typically measured by monitoring your heart rate, so exercising at about 65% of your heart rate max/HR max (220 – your age) places you in the “zone”.  

Energy/metabolic contributions while exercising

Exercise intensity determines the relative contribution of different energy sources (carbohydrate, protein, fat) to fuel it.  For example, high intensity exercise like running and sprinting rely more heavily on the use of carbohydrates than lower intensity exercise like walking in the zone which relies more on the use of fat. 

Energy metabolism works on an exercise intensity continuum – that is at any intensity never does your body make use of a single type of fuel.  For example, even in an all-out sprint some of your energy yield will come from fat and protein, but the large majority will come from carbohydrates.  Similarly, even in the fat burning zone a percentage of your energy will come from carbohydrates and protein, but a much larger contribution will come from fat.

The basic rule is the higher the exercise intensity, the higher the relative contribution of carbohydrates to total energy expenditure and vice versa for fat – so it is in fact true that at the FBZ intensity, fat will be the maximal contributor of calories burned during the exercise session.  (If I have confused you read on for an explanation).

For the casual exerciser, the FBZ is essentially useless

Here’s why:

• Fat and weight loss is directly dependent on caloric (energy) balance – in other words if your total calories (food calories – exercise calories burned) in a day are less than the amount needed to maintain your current weight, you will lose weight; if you consume more energy that what you need to maintain your current weight, you will gain weight
• Your body doesn’t care where the “exercise calories burned” come from – whether from carbohydrate, protein or fat, the key is the number of calories expended
• Exercising at the intensity the FBZ requires will take much longer to burn calories because the power output/energy requirement is so low

EXCEPTIONS:  Exercising in the zone may be useful however for severely deconditioned or obese individuals who do not have the physical capacities to perform a higher intensity-type exercise routine.  If this is the case, the fat burning zone should be viewed as a step toward progression.

The key is to MAXIMIZE the number of calories expended

Unless you have many weeks and tons of patience to lose weight by consistently exercising in the FBZ; the best option is to maximize the number of calories burned in the shortest time frame.  Interval based training is much better suited for quick and safe weight loss. 

Basically interval training involves “bouts” of high intensity exercise separated by lower intensity “recovery” periods.  An example of an interval might be running at high intensity (80 – 90% HR max) for 2 minutes and then walking (60-65% HR max) for about 4 minutes – keeping the work (run) to recovery ratio about 1:2 or 1:3.

The walking sessions serve two purposes: they contribute to total calories burned and allow for recovery and energy regeneration for the next successive running bout.  This type of intermittent intensity training allows for a much greater burning of calories in a much shorter time frame speeding up weight and fat loss.

So even if I burn carbohydrates with higher intensity interval-type exercise I can still lose fat mass?

YES.

Remember the source of the calories does not matter.  The carbohydrate stores in your liver and muscles (called glycogen) depleted from exercise must be replaced during recovery.  So essentially more calories from food consumed after exercise will be directed toward glycogen restocking and less will be directed toward fat storage (it is only after the glycogen reserves have been restocked that the “excess” calories are directed to fat storage anyway).

Higher intensity exercise offers other benefits too

Research also shows that higher intensity exercise increases your post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and your post-prandial (after a meal) oxygen consumption.  In other words, during recovery your metabolism is quite significantly increased for several minutes to hours after stopping exercise.  This boosts your caloric expenditure even more over lower intensity FBZ-type exercise.

High intensity exercise will help you lose fat while sparing valuable muscle tissue and also promotes faster increases in your fitness levels since all your muscle fiber types (type I, type IIA, IIB) are stimulated in the process. 

In conclusion then, this article has pointed to the importance of exercise intensity on the burning of calories.  Clearly if your goal is to lose weight and fat mass faster and become fitter, interval based training is by far superior to exercising in the fat burning zone.