Should I aim for Fat burn or Cardio to loose weight most effectively?

[SunsetRunner]

I'm working to a 1000kcal deficit and managing my diet I am quite limited for exercise as I'm disabled but I do what I can. but I'm not sure what I should aim for? 

I'm following my fitbit sense calorie advice and working to 1550Kcal a day which is just below what my Tanita scales say is my BMR. I'm just not sure if I should be in cardio or fat burn to loose weight most efficiently please can anyone advise?

Best Wishes Diane 

[Glenda]

@SunsetRunner  Maybe someone else will offer a suggestion more in line with your aims and ideas.  But my own personal opinion is that all that calorie deficit stuff is a bad idea completely.  I don't think it works at all.  I suggest you google what a reasonable number of calories is for your age, sex,  height, current weight.  Forget activity levels and exercise.  What you weigh depends on what you eat.  People who start exercise programs to lose weight, don't lose weight according to scientific studies, because they eat more.  You should be able to find the number of calories that will maintain your weight and then deduct 500 a day to lose 1 pound a week.  If you are big enough you maybe could subtract a few more calories a day to lose faster, but not if you are small.   On the other hand, exercise is critical for good health.  I have walked on my treadmill or ridden my stationary bike every day for decades because I can read while doing that.  Since you are disabled do what you can that is most tolerable that hopefully you can enjoy a bit.  I don't enjoy exercise but I can read at the same time and not feel I'm wasting time.  Happy 2011 to you.  Best wishes back!

[Heybales · Accepted solution]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

I'm working to a 1000kcal deficit and managing my diet I am quite limited for exercise as I'm disabled but I do what I can. but I'm not sure what I should aim for? 

I'm following my fitbit sense calorie advice and working to 1550Kcal a day which is just below what my Tanita scales say is my BMR. I'm just not sure if I should be in cardio or fat burn to loose weight most efficiently please can anyone advise?

Best Wishes Diane 

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So you are correct - you have to eat less than you burn on average in order to lose fat weight - otherwise known as eating at a deficit.

Every study on weight loss proves this.

You have over 50 lbs to lose to make that 1000 cal deficit reasonable?

Make it unreasonable - you'll lose muscle mass and stress body out - that is not a state you want to be in - you'll regret that big time later.

To your question of which HR zone for the workouts to lose weight efficiently.

It's meaningless, doesn't matter.

The only thing exercise does for diet is allow you to burn more daily (obviously if you move more you burn more), so then when you eat less than that it may allow you to eat enough to adhere to the diet.

Meaning, would you rather be sedentary burning say 2000 daily and eating 1500?

Or with exercise burn 2500 and allow eating 2000?

Made up numbers - you would have to do a lot to burn 500 in exercise. But the point stands. What will allow you to adhere and sustain the diet.

To that point, the higher the HR zone the bigger the calorie burn, if you can keep it up. If you push so hard 1 day it knocks you out the next day and can't do anything - then that wasn't useful.

Again, it's the reasonable calorie deficit that causes the efficient fat loss, not the exercise.

Unreasonable deficit includes muscle mass.

Resistance training can help retain muscle mass, along with enough protein and good deficit.

Cardio is good for heart health.

[SunsetRunner]

 My Calorie choices are fine I have been eating 1500Kcal for 2 years now and and had lost 144lb working to this plan so I know it works however during lockdown I had a bereavement and I have been off plan and  gained some weight so I now need to work at it to get it off. I didn't have a fit bit before and what I used didn't give me the options of Cardio or Fat burn I just wondered which was best to work towards. Many Thanks Best wishes.

[Glenda]

@SunsetRunner  Good for you!!!  I wear my Fitbit One all the time and am glad to check my step count before getting off my treadmill.  I get 5000 there and and another 2,500 shopping or around the house.  I was excited at first years ago to see the calorie count when I wasn't on a machine that counted for me.  But then I decided that is counter productive.  Just because we have a gadget that counts doesn't mean it is helpful.  Recently I had shingles which is amazingly painful I stopped exercising completely and was surprised to see I used almost as may calories sitting on the couch.  Your body has to maintain your temperature and your heart never stops.  Walking isn't that many more.  Surprise, Surprise.  Then when people look and say, Oh I used  X# of calories, they think they can eat more.  It doesn't work.

[SunsetRunner]

I understand the basal metabolic rate, my fitbit sense takes that into account when it helps me calculate daily calories, as do my Tanita scales however I have been working to roughly this amount for a while and I'm happy with my current plan as I have gotten great results its only the past more difficult few months I wavered from my eating plan and gained weight which will now come off now I'm back on plan. Walking isn't an option, for serious activity as I  have been confined to my home since the 9th of March 2020 due to covid19 I am quite ill and take immune suppressants and steroids for my heart and lung issues I haven't been allowed out of my home except for trips to hospital.  I sympathise for your pain of shingles I have both full body Neuropathy and Myalgia I live in constant pain and take several pain medications daily to allow me to function but I'm only 47 and we have to make the best of what we have, I have been ill since I was 18 months old so I am used to my limitations and usually find a way to work round them.  I can only exercise in the Mornings as my body shuts down in the afternoons and by the evening I have limited mobility at all so I have to make the most of the time I have. My Hip Surgeon has recommended the yoga and resistance training obviously just floor work and sitting and we have a recumbent exercise bike for spinning and its for this I am wanting to know which is best Cardio or Fat burn I know you cant exercise out a bad diet but I just need to know which is a better use of my time?

[Heybales]

Incredible work in a difficult situation. Sounds like you'll be able to keep it up.

Cardio at whatever level allows you to recover, to do it again the next day if desired. You may already know that level. Hate for you to test where the line is and knock yourself out for more than a day. Those ranges are generally meaningless for most folks unless training for a race.

Resistance training to help hold onto that muscle usually is best at a level that requires a day to recovery. Resistance training done at a level you could do it the next day usually means it isn't being done high enough intensity to really benefit from. Now that should be hard and require longer recovery.

Just keep in mind when you have less fat to lose, it becomes a bigger stressor to your body to undereat too much - and you have more than your fair share of stress on your body already.

Common suggestions that have shown in studies to lessen the amount of muscle mass loss when in a diet, as long as resistance training and protein levels are good already.

1000 cal deficit over 50 lbs to healthy weight

750 for 30-50.

500 for 10-30

250 for under 10.

You've likely noticed from comments from others how difficult it becomes to lose weight in the final stretches - usually this is because they are attempting the same rate of loss at the end as at the beginning, and the body will adapt to what it now considers an extreme diet, and their body slows many processes and daily movements down causing them to burn much less, besides gaining stress water weight that throws the scale off.

Keep up the hard work, and great attitude that has to be motivating to others.

[SunsetRunner]

That is really helpful advice thank you, yes when I got to target in 2019 it took ages to get to the last 7lb, during 2020 I have yoyoed dropping off plan then going back on just life situations have been hard in such a long lock down and food is my comforter however I do eat well and the calories I do have when I'm on plan are spent well lots of fruit veg and quality protein I have food allergies so cook from scratch hardly any processed foods. I have a mixture of cardio and fat burn going on at the moment but I'm glad you mentioned needing recovery days I swap yoga with resistance training I just alternate the two they give me the fat burn and do the recumbent bike daily which I try to do as cardio when my heart and lungs will allow. I have 8 medical consultants in all and each of them is encouraging me to drop the weight and become stronger and fitter so I have their full blessing, My cardiologist advised to do what I can. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me, I'm in a unique situation with my health and COVID19 lock down makes it even more complicated. I'm determined to get to my target weight and that will be 10 stone of weight lost I was 21 stone when I started. Best wishes and stay safe 🙂

[Plague]

Good luck with what you're doing, it looks like you've had a lot of really helpful advice.  I was going to put my own post up but the replies you have had have actually answered all my questions!!  Hope it all goes well for you!

[Glenda]

Cat_Witch,  You are an inspiration!  You are doing so well, overcoming so much and sticking with it.  You seem to be doing everything right.  I just gave away my rowing machine because it is harmful to bad knees, takes up lots of space and isn't at all fun because I can't read at the same time on it.  Surprising but I read that an elliptical machine puts less pressure on knees than walking.  (Seems hard to believe doesn't it?)  But a recumbent bike is good (recommended ) even for my recent attack of gout arthritis of the knee!  The TV show "Sit & be fit" shows a few exercises using a resistance band.  You caused me to google "fat burners"  which I have seen mentioned here and there.  Coffee is a "fat burner".  

               Everything I read says exercise is critical for better health and living longer.  So it is wonderful that you are trying so hard and doing so much in addition to eating well,  The most recent study said feeling tired is reduced by exercise and that is important because you will live longer if you reduce feelings of fatiguability.   So, good for you.  What you are doing is great and amazing.