Yellow, red, or orange for weight loss

[Shenny]

I am 72 and trying very hard to lose some weight.  For the last 6 weeks I have walked for an hour and 10 minutes 6 days a week.  My target heart rate should be between 95 and 125.  Yellow says "fat burn". I don't stay in that zone very long.  Feels like I'm crawling.  I spend 50 to 75% of the time in cardio.  And usually by the end of my walk I'm in the red zone for 5-10 minutes.  Goal is only 9,000 steps a day because I like to feel like an over achiever😀.  I'm averaging 1700 calories a day burned and I intake around 1200 calories a day.  I have lost a total of 2 lbs.  which can come back on if I go out to dinner with friends.  A rare occasion.  Luckily those 2 come right back off.  I'm obviously doing something wrong.  When I walk should I really try to stay in that yellow fat burning place the whole time?  That only has my heart rate in the 90s.  Any help greatly appreciated.

[Baltoscott · Accepted solution]

@Shenny -- Your main focus to lose weight is to make sure you are burning more calories than you eat.  If you are not losing weight over a six week period, the most likely problem is your that food logging is not quite as accurate as you think it is.  (Or fitbit's energy expenditure calculation is just too generous in your case).  But focus on what you eat.  Prepare it yourself from whole foods so you know what is in it (no hidden fats, etc.), and weigh it so you are sure about your quantities.  

Regarding your exercise, staying in cardio will burn more calories AND fat over a given period of time so it is better to be in that range if you can.  Basically what happens is that if you stay in the cardio zone for an hour (vs. fat zone) you go further and therefore expend more energy overall than you would if you stayed in the "fat burning" zone, which will lead to more fat loss over time.  Here is a simple article on how it works.

The other thing you should do is add in some strength training 2 or 3x/week (weights, yoga, etc) And make sure you get a fair amount of protein in your diet.  That will help you preserve your muscle which is not only good for weight loss, but will also help you maintain your mobility as you get older.  

[Shenny]

Thanks.  My main problem with diet is that I usually only eat one or one 1/2 meals a day.  Consisting of chicken or steak w asoargus or onions.  Do add some butter for flavor.  Or I'll have a salad but do use reg salad dressing.  My problem there is probably that I don't spread it over the day.  Do think my calorie count is good just think consuming it all at once or s probably a bad idea.  Thanks for the hint of the cardio.  I should have no trouble keeping it there for most of my walk.  Appreciate your help