Are you a cardio queen, but just can't lose fat?

I have seen many people who come into the gym tired, frustrated and desperate. After hours and hours spent at the gym they are not seeing the results they want. I had one woman tell me she does three hours of cardio a day, yet her body fat percentage was still very high. I want to explain some of the reasons why someone who does tons and tons of cardio may be stuck in a fat-loss rut.

1. You think because you do lots of cardio, you get a free diet pass.

I always say it takes me 5 minutes to eat 500 calories of ice cream, but it takes me an hour of running to burn it off. I see this problem a lot with people who run often; usually they feel like since they are outputting so many calories in exercise everyday, it puts them in a position to eat whatever they want. For someone who loathes cardio (like myself), it's horrible to find out that all those hours on the treadmill were eclipsed by some really bad diet habits. I used to go out and eat all kinds of junk and justify it by saying "I worked out today, I deserve this". Not only was I eating all the calories I just burned off, but I was eating sugar and fat calories that usually came with my cardio "reward" meal.

2. You are exercising above your anaerobic threshold.

For every body, there is a certain amount of "work" that your body cannot handle. It doesn't matter what type of activity you are doing. Once you encounter a certain insensity in any exercise, you body will stop burning fat completely. Yes, you heard me. At that point you are burning 100% of your calories from carbohydrates. I'll say it again. YOUR BODY STOPS BURNING FAT. Unless you are an elite athlete, there is no reason to train at this intensity. If I got on an elliptical machine and went as fast and as hard as I could possible go for a full hour, I probably did nothing to help my body shed fat. The machine I used will tell me I burned a heck of a lot f calories, but if I haven't burned any fat calories then I'm not going to lose fat.

Many people, women especially, feel that if they just take off running and go as fast as they can, then fat loss will come more quickly. Believe me, this is one thing you don't want to do. You may see a drop in your scale weight the first week after beginning an intense training routine, but this is most likely due to water and/or muscle loss. You will have much more success if you slow down and stay in your target heart rate zones.

For example, at a heart rate of 112 bpm I burn about 7 calories a minute, with 5 of those calories coming straight from fat. At a heart rate of 170 bpm, I'm burning way more calories per minute (about 12) but I only burn 2 calories from fat. That means I would have to spend more than twice the time at a higher heart rate to burn the same fat calories that I would normally burn at a much lower intensity.

3. You are not eating enough.

If you are someone who does hours of cardio but doesn't consume enough calories during the day to support that level of activity, then your body will respond by lowering your metabolism. Your body needs a certain number of calories to function, and if you aren't eating enough to support a healthy, functioning body, AND you are exercising a great deal, it is very likely your fat loss will stop. This is your body's way of trying to keep you alive by holding onto all your fat stores.

If you are stuck in a rut, get yourself a heart rate monitor and have a cardio respiratory test done to determine your own unique fat burning zones. Once you know the heart rate where you are going t be burning the maximum amount of FAT calories, and if you consistently train in your zone, you will see the results you want. Start writing everything down that you are consuming so you can have a clear picture of your calorie intake, and remember to work smarter, not harder!

Weekly Exercise: Squats with Scott

Scott demonstrates different types of squats that will help strengthen and tone your glutes.

Muscles worked: Quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, hip flexors and calf muscle.

Worst Summer Drinks

While few mixed drinks are "good" for you, some favorites are much worse than others.

Liquid calories are consumed much faster than anything you have to chew, so be careful when enjoying these popular summer drinks.

Worst Summer Drinks

Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappuccino Blended Creme (grande size)

470 calories, (62 grams of sugar!)

Long Island Iced Tea

700 calories

Pina Colada

625 calories

Margarita

500 calories

Mudslide

417 calories

Another drink that makes the list is Vitaminwater (20 oz).  This drink likes to market itself as a health food, but with a whooping 33 grams of sugar per serving and 130 calories, you may as well be drinking a regular soda.

Finally, I hate to do it, but good old fashioned lemonade is something else to limit or avoid. Even though this drink is so often associated with lazy summer days and good memories, it contains about 50 grams of sugar for 16oz. Luckily you can save yourself the calories and make it with an artificial sweetener like Splenda and you probably won't miss out on taste.

Think You Get 10,000 Steps Everyday?

I try and wear my pedometer everyday. One evening I was bragging to my husband about my step count for the day when he became curious about his own number of daily steps.  He was positive he got in at least 10,000 steps a day, since he works in a library and is always walking up and down the stacks.  I lent him my pedometer for the day, and he went off to work confident that he would return and show me at least 10,000 steps on the pedometer.

Well, he came home a little disappointed.  He managed to get in 7,000 steps that day.  

The American Council on Exercise tracked the average number of steps taken by police officers, lawyers, nurses, restaurant servers, mail carriers, factory workers, custodians and construction workers.

Can you guess which of these occupations had the most and the least amount of steps?

MOST - Mail Carriers.  People in this profession take about 1,900 steps AN HOUR!

LEAST- Lawyers.  This is probably not much of a surprise, considering all the research and paperwork lawyers deal with everyday.  Lawyers took an average of about 600 steps and hour.

There are lots of great pedometers out there if you are interested in counting you steps, and most are very affordable.  At Baseline Fitness our clients use the pedometer shown above (Omron model HJ-720ITC) because it tracks total steps, aerobic steps, mileage, and it comes with computer software so you can download your step count into your computer.  

Why We Are Fat

Ok, so America is not the "fittest" country in the world. According to Forbes.com we are #9 in the list of fattest countries. How did this happen?

I recently read an article in the Harvard Gazette explaining why citizens of modernized countries are overweight. Anthropology professor Daniel Lieberman believes that our weight-gain really started about 10,000 years ago. Way back then, we were still hunter-gatherers, and our bodies needed food that was calorie dense to keep up with the physical work we were doing. But about 10,000 years ago we switched from hunting and gathering to farming. Over time this switch has enabled us to increase our population and given us more leisure time, and while our diets are very different than they were long ago, our bodies are essentially the same.

This really got me thinking about what kind of physical activity our bodies need. Hundreds of years ago our springs were spent planing and tilling and raising livestock. We were in constant motion. Most Americans today, well, we sit on our butts. The American College of Sports Medicine estimates that the average american takes between 3,000 and 5,000 steps daily, which is about half of what is recommended for a healthy activity level. So not only are we not moving enough, we are eating way too many calories for our underproductive bodies.

Next time I get on the treadmill and think I've done my cardio for the day when I hit thirty minutes, I'll think about my ancestors hauling logs and plowing fields for 6-8 hours a day. I bet that will kick my butt into doing a full hour! :)

All Calories Are Not Created Equal

People are always asking me how many calories they should eat in a day, and I am never able to give them a straight answer.  Daily caloric needs can vary widely from person to person, and even if you take two people of the same weight, height, age and gender, chances are the calories they need is going to be very different.

If I eat 1,800 calories of pizza, soda and fried chicken, I will most likely gain weight, not maintain or lose.  But if I eat 1,800 calories or steamed vegetables, complex carbohydrates and lean proteins, then I will probably lose weight.  20 calories of chicken breast and 20 calories of a calzone are not the same thing!  

Calories come in three forms; fats, carbohydrates, and protein.  You need all three forms of calories to support a healthy body.  One gram of fat contains nine calories, and one gram of carbohydrates contains four.  One gram of protein also contains four calories.  Let's look at these three calorie sources more in-depth.  If you have a pure fat, like oil, you can assume that all of the calories in that food source come from fat.  Since most of what we eat is a combination of fats, carbs and proteins, it's always a good idea to really get to know what you are eating, especially if you are trying to lose weight or put on muscle.

Something else to consider when planning out your calories, is how often you are eating.  If I eat 1,800 calories all in one meal rather than spacing out my 1,800 calories throughout the day, my body will store of my that food as fat.  Eating regular, small meals keeps your metabolism high.  You will burn through your meals more quickly, with less of a chance for your body to store what you just ate as fat.  Eating only one large meal everyday signals the body to store everything you just ate, because it isn't expecting to be fed again for another 24 hours.  Keep meals small and eat every two or three hours and you will see a big change not only in your metabolism, but also in your body composition.