Tag: Fat burning zone

During low-intensity activities like walking, a significant percentage of energy comes from fat oxidation. This makes fat the nutrient mostly used in low intensity exercise, leveraging the body's vast aerobic energy system for sustainable effort.

During low-intensity exercise, your body burns a higher percentage of fat, but high-intensity exercise burns more total calories and a greater quantity of carbs overall. When burning a fixed 400 calories, the exact amount of carbohydrates used depends entirely on your workout's intensity and duration, not a single, static figure.

According to sports physiologists like Dr. Iñigo San Millán, elite endurance athletes spend a large percentage of their training time in Zone 2 to maximize fat oxidation. This low-to-moderate intensity exercise is highly effective at burning fat rather than carbohydrates, a counterintuitive but scientifically-proven concept for improving metabolic health.

During high-intensity exercise, carbohydrates provide roughly two-thirds of the total energy needed by the working muscles. So, do carbs burn quicker than fat? The simple answer is yes, particularly during demanding physical activity, but the full picture is far more complex and depends heavily on the type of activity you are performing.

According to the CDC, regular physical activity combined with a healthy diet is necessary to lose weight. To maximize your workouts, understanding what heartbeat is good for losing weight is essential for targeting your body's energy systems effectively.