why aren't you losing weight?

Let me try and explain something.

for you.

and your understanding.

I have always told my readers and everyone else that asks, that the key to weight loss is cardio, but slow cardio. keeping your heart rate no higher then 145 which usually means a really fast walk, or a very slow jog.

It has come to my attention that some may not believe me, or may think that running faster will burn the fat faster.

PLEASE believe me.

this is NOT true.

there are two types of cardio. Aerobic and Anaerobic. look it up if you want.

Aerobic is the lighter of the two, walking, jogging etc. Aerobic is " in the presence of oxygen." when you do Aerobics your body recognizes the activity and begins to burn fat because it CAN because it is getting enough oxygen.

Anaerobic is "in the absence of air." running fast, tennis, things that get your heart rate going really fast are considered anaerobic. When this happens, your body is working so hard, breathing becomes scarce, rapid and short. When that happens, your body CAN'T focus on burning fat because it is so focused on the physical activity and needs of what your body is currently doing.

some might ask why then are track stars and runners so thin and lean.

good question.

Anaerobic cardio is NOT pointless. Quite the opposite, its great. You just have to realize what the outcome of it will be. Aerobic cardio burns fat, Anaerobic cardio builds muscle. Muscle is needed to burn fat, the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So they actually compliment each other.

To get a good balance of both, intervals are recommended. see HERE.

Your cardio needs to be balanced. You shouldn't do all of one type and none of the other. You won't see results and you will become discouraged.

Those who decide to run for 45 mins everyday, and who don't lose weight get frustrated and want to know why they aren't seeing results. The truth is that results are happening you just cant see them. Your muscles are being toned, leaned and worked on UNDERNEATH THE FAT. Realize that fat is always on top of muscle, and since fat is not being burned, you won't ever see them.

Those who decide to just do walking for 30 mins every day will burn fat, get smaller and lose weight. But sometimes they still aren't happy with how they look, because they want to be tone and lean. Since their cardio was just fat burning, they didn't work on their muscles and so yes, they did get smaller, but just a smaller version of their flabby self.

Make sense?

This is something I learned a long time ago, but while studying for my fitness trainer exam I learned how to explain it. :-)