When you burn fat…

Right now, as you read this, you are burning fat.  When you sleep, you burn fat.  When you watch TV, you burn fat.  The only time you are not burnig fat, is when you exercise a super high intensities.

The body depends on two fuel sources for basic sustenace: glucose and fat.  But the ratio of how these two fuels are burned up, differs from one person to the next.  How fit a person is influences that ratio.

The average person burns at a ratio of 50/50.  An out of shape person may burn at a ratio of 70/30, meaning 70 percent of the energy his body uses comes from glucose (stored sugar or blood sugar), and only 30 percent comes from fat.

In a very fit person, the ratio is reversed:  Most of the energy the body uses for basic sustenance comes from fat, while the smaller percentage comes from glucose, so this person may have a 30/70 ratio.

So if at any time (except for very intense exertion), you are burning fat (whatever your ratio is), then the second you step onto cardio equipment, you will be burning fat!  You need not wait 20 minutes before the fat-burning process starts kicking in – this is a myth (also depends on your intensity – the higher the intensity the more glucose you burn).

So, the bottom line is that you want to shift your ratio, so that your body is pulling mostly from fat reserves for the energy needed for basic sustenance (sleeping, sitting, walking).  And this ratio can be shifted by increasing exercise intensity during strength training and performing high intensity interval cardio training.