What I Learned About Exercise and Shedding the Fat

I have been training for the last six months. During that time, I have asked my trainer for helpful information, as well as comparing notes with fellow trainees like myself.

What I found was that some of my fellow trainees did not necessarily understand what it was that causes fat loss, at least not as it compared to what my trainer had said.

According to my trainer, aerobic exercise without food consumption is indeed a faster way to shed the fat, but only for people taking supplemental medication. Sometimes athletes take this supplemental medication.

According to Science Daily, if a morning jogger were to start his or her morning jogging routine at 6am, without eating, it is likely to increase the cortisol production. Increase in this cortisol could cause erosion of intestinal lining and may eventually lead to ulcers. Cortisol accumulates in the human body and its level peaks in the morning. Muscle protein will break down more quickly due to the energy transportation within the body, caused by the cortisol. Eating the right amounts of food is necessary, especially those carbohydrates which provide energy. Carbohydrate energy can be stored as glycogen in the muscles and the rest of it can be stored as fat. In this case, if no food is taken before aerobic exercise, energy would mainly come from muscle, instead of the desired shedding of fat. Also, this process causes a low energy feeling.

According to bodybuilding.com, if people choose aerobic exercise and their goal is fat loss, the two options that would be the most feasible would be to exercise in low intensity, or “High-Intensity Interval Training.” HIIT is a form of exercise with low-impact anaerobic exercise and a shorter period of time. Training with average intensity and time would only increase the level of cortisol, otherwise known as the “stress hormone.” This process would continue consuming the energy from your muscle, instead of the fat. Instead, what is generally recommended is to perform low-impact (low intensity) aerobic exercise for an hour. Another option is spending 15 minutes with a HITT exercise routine.

Fat loss shares very little similarity to the traditional “weight loss.” Most people cannot tell the difference between the traditional and what has been discussed here. They may go blindly into a process of extreme training methods. These methods would include exercising strenuously, without having food. As described above, this could have results that were not expected. In this case, understanding the process helps one to make the right fitness plans for themselves.

This article contributed by HHP Staff Writer, Xiaoye Jin.