Call: How to Burn Calories – At Rest!
Posted: Sep 18 in Activity Recommendations by Dr. Lazarus
A recent study reported in September’s journal of the American College of Sports Medicine highlights the power of exercise. Many individuals get caught up on the reports that exercise machines, heart rate monitors and other gizmos calculate regarding the calories burned during exercise. This study suggests that people who do more intense workouts get an unexpected bonus: they continue to burn calories long after they’ve finished working out!
For example, researchers found that after 45 minutes on a stationary bike, men continued burning additional calories for a full 14 hours after the workout – 190 more calories! This is in addition to what was burned during the workout. To get these types of benefits, workouts need to be intense enough that “you’re sweating, your body temperature is up and your heart beats fast.”
I would add that this also highlights why daily activity seems more effective than “weekend warrior” for weight loss and long-term weight maintenance. These increased calorie burning effects last about 1/2 day – so just working out on weekends and skipping the work week, one misses all of these extra calories. Perhaps this explains why daily physical activity is more effective when it comes to weight loss.
So, stop waiting – it’s Fall, it’s beautiful outside. Get on those sneakers and enjoy our beautiful Denver mornings. Then, when you’re at the office or sitting at your desk, you can rest assured that you are still reaping the weight loss benefits of your beautiful morning workout.
I don’t like moving in the morning but usually work out around 4 pm, Will I still get the aftereffects of continued fat burning?
Laura –
In my opinion, absolutely! The increased metabolism effect results for several hours after exercise regardless of the timing of exercise. The most important part of exercise from a weight management perspective appears to be the number of minutes of physical activity – this supersedes type of activity, timing, intensity, etc. So, whenever you are most likely to do it and enjoy it, that is the best time for you!