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Do you burn more fat when you exercise in the morning before breakfast? Yes, one line of research supports this! Your body has been fasting for about 10 to 12 hours and your blood glucose levels are low. So if you immediately exercise, you will be tackling some of the fat stores quicker than if you eat then exercise.

If you have the goal to burn fat, this is the time to get your cardio workout in for the day and do resistance later! It boosts your metabolism and the lift in metabolism lasts longer throughout your day than a morning spent not exercising. Now, there is another popular train of thought on this. This line of thinking believes it is really about balance - how many calories taken in and how many calories expended in a 24 hour period. Both seem to have research to support their view. And, use caution. You can get into trouble exercising too hard on an empty stomach because low blood glucose and intense exercise can cause a lowering of your immune response. My suggestion for early morning exercisers if you are planning on working out longer than 30 minutes is to eat a little carbohydrate in the form of a slice of toast, orange juice, or even a small protein bar on the run within 30 minutes of your workout.

If you're going to work out or run or cycle for longer than an hour, I would eat a little more, including some protein. Make sure you don't overeat after the workout if you're trying to lose weight. This is a major issue for people who don't eat before morning exercise. The tendency to overeat can be strong given the result of low blood glucose and increased appetite. So, when you do eat breakfast, make sure you include a protein of some kind, eggs, low fat cottage cheese, peanut butter, or turkey along with your low sugar cereal or bread and fruit.

Is walking just as effective as running? That depends on the goal. I will assume the goal is fat loss. So, if you have bad knees, run only once a week with care - on a treadmill or grass surface or not at all. Running clearly burns more calories than walking. Walking is a great exercise, however. Again, if your goal is to burn fat, you are going to have to increase the intensity and duration to get at the stored fat. Simply walking 3 times a week for 30 minutes will not help you reach your goal. The body normally burns a mix of carbohydrate, as glucose, and fat for fuel. How much of either depends on your physical activity and if, or what you have eaten recently. When you use more energy than you take in from food and drink, the body burns stored fat and carbohydrates, and then even protein, to fuel everyday activity and your physical activity.More than likely, you have noticed on most cardio machines at the gym a setting that says “fat burning zone”. This simply implies a setting for intensity or speed. The reason for this is the body burns a greater percentage of fat at a slow pace or after about 90 minutes of exercise. But, don't let this fool you. Be informed! The fat burning zone (a low intensity speed zone) is mainly a gimmick! Here is the reasoning: even though you burn more fat going slowly, you still burn a percentage of fat at much faster speeds or intensity.

For example, if you compare walking at a slow rate that burns 60 percent fat and 40 percent glucose and a higher intensity run or duration that burns only 30 percent fat and 70 percent glucose, you may still burn more fat at the higher intensity. A typical example. Elliptical #1 is the slower 60/40 mix and Running #2 is the faster, 30/70 mix of fat and glucose fuel.

1. Elliptical in 'fat burning zone' for 30 minutes  -180 calories used  - 108 calories of fat burned
2. Running on a treadmill for 30 minutes - 400 calories used - 120 calories of fat burned

The bottom line really is how much energy you expend each time you exercise.You are going to have to push yourself and see what you are really made of to reach your goal. I believe each one of you can do it! The latest research supports interval training for fat/weight loss. Perhaps incorporate some intervals between walking and running…a 30 minute interval workout might include a 3 minute warmup at 3.5mph - run for 30 seconds as fast as you can - drop it down to 4mph for a minute to recover - kick it back up for 30 seconds and repeat for about 20 to 30 minutes followed by a 3 minute cool down.  Other great cardio exercise includes swimming, spin classes, boot camps, kickboxing, dancing, step aerobics, stairmaster, elliptical, rowing machine. And, each form can incorporate interval training. Keep your target heart rate between 65% to 85% its maximum.

How many minutes into fast walking will you start to burn fat or is it stored calories?

Again, some of that depends on your current size, if and what you ate, and the intensity of your walking. If you workout first thing in the morning, you hit the fat storage sooner.

Any tips on how to keep motivation especially on the days when I am tired and really just don’t care? The reality of weight loss and even maintenance (and as I write this, the reality of life) is you have to do things you don’t want to and don’t like to regardless of how you feel. Doing the right thing is not dependent on how you feel. Doing the right thing and reaching the goals you set is not dependent upon how you feel. Stop making excuses and just do it. Nike’s slogan works for a reason!! If you need some extra support and encouragement, try confessing your feelings out loud and hear your self make the excuse. Confessing it actually helps take away some of its power over you. Allow God to come in and enable you to ‘just do it’. Make the choice out loud, "I have a decision to make: will I listen to my idol of comfort and pleasure or find out what true God dependence looks like and get out there and work hard? I'm going to choose to see what I'm made of with God's help!"Call a friend if needed to listen to you confess the idols of comfort, pleasure and your desire for ease. Then be accountable to getting through a tough workout or putting the bag of cookies down the drain. Yes, I’ve had an accountability partner listen to me grind that bag of cookies down the drain!!

Other helpful motivational tips include using music or watching a great movie while you workout. I have a bike trainer and I pull out and set up my bike in my living room. I sometimes watch a great movie while I do a spin workout! Watch Biggest Loser while you workout or something that will inspire you to keep going even when it’s tough!

We’ve been learning about emotional eating. I know I am an emotional eater and much of the emotions of my weight gain through the years is a result of someone’s actions/words towards me in my life. Although I know I am the one putting the food in my mouth, how do I move past blaming them for my present condition?  It is easy to point the finger at others and miss our responsibility in the struggle. It is easier to look at our circumstances and believe if that person changes, then we can lose the weight and be okay. "If this person would stop hounding me about what I eat or don’t eat, then I would feel good about myself and lose the weight on my terms." Or, perhaps you are stuck in the 'I'm a failure' mindset. Stop using others as an excuse and start eating clean and working out. Do what you know is right regardless, again, of how you feel or what they say. If you feel angry, hurt, or anxious about what others say and do, or if you have some key wounding from the past, then seek some guidance in moving through those issues. Figure out what motive is triggered to idol status by how these people impact you. Ask when you eat and blame others, what is it that you want - peace, security, revenge, comfort, pleasure, love and intimacy. Do you simply feel sorry for yourself and believe you deserve to indulge. That is pleasure. The greatest change you need for weight loss does not lie in your circumstances, behavior, thinking, or even stress level. The greatest change needs to comes in your heart - recognizing when the idols of heart like the desire for comfort triggers you and choose to work hard anyway and deny yourself the pleasure that creates obesity.

It’s the middle of the day and I’m exhausted, even though I’ve been drinking plenty of water, went for a walk, and have been eating healthy. What is my deal and how do I regain my energy?  I am not a physician, so you may want to get a general check to make sure you are not hypoglycemic or have some other issue going on. Sometimes, a simple 5 minute workout at your desk can help elevate your energy level - do some jumping jacks, push ups against the wall, squats into your chair, toe raises, arm circles, and some general stretching. Try to refrain from simple carbohydrate snacks like popcorn, pretzels, chips or crackers and look for veges and a little lean protein as an afternoon ‘pick me up’. One of my favorite is some red pepper strips along with a ½ c of nonfat cottage cheese. Green tea is another great little boost.

How do I get in the habit of not going home and making up excuses to work out? I have good intentions, but they aren’t fulfilled. I just get too tired after a long day at work and can’t wake up early enough in the morning. I’m going to shoot straight. This is another excuse question! I understand you are tired, I understand it’s been a long day, I understand it’s hard to get up - do it anyway! Often you'll find in the middle of the workout you feel great and refreshed! This is nothing new. You have to work hard and eat clean to get the results you want. If it were easy, you would have reached your goal by now. It’s not easy. It requires you to move beyond your comfort zone. It requires you to rely on God’s Holy Spirit strength inside you rather than yourself. Good intentions are only good when there is follow through. Your real intentions are revealed in your behavior and thinking. "I'm too tired"...or refusal to get up or do it late means what? Perhaps you prefer pleasure and comfort to doing what it takes to reach your goal. You'll never reach your goal if you continue to idolize pleasure and comfort.

If you are on your 3rd diet program or more or if you can't seem to gain victory or perhaps you are trading one habit for another, then what will be different this time? When will you decide you will truly do whatever it takes to reach and maintain your goal?  

Realizing these idols are being triggered here - usually control, comfort, pleasure, ease, peace - is a huge step in growth and change!

The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno came out after I began eating that way, but it pretty much reflects how I eat no matter the day on the calendar!

A typical day for an average individual might look like this eating every 2.5 or 3 hours:

Breakfast:3 egg whites w/ spinach, tomatoes, little parma cheese3/4c oatmeal w/ blueberries

water

Snack:red pepper sticks1/2c low fat cottage cheese

water

8 oz skim milk

Snack:protein shakeor low fat/low sugar yogurtcarrot sticks/cucumber slicesor 3 celery sticks w/ peanut butter

water

Dinner:Grilled or baked Salmon in olive oil and seasoningasparagussalad w/ no dressing...try a little parma cheese or dip your salad in dressing(you can add 1/2c brown rice or 1/2 baked sweet potato)waterI've found clean eating an easy lifestyle that provides variety, nutrient rich, and tasty meals that leave me satisfied, energized, and fit for any challenge including football!!

I welcome any other questions!

Blessings to you all...continued inspiration.

Kip