Bodytalk

By Stephenie Karony

Wednesday, August 4, 1999

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How to burn more
calories in shorter time

Question: Will I burn more fat doing high intensity or low intensity exercise?

Answer: Lower intensity exercise actually burns more fat calories, but that doesn't mean you'll lose more weight doing lighter workouts. As the difficulty of the training workload increases, the percentage of fat burned decreases - your body starts to pull more energy from other sources, namely from carbohydrates (sugar). But as your workout intensifies, you also burn more total calories. Even though more of the calories burned are coming from sugar, remember those are sugar calories that won't have the opportunity to get stored as fat.

There's a saying that fat burns in the flame of sugar, because you always burn both. Exercising at higher intensities is a more effective way to lose weight and keep it off, because you burn more total calories in a shorter amount of time. The down side of this is that an individual has to be very fit to exercise at these higher training workloads.

Total calories are what counts, and exercising harder burns more total calories, as long as you're able to keep going. Be sure to work out at a pace you can maintain; if you try to train too hard for your level of fitness, you'll have to stop. So work up gradually and increase the intensity and duration over a period of time.

Once you're fit enough, mix it up. Train hard and long one day, then pull back the next. The best way to exercise is a way which is enjoyable, so that exercise becomes a lifelong habit.

Q: What are the symptoms of a stroke? What factors lead to stroke?

A: Here are some of the warning signs of a stroke:

Sudden weakness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.

Sudden numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.

Sudden dimness or loss of vision in one eye.

Trouble talking, slurred speech.

Sudden severe headache with no apparent cause.

Unexplained dizziness, especially along with any of the above symptoms.

If you have any of these symptoms, go to the emergency room immediately.

Risk factors for developing stroke are divided into two categories: those you can control and those you can't. The risk factors you can control are:

Blood pressure - controlled through diet, exercise and medication if necessary.

Smoking - If you smoke, quit.

Exercise - If you don't, start.

Alcohol - More than two drinks a day is too many.

Cholesterol - Control levels with diet, exercise and medication if necessary.

Weight - Lose weight if you're overweight, and keep it stable.

The risk factors you cannot control are:

Age - Risk goes up after the age of 55.

Gender - Men are more at risk than women

Family - People with a family history of stroke are at greater risk.

If you have heart disease, carotid artery disease, or an irregular heartbeat, you're even at greater risk.

If you want to know more about preventing stroke and heart disease, call your local health department. In the meantime, eat right (low-fat), exercise regularly, and quit smoking.

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Stephenie Karony is a certified health
and fitness instructor, a personal trainer and the author of
"Body Shaping with Free Weights." Send questions to her at
P.O. Box 262, Wailuku Hi. Her column appears on Wednesdays.