Your exercise tip – carbohydrates, fats and protein – how our exercise uses these fuels
A few explanations about our body and its fuels. Firstly, our Basal metabolic rate (BMR) or metabolism – this is the amount of calories/energy (fuel) our body burns when fully at rest, carrying out the most basic of functions to survive. It equates from 60 to 75% of the total energy our body uses each day. Unfortunately ladies have a lower BMR than men because of lower amounts of lean muscle mass in comparison. People who exercise little will have a lower BMR than those that are active. Are other functions that can vary our BMR like illness and the climate.
Exercise can equate to (depending on your exercise levels) anywhere from 5% to 40% of the energy we use. If you work on roughly six calories per minute of intense activity, it will give you an idea of how much you use exercising. How does our body burn the energy when exercising? Our body needs energy (we measure this as calories in foods) to recreate the molecules in our body that are broken apart to release energy (as heat). As energy sources, carbohydrates are like putting paper on a fire, fat is like wood and protein is like steel.
Resistance exercise is using energy while we train, dependent on the intensity. It is more about creating a longer term higher metabolism (building a bigger motor) so we burn more energy not only when we exercise, but when we are not exercising. Cardiovascular exercise burns energy because we are moving those muscles for sustained periods of time (turning on and running the car motor). It does help build some lean muscle and maintain our metabolism, but think of it more like taking the car out for a spin and using stored fuel.
Our body is like a car; the faster or harder you push it, the more fuel we will burn. Unlike a car, we will burn different percentages of fuel sources depending on how hard we are working and what we have stored in the body. The higher the intensity, the higher the usage of carbohydrates in comparison to fat, but overall you burn off more energy. The slower you go, the lower the carbohydrates rate compared to fats, but overall you burn less energy.
What happens to those excess carbohydrates and proteins that are not used? All excess calories are converted to fats through a process called lipogenesis. Whether it is protein, alcohol or carbohydrates, everything will become stored fats.
If you BMR requires you to have 1800 calories of energy per day, and we exercise for 30 minutes per day (needing 180 calories of energy per session), we need 1980 calories of energy each day. If you are consuming 2200 calories of energy per day, your excess is 220 energy calories per day. With fats having about nine calories per gram, carbohydrates having roughly four calories per gram and protein with four calories per gram, in one year you could put on that excess of 220 calories of energy per day as 9,100 grams of fat.
Points from all of this:
- Keep your resistance training going for a bigger motor.
- Regular cardiovascular exercise will burn off that stored fuel.
- Any excess energy calories we consume will likely be stored as fats.
- It only takes a small amount of excess to add up over a week. Even the smallest leaks sink the biggest ships.
Your health tip – Research on foods that are good for your heart
Winter chill tip – protect those eyes while exercising
Find that old thick jumper that is a throw away candidate and use it for the start of your exercise. Once warm, chuck it off and pick it up later.
Your life tips
Step outside, enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Clear your head with those gifts Mother Nature is giving us.
This week’s wise words
‘Exercise should be considered a tribute to your heart.’
Unknown
Have a great week and keep healthy in 2018. David.