3236: What is the Best Heart Rate for Burning Fat and How to Lose Weight on Sustainable Weight Loss

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Fitness, Nutrition, Health & Fitness

4.5 • 677 Ratings

🗓️ 26 December 2025

⏱️ 6 minutes

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3236: Dr. Neal clears up the confusion around heart rate zones and fat loss, revealing that the often-cited “fat-burning zone” isn't a magic formula. He explains why variety, like combining resistance training with both low and high-intensity cardio, is key to improving fitness, preserving muscle, and boosting fat metabolism over time. Quotes to ponder: "Fat loss is a complicated process. There is no guarantee that working at a certain or target heart rate will lead to fat loss." "Mix up your workout routines. Incorporating variety into your workouts is probably the best thing to do." "Resistance training is the best way to make bigger muscles." Episode references: American College of Sports Medicine: https://www.acsm.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neil Malick.
0:05.4	Hey there, happy Friday, and welcome to one of my favorite parts of the week, our Q&A edition
0:10.2	of Optimal Health Daily. This is where I answer your health questions related to fitness,
0:14.7	diet and nutrition, and lots more. You send me the questions, and I answer them for you.
0:19.7	So with that, let's hear today's question as we optimize your life.
0:27.4	Hi, Dr. Neal. My name is Lori. I was told recently by a personal trainer that in order for fat
0:35.9	loss, I needed to only be doing cardio exercise between 65 to 75% of my
0:42.1	target heart rate, and that too much cardio exercise, such as indoor spin classes, where your
0:50.1	heart rate might be in the 80s to 95% of your target heart rate was too much in actually
0:57.8	causing muscle loss.
0:59.1	So I want to know what's the scientific data behind this and what's true.
1:04.1	And if it's true that I only need to be doing 65% to 75% for optimal fat loss, about
1:09.8	how many minutes per week should I be doing this type of exercise?
1:14.6	Thanks so much. Bye.
1:16.7	Thank you for your question, Lori. I'll start with the bottom line first. Fat loss is a complicated
1:23.0	process. There is no guarantee that working at a certain or target heart rate will lead to fat loss.
1:29.9	I'll explain. But first, I need to explain what target heart rate is. The idea behind target heart
1:36.1	rate is to determine your exercise intensity. That's the idea in a nutshell. So, the faster your
1:42.3	heart beats during exercise, the more potential benefits
1:45.7	to your heart. Again, that's kind of theoretical. Now, supposedly, this benefit peaks at a certain
1:52.0	heart rate, which is what we call the target heart rate. The thinking is, if you hit this target,
1:58.2	you will get the most benefit from your exercise. Okay, so what happens when you hit this target, you will get the most benefit from your exercise.
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