Cardio for burning fat, high or low intensity? Please help!

Hey folks, Jitzer here. I've been reading around this site on just about everything i can find about burning fat with cardio, the only problem is, and it's not exactly a problem, just confusing for me, there is SO much info on here with some have contradicting opinions and experience that i'm kind of stuck. I'm 36 yrs old, 230lbs, with 22% body fat. Thats right 22%. I just got back in the gym a 2 months ago and want to get in shape. Haven't been in the gym before this for about 3 yrs and when i was i didn't do any cardio. Now to the questions: I lift weights first then hit the treadmill. Is fat loss more productive in the low intensity heart beat range, mine is about 120bpm if I'm correct. Or the high intensity hb range, for my age, and these numbers are according to the machine, approximately 148bpm. Some say low intensity is better bc it burns fat instead of glucose. Others say High intensity is better bc it burns more calories faster. I do between 45-60 minutes about 5 days a wk on the mill. I'm desperate to get rid of this gut. The only place I have any fat is around my belly, looks like a dam tire. Any info would be greatly appreciated. High intensity, low intensity, mix it up, more cardio, less, how much, the more details the better. Thanks in advance and I hope you all have a great day. -Jitzer

120bpm doesnt increase metabolism much, aim for 140 minimum.

I like steady state, some ppl prefer HIIT, doesnt matter much as long as you are moving and your metabolism stays high for a couple of hours after... Dont eat after cardio.

Although cardio is needed is in the kitchen where you lose fat, just think that 1 kg of fat has 9000cals, as human fat has some water with it, 1 kg of human fat is around 7500 cals. At your weight if you ran a full marathon you would spend 4000cals, so you almost need to run 2 full marathons per week to lose 1kg of fat...

Lower heart rate exercise does target fat but requires extended times and agree with BB that it doesn't hit the metablism much. For me there is a sweet spot around 70-80% Max Heart Rate (easily calculated) where it hits metabolism but keeps me from being ravenous after workout. I like intensity but if I get anaerobic for extended periods in HIIT intense hunger follows and makes it harder to stick to diet after workout.

what does your diet look like?

Both work but are different. Slow steady high duration "cardio" will generally burn more calories during the routine. HIIT will generally burn less calories as its being performed but will continue to burn calories far after its done. So in the end they both will generally equialize. HIIT also has the benefit of greater metabolic and cardiovascular improvments. Additionally low impact long duration "cardio" can negativley effect muscle fiber composition, favoring slow twitch and if performed over a long period of time can actually change fiber composition. Compare the legs of a sprinter to a marathon runner. The only downside to HIIT is its high impact/injury risk. But this can be mitigated through gradual increases in intensity as you progress. The major caveat to all of this of course is DIET. No amount of "cardio" or HIIT will make up for a bad diet. 30min of "cardio" can eaisly be undone with one dounut. -Cheers

Thank you to all who responded to my post. That's why I love this forum, so many knowledgeable and helpful folks here willing to share their experience freely. Thanks again to all. -Jitzer