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Burning body fat or losing weight are two of the most common reasons why someone goes to the gym. Although not always easy, losing weight and reducing body fat does not have to be complicated.
When it comes to weight loss, we want burn fat while maintaining our muscle mass. In order to do that, we can reduce weight loss to simple math – burning more calories (through movement) than we eat. Research shows that abdominal fat (or visceral fat) is, in fact, the most dangerous to our health – more abdominal fat has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
Here are some key tips that can help you target fat loss quickly and keep fat at bay. The five keys to burn fat are: protein, fiber, weight lifting, cardio and sugar limitation.
Nutrition is the most important component when it comes to body fat loss. It is much easier to sabotage your fat loss through overeating and it becomes much more difficult to compensate by working harder at the gym.
Although there are many doctrines about the best diet for weight loss, they all have one thing in common – reducing calories. Whether you need to eliminate empty carbs and follow a high-fat ketogenic diet or reduce your consumption of fatty foods and follow a low-calorie diet or try intermittent fasting – the key is to find a plan that you can follow and to hold on to it for a long time.
But beyond the fashionable diets and consideration of macronutrients, it is important to choose healthy foods when it comes to the calories you feed your body. For a personalized diet plan, always consult your doctor or a registered dietitian, but following some basic instructions can help you follow a healthy diet that will lead to fat loss.
You should also consider all three macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins and fats. There are ways to make good or bad decisions with all these food groups. When it comes to carbs, choose whole grains, fruits and vegetables instead of a large serving of refined grains and added sugar. With protein, choose clean options instead of fatty meats, opt for fish a as an option for a few meals a week and focus on plant protein when possible.
When cooking, use heart-healthy oils and limit saturated animal fats such as butter or lard. Choose fatty foods from fatty fish, avocados, nuts and seeds instead of oil-fried foods and animal fat sources. Try to eliminate the added sugar found in sweetened drinks and desserts. During a weight loss journey when we want to burn fat in particular, it is important to consume adequate amounts of protein to protect our muscle mass.
Research shows that higher protein levels during weight loss make you more likely to keep your weight at bay and help target fat loss.
Depending on your level of exercise, you may need to supplement with extra protein (such as Whey Protein) to consume enough to help you maintain your muscle mass while burning fat.
Another helpful to pay attention to when you lose weight is fiber – proper consumption of soluble fiber from fruits, vegetables and whole grains will help you feel fuller and will help your digestion. If you think you do not have enough soluble fiber in your diet, you can consider a supplement. Research has shown links between soluble fiber and successful fat loss. Sounds like a lot to think about, but really pursuing a healthy, balanced diet doesn’t have to be complicated.
When trying to lose weight, you need to make sure that you feel full – that you are always hungry is not essential for burning fat. Choosing whole foods, satiating and using supplements when you need them can be easy and sustainable to help you achieve your fat loss goals.
Looking back at the basic equation for fat loss, you need to burn calories – this is where exercising comes in. We all burn a different amount of calories even when we are not exercising (known as our resting metabolic rate) depending on our body size and composition.
Although it is difficult to measure this exact number – even in the laboratory – there are some equations that can help you estimate how many calories you burn at rest (if you are interested, see the Harris-Benedict equation).
Individuals with more clean mass (muscle) burn more calories at rest than those with more fat mass. Think of muscle as an active tissue that consumes calories while fat stays there for storage without burning as much energy.
This is one of the reasons why many people exercise – to optimize the ratio of muscle mass to fat mass, which burns more calories in the long run. We can amplify this clean muscle mass by lifting weights or anaerobic movement.
A strategy for lifting weights is called “drop sets”. This means lifting the heaviest weights for you for a designated number of sets and repetitions after which you do the same exercise with lower weights until your muscles get tired. It trains your muscles to work harder and to see optimal results. Another strategy is to use “super sets” when working two opposing muscle groups immediately after each other without taking a recovery break. Talk to a personal trainer if you are interested in introducing any of these methods into your workouts.
The other key part of exercise for fat burn is aerobic activity. “Aerobics” does not have to mean the stereotypical classes of the ’90s aerobic step with leggings and sweatpants but it can be any form of activity that pumps the heart from faster walking to high intensity interval training (HIIT). In fact, both types of cardio or aerobic exercise have key benefits and should be included in your weekly routine.
LISS (low intensity steady training) cardio is your “running in the park” style cardio workout when you work at a low or moderate pace for a longer period of time. This could be running, cycling, swimming or using an elliptical machine at the gym. Low intensity balanced cardio is suitable for almost all fitness levels and targets your heart rate in the “fat burning zone” for a longer period of time.
HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a newer approach that involves shorter and more intense movements. Think of multiple sprints over shorter distances than an easy run over a longer distance. This type of movement is a challenge for your body and often increases your heart rate quickly but for a much shorter period of time than LISS. HIIT training can help you teach your body to recover faster and even lead to improved performance during your LISS workouts.
As abdominal (visceral) fat is the most dangerous fat for our health, researchers have found that the biggest culprit when it comes to abdominal fat is added sugar. Specifically, sugary drinks (juices, extravagant coffee drinks, carbonated drinks, etc.) play a major role in the accumulation of abdominal fat.
There are many strategies when it comes to fat loss but it is better to stick to the basics. A healthy diet with adequate protein, soluble fiber and limited sugars can help target fat loss along with a high weight training routine (to increase and maintain muscle mass) and varied cardio (ideally a combination of LISS and HIIT). Following these tips will not only help you lose weight but also keep your body healthy.
Burn fat with these exercises
Also Check the best fruits to burn fat instantly:
https://wellnesscaptain.com/lose-weight-and-burn-fat-instantly/
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