Buzz
Body fat may seem easy to gain and hard to lose. You might try exercising and limiting your calorie intake, but the fat just won’t budge? If this sounds familiar, don’t worry—there are plenty of healthy options to effectively burn fat. While there's no guarantee that fat will easily melt away (as many fad diet ads/weight loss pills/workout routines often promise), you can improve your health and appearance by helping your body burn fat and prevent the storage of excess fat.
Steps
Adjust Your Eating Habits
Gradually reduce calorie intake. Immediately starting a low-calorie diet can shock your body. When you stop consuming calories completely, your body won't have time to adjust. As a protective measure, the body is forced to maintain stored fat. Therefore, it's best to gradually ease your body into the diet by cutting calories slowly.
- Set a reasonable daily calorie goal to reduce gradually. This goal might be around 1,200–2,200 calories, depending on specific factors. Consult a doctor, nutritionist, or diet expert for personalized guidance based on your needs.
Diversify your daily calorie intake while reducing your overall average calorie consumption. The body can gradually adapt to a decrease in calorie intake without drawing energy from stored fat. To stimulate metabolic activity and encourage change, try alternating between higher and lower daily calorie consumption. This method helps avoid the dreaded plateau after weight loss and boosts your determination.
- In other words, when you maintain a low-calorie diet for an extended period, your body will adjust its metabolism to prevent excessive fat loss. However, by introducing unpredictable changes, the body will struggle to manage fat storage effectively.
- This plan should be combined with a gradual reduction in average daily calorie intake. Consult a doctor or a reliable nutrition expert to guide you in setting up such a diet.
Eat smaller meals more frequently. Simply put, eating boosts metabolism—the process through which your body converts food into energy. Therefore, eating more frequently increases the number of times your metabolism speeds up throughout the day (for example, if you eat six times, your metabolism will “rise” six times). However, eating more often doesn’t mean eating more food; you still need to reduce your total average daily calorie intake.
- For instance, eating every 2-4 hours could be effective. If you finish lunch at 3 p.m., you could have an apple, some yogurt, or veggies afterward.
- Try setting up an overall schedule, such as eating every 2-4 hours.
Have breakfast. Burning fat requires keeping your metabolism active. While you sleep at night, your metabolism essentially “takes a break.” So, when you wake up, brush your teeth and eat breakfast. The more protein and nutrients your breakfast contains, the better.
- Your breakfast should often include eggs, low-fat dairy products, and lean meats. Avoid empty calorie sources (like your favorite donuts or high-calorie coffee); instead, choose whole grains and whole-grain bread.
Drink plenty of water. Drinking enough water not only benefits your skin, hair, and internal organs but also aids in weight loss. Some studies suggest that drinking water itself can stimulate metabolism. At the very least, drinking water before meals can help you feel full (and eat less).
- Drink water regularly and more frequently throughout the day. Your body will stay hydrated, healthy, and less inclined to store fat.
Choose the right foods
Cutting back on harmful carbohydrates. Fat is essentially stored food; in other words, it serves as energy for the body. Carbohydrates are the primary external energy source, and the body can burn both carbohydrates and fat in a similar way. Therefore, if you supply carbohydrates, the body won’t burn fat.
- However, simply cutting back on carbohydrates won’t aid in weight loss unless it's combined with an overall reduction in calories.
- Remember, not all carbohydrates are the same (for example, refined sugar vs. whole grains). Some carbohydrates are beneficial to the body (those that burn slowly like oats or vegetables); harmful carbohydrates are simple sugars (white foods and candy).
Eating more lean protein. Protein and carbohydrates both contain nearly the same amount of calories per gram, but protein isn't the preferred energy source like carbohydrates. Protein is used as a building block for muscles in the body and does not turn into fat. Therefore, your daily diet should include lean meats, fish, and soy.
- By increasing protein and saying 'no' to carbohydrates, the brain sends a signal (which you interpret as hunger) before switching to a ketosis state (which burns fat). Then, hunger will gradually decrease.
- Excessive protein intake may put pressure on the liver, kidneys, and other factors that need to be considered when following a "Keto diet". Experts do not recommend eliminating carbohydrates entirely; instead, you should limit and consume healthy carbohydrates.
Avoid alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks are all empty calories (harmful carbohydrates) and difficult to give up once you drink a lot. Therefore, although it’s tempting to drink in social settings, you should resist—or at least limit yourself strictly. In short, excessive alcohol consumption will prevent you from focusing on burning excess fat.
- If you absolutely must drink, limit it to 1 glass for women or 2 glasses for men, and only occasionally, to stay focused on burning fat.
Drink green tea and coffee instead of alcoholic beverages. Some studies suggest that 750 ml of green tea or 480 ml of coffee can help stimulate the metabolism. Just make sure not to add too much sugar to the drink.
- Green tea and coffee seem to offer numerous health benefits, with the most notable being the antioxidant properties of green tea.
Choose fat-burning foods. Don't just focus on foods you should avoid or can't eat; there are plenty of delicious foods you can and should eat to speed up metabolism. Consider increasing your intake of foods such as:
- Oats
- Low-fat or fat-free dairy products (it may seem counterintuitive, but studies show that those who consume recommended amounts of dairy burn fat more easily than those who don’t consume it)
- Healthy fats from nuts, avocados, olive oil, and fatty fish
- Eggs (egg whites are even better)
- Spicy foods
- Grapefruit
Exercise to burn fat.
Break up your workout into smaller sessions. The metabolic rate increases after physical activity. Therefore, if possible, splitting your workout into two smaller 30-minute sessions can double your metabolic rate rather than just once. The body continues to burn calories at an accelerated rate after exercise (sometimes for hours after) and the longer the calorie burn continues into the evening, the more effective it is.
- You can take advantage of this in various small ways. Even two 15-minute walks can help increase metabolism. So, both meals and workouts should be broken down into smaller, more frequent sessions.
Combine strength training with cardio. Cardio is great for your body, but combining it with weightlifting is even better for fat burning. To achieve the best fat loss results, you should engage in both forms of exercise.
- Weightlifting is an essential part of your workout if you're cutting calories. When limiting your calorie intake, there's a risk of losing muscle mass instead of burning fat. In such cases, you might lose weight but still not achieve the desired result of fat loss.
Start your workout with strength training, then move to aerobic exercises. If you’re doing both cardio and weightlifting, it's best to start with weightlifting before moving to cardio. In other words, focus on building muscle before burning fat. This way, you can keep your post-workout metabolism elevated for a longer period, possibly even all day.
- This order of training might make it easier for you to manage. Generally, weightlifting requires better form and technique. After running or cycling, it’s harder to lift weights with the correct form.
Try interval training. This type of exercise can break up your workout without needing to stop between sessions. Interval training involves exercising at a low pace for a period, then going all out. You can adjust the timing and rest periods between fast and slow cycles. This method burns more calories and can speed up your metabolism.
- A simple example of interval training is on a treadmill. Walk for 30 seconds, then sprint as hard as you can for 30 seconds. Just 15 minutes of interval running can be more effective than 30 minutes of slow walking.
Try cross-training exercises. No matter what type of exercise it is (like a 15-minute walk with your dog or a 10 km walk around the park), the body will get used to it. Once your body becomes accustomed to the level and type of effort it’s experiencing, it will burn fewer calories. Therefore, to keep your body from adapting, you should try cross-training. Think of it as a great opportunity to choose activities you enjoy.
- Cross-training simply means engaging in different physical activities—running one day, swimming the next, cycling the day after. Not only is this beneficial for the body, but it also helps to prevent boredom.
Adjust your lifestyle.
Avoid the scale if it motivates you. You’re losing fat, not muscle, and since muscle weighs more than fat, the number on the scale is just a reference. What really matters is your appearance and how you feel.
- That said, checking your weight at least once a week could be helpful for long-term weight loss goals. So, don't throw away your scale, but consider how often you should weigh yourself to be most effective.
Find ways to reduce stress. People under stress tend to choose unhealthy foods, and their bodies burn fat more slowly. Excessive stress isn’t just bad for your body, it also harms your skin, affects your sleep, and disrupts relationships—overall, it's harmful. So, you should find ways to eliminate stress. Even if stress reduction doesn’t lead to dramatic fat loss, you’ll generally feel better.
- Many have successfully reduced stress through meditation and yoga. But you can also take a walk in the park or listen to relaxing music. You just need to try and figure out what works best for relieving your stress.
Get enough sleep. Everyone’s needs are different, but generally, you should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night. It might seem counterintuitive to think that sleep helps burn fat, but the truth is, when your body is well-rested, it tends to process carbohydrates more effectively.
- Additionally, if you’re not well-rested, you’ll start craving sugar. Hormone levels (cortisol, ghrelin, and insulin) fluctuate, and your body starts to retain fat and sugar throughout. Prevent this by ensuring you get enough sleep.
Stay active with small actions. Even the smallest activities are better than being completely inactive. Studies show that people who are constantly moving tend to weigh less. In contrast, sedentary individuals are more likely to store calories as fat. So, besides doing household chores, walking the dog, or parking farthest from the store entrance, make time for little activities that you enjoy.
- There are always small opportunities to stay active. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk around the store by taking the longest path possible. Sit as if you're in a chair but squat slightly. These habits provide accumulated benefits that you might not even realize.
Warning
- Never allow yourself to become hungry while restricting your calorie intake. Your body will stop functioning properly, and your health will deteriorate.
- According to most experts, it’s a good idea to consult a doctor before starting a Keto diet.
