How To Burn Fat? This is one of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to health and fitness. Our ability to burn fat is crucial if we want to not only lose weight, but have the ability to keep it off for long periods of time.
Anyone can crash diet and lose weight dramatically these days. With all the miracle cures, cleanses and false promises that are surrounding us on a daily basis, the world is full of quick fixes.
What do we really want though, a quick fix, or a forever fix?
It is important to not only know what to do to burn fat, but why you need to do it. Understanding the why will go a long way to ensuring long term success.
Below are 3 steps that if utilised properly, will not only help you burn fat quicker, but help you keep those results forever.
Start Strength/Resistance Training
Strength training needs to be a vital component of any exercise program if you are wishing to burn fat. Unfortunately most people tend to gravitate towards cardio primarily because fitness and fat loss are commonly linked together.
Please do not this point confused, cardio is fantastic!
It improves lung capacity and has a huge impact on overall health. It actually has more of an impact on weight loss per session over strength training and should absolutely be included in some form in everyone’s weekly plan.
Strength training however has a large say on fat burning potential. If incorporated into a weekly exercise program with cardio, will greatly accelerate results.
Why?
Strength training is hugely effective in the building (and replacing) of our muscles. The more effective our muscles are at functioning, the higher fat burning potential that we have.
Increased muscle function = higher fat burning potential because our metabolism has increased!
On top of that, research has shown that you burn more calories in the hours following a workout. This is because we are activating those muscles to such an extent that they take quite a while to return to normal function. Where as with cardio as soon as our heart rate returns to normal, the fat burning stops as well.
If you want to increase fat burning potential, lift weights!
Make Sure That You Are On A Calorie Deficit
This comes down to maths.
If you are burning more energy on a daily basis than you are consuming, your body will be forced to make up the difference from stored energy (in your fat cells).
Calorie deficit + increased exercise = fat loss
It is very important to figure out how many daily calories you need to have each day to be in a deficit. The one thing you do not want to do is to consume less than necessary. A huge calorie deficit can often lead to a decreased muscle mass instead of a decrease in the fat cells.
How do we figure out our daily calorie requirements?
The Mifflin St Jeor equation has been shown to be an accurate way of estimating caloric needs and can be found through a simple web search.
VIP: It is still very important to have a balanced nutritional intake to ensure optimal health.
Daily intake should include:
- Whole carbohydrates
- Protein
- Good Fats
- Water
- Fibre
If you want to burn more fat, eat well and in the right proportions!
Get More Sleep!
The third step in the fat burning process comes down to the amount of sleep that you are getting. All the hard work and great eating can come undone when there is not the right amount of sleep each night.
It is vital to success.
If you are not getting enough sleep your body is not only not having the chance to repair and recover from the days activities, but it is also going to be impacting the hormones that impact hunger, fat loss and much more.
It has been shown that within 4 days of sleep deprivation your bodies ability to properly respond to insulin signals begin to diminish. Insulin is crucial to weight loss!
On top of that our sleep is also impacting 2 hormones (leptin & ghrelin) that impact our hunger.
Less sleep = less leptin = increase in the feeling of an empty stomach and less satisfied
Less sleep = stimulated ghrelin = increased feelings of hunger
Research has shown that sleeping fewer than 6 hours per night reduces leptin and stimulates ghrelin. It is the perfect storm for weight gai, not fat burn!
If you want to burn fat, give your body the best chance possible by getting the right amount of sleep.
How much?
Start with 7-8 hours and that should make a huge difference!
Burning fat and losing weight can be challenging at times. There are lots of things working against us on a daily basis and it is important to have a solid understanding as to exactly what you need to do in order to see the success that you are after. Whilst the above 3 steps do not guarantee success, they will greatly benefit and assist in the fat burning journey if utilised properly.
Want To Learn More?
Since COVID-19 entered our lives, we have aimed to deliver some great weekly information as to how you can remain healthy, productive and in good spirits. This blog post is the latest addition to a growing library of information. Click to read more on our dedicated COVID support blogs.
Over the last 5 years Authentic Personal Training has established itself as a leading health and fitness studio on the Lower North Shore. We are incredibly proud to announce that we have been voted The Best Fitness Business on The North Shore for 2019.
Join us on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/authenticpersonaltraining/
To book a complimentary Outdoor Personal Training Session with one of Sydney’s most experienced Personal Trainers, simply fill out the form below
