How to Burn Fat

We all know what we have to do to lose weight - we need to know how to burn fat. Of course if it was that simple then the world would not be facing its current crisis with obesity. The truth is that the modern world places many obstacles in the way of burning calories. Fast food and sedentary work lives are just some of the things we have to deal with when facing the challenge of losing weight.

Just why are calories so important to burn?  To answer this it would be helpful to understand exactly what we mean by a ‘calorie’. A calorie is a unit of energy. We tend to associate calories with food, but they apply to anything containing energy. For example, a gallon (about 4 liters) of petrol contains about 31,000,000 calories. The effect of calories can also be looked at mathematically

An accumulation of 3,500 extra calories is stored by your body as 1 pound of fat — fat is the body’s way of saving energy for a rainy day. If, on the other hand, you burn 3,500 more calories than you eat, whether by exercising more or eating less, your body converts 1 pound of its stored fat into energy to make up for the deficit.

Therefore it is exercise and a balanced diet that  are the key factors in how to burn fat and weight reduction. If you are eating more calories than you are burning off throughout the day the result will be that the calories will be stored as fat. It really is that simple. Your next step is to develop strategies to burn as many calories as possible even if your average day involves being stuck in an office for eight hours.

For instance if possible you should think about using your hour lunch break as a chance to get half hours exercise in.  You see, one thing about exercise is that it raises your metabolic rate for a sustained period of time, not only while you’re huffing and puffing on the treadmill. Your metabolism takes a while to return to its normal pace. It continues to function at a higher level; your body burns an increased number of calories for about two hours after you’ve stopped exercising.

Believe it or not it is not just exercise that can help you burn calories. Eating itself can actually assist you in burning calories. The trick is in discovering the correct ‘fat burning’ foods.

Fat burning foods are foods that burn more calories than the calorie content of the food itself, thereby fighting stored fat. The secret to losing weight is to eat and drink the right kinds of foods until you are full and satisfied.  These are some of the foods you should  consider incorporating into your diet that are known for their fat burning properties these  are asparagus, beet root, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, chillies, soybeans, sweet potatoes, apple, blueberries and watermelon. Pectin in apple restricts the cells to absorb the fat; and also encourages water absorption from the food which helps in releasing the fat deposits from the body.

So we have discussed so far how taking some simple steps can help you to burn calories on a day to day basis. We now have to consider how to burn fat over a longer period. The best way is to imagine the metabolism as like an engine. The longer we keep it going the more energy we get it to use up. Of course this is easier said than done if you have a sedentary workplace or lifestyle. Current recommendations suggest at least 30-60 minutes of moderate activity per day can help you to control your weight and bring other health benefits. Just using stairs, walking or cycling are everyday activities that can positively contribute to your overall weight control and health.

There are other things you can do. Walk rather than taking the bus or car to work. If that is not practical then consider cycling. Also don’t be afraid about being creative in your activities. For instance, put some weights on you in the form of some hand held or ankle weights. While there is some controversy over using weights while walking this is mainly for people who over do it so  obviously we are not talking about  fifteen or twenty pound weights here. Rather you are looking to add merely a pound or two only. These small weights may not seem like much, but what they do is add resistance and adding resistance will increase the caloric burn. Adding weights is not something to do in the beginning of a calorie burning program, but something to add to it after you’ve gotten used to your usual routine.

These are just a few changes you can make to your daily routine when you are considering how to burn fat. However, serious fat loss will only occur when you are disciplined enough to change the foods you eat and the exercise you do over a prolonged period of time.

For further information on how to burn fat I recommend you check out  my review of Tom Venuto’s burn the fat Feed the Muscle or go straight to the Burn the Fat website.