Research shows that more than half of Americans have Googled ways to burn body fat. Many people, at some point in their lives, feel that they have some stubborn fat that they want to shed. But many people go about fat-burning all wrong.
They try to find the quickest way to burn body fat by doing the newest fad diets or taking fat-burning supplements, but burning body fat is so much more than that!
To burn fat and maintain a healthy weight requires a lifestyle change. To reach your goals and improve your overall health, you need to modify your habits and diet.
Here at Haven Athletic, we are committed to giving you the knowledge and power to reach your health and fitness goals. Below we'll discuss some tips and exercises to help you burn away fat.
How To Burn Body Fat and Increase Fat Loss?
Below are tips on how to kick start fat loss and burn body fat.
1. Increase Protein Intake
It’s no secret that eating more protein-rich foods can help increase fat-burning. Multiple studies have shown that individuals who have a high protein intake can reduce excess body fat. Studies have also shown that high-protein diets help preserve lean body mass and muscle mass during weight loss.
By increasing your protein intake, you can reduce feelings of hunger, eliminate cravings, and eat fewer calories, all of which play an essential role in weight gain and weight loss. High-protein foods such as meats, eggs, and certain dairy products are an excellent way to up your protein intake and help you feel full faster! One easy way to increase your protein is by aiming to eat one gram of protein per pound of your body weight.
2. Eat More Healthy Fats
People often shy away from foods with high fats and carbs when it comes to weight loss. That’s because many people associate carbohydrates and fats with weight gain. The truth is, increasing your intake of healthy fats may help prevent excessive weight gain when incorporated properly into your diet.
A study showed that following a Mediterranean diet that is rich in healthy fatty acids from olive oil and nuts held greater long-term fat loss than those who followed a low-fat diet. Fats found in foods such as olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds come with many health benefits.
It’s essential to remember that healthy fats are still high in calories, so the amount of fat you eat should be monitored to achieve your weight loss goals.
3. Add Probiotics to Your Diet
Adding probiotics to your diet has many benefits. Probiotics help improve the health of your digestive tract and rev up fat-burning to support long-term weight management. You can get probiotics through specific foods you eat or through supplements.
Multiple studies have shown that individuals who took a probiotic experienced a significant decrease in body weight and body fat. One study found that people who took probiotic supplements and maintained a high-fat, high-calorie diet were still able to lose weight.
4. Don’t Drink Your Calories
An easy way to promote long-term weight loss is to swap sugary drinks for healthier alternatives. Drinks full of sugar, such as soda and juice, are often packed with empty calories. These calories provide no nutritional value to you and, much like alcohol, increase belly fat.
Studies have shown that drinking sugar-filled drinks can also increase your chances of overeating.
An ideal substitute for sugary drinks is water, especially before a meal. Drinking a pint of water 10 to 20 minutes before a meal can help you feel fuller, reduce hunger, and decrease the number of calories you eat during a meal.
Another healthy drink option to consider is green tea. Green tea is a calorie-free beverage like water, but it contains caffeine and is rich in antioxidants which can increase fat-burning and boost your metabolism.
5. Swap Refined Carbs for Whole Grains
Refined carbs have a high glycemic index which causes highs and lows in blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar level spikes up or crashes really low, this can cause you to feel tired and have increased cravings. Examples of refined carbs are white bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals.
Dietary whole grains, such as whole wheat, quinoa, and oats, can stabilize your sugar levels. If you swap out your refined carbs for whole grains, over time, this can lead to a lower body fat percentage and an overall decrease in your body weight.
6. Try Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a type of diet that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. While other diets tend to focus on what to eat, intermittent fasting solely focuses on when you eat. This diet requires you to fast for a certain number of hours each day to help you burn fat.
One study found that eating during a certain time frame each day helped decrease fat mass and maintain muscle mass when combined with resistance training.
While intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone, it is definitely something you can consider when trying to reduce body fat.
What Are the Most Effective Exercises To Burn Fat?
Below are tried and true exercises that help speed up body fat-burning.
1. Walking
Walking is one of the best exercises for weight loss.
Whether you are a beginner or just someone looking to shed a few extra pounds, walking is excellent to incorporate into your daily routine. You can do it just about anywhere, plus it is a low-impact exercise.
Harvard Health estimates that a 155-pound person can burn around 167 calories per 30 minutes of walking at a moderate pace of 4mph.
Walking is a simple exercise to add to your daily routine. Add a few more steps to your day by walking on your work breaks or ending your day with a quick 30-minute walk after dinner. Try it out and see if you notice a difference in your weight loss journey.
2. Jogging or Running
Jogging and running are two cardio-based exercises that are easy to incorporate into your weekly routine and can be done anywhere.
Studies have found that jogging and running can burn more belly fat than most other exercises. Your abdomen can be an especially critical place to trim down as belly fat tends to wrap around your internal organs and has been linked to various chronic diseases.
3. Swimming
Swimming is a fun way to lose weight that can also improve your body composition. Swimming is low-impact and is an excellent way for all ages to improve their health. It is an especially good exercise for those suffering from injuries or joint pain who still want to focus on their weight management.
4. Resistance Training
Research has proven that resistance training has multiple health benefits when it comes to fat loss.
Resistance training is a type of exercise in which your muscles contract against a resistance force. This can include strength training exercises such as lifting weights and/or bodyweight exercises which help build muscle mass and improve overall strength.
After a review of 58 studies, researchers found that resistance training could help people reduce body fat by an average of 1.46%. Some studies showed that resistance training had a significant effect on the reduction of body fat mass and visceral fat, which is commonly referred to as belly fat.
One study found that five months of consistent strength training better helped adolescents who struggled with obesity to reduce their body fat than aerobic exercises.
Resistance training also helps preserve fat-free mass, which increases the number of calories your body burns when resting. One study showed that people’s resting metabolic rates were boosted when they participated in resistance training.
5. Interval Training
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) are exercises that involve bursts of high-intensity movements followed by a longer recovery time. These exercises are done in sets of three to 10. These exercises serve to increase your heart rate in a short amount of time to work your body harder.
One study found that individuals who performed HIIT burned 25%-30% more calories per minute than other types of exercises. Simply put, HIIT can burn calories at a faster rate while spending less time exercising.
Anyone can incorporate HIIT into their exercise routine with little to no equipment. For instance, adding sprinting intervals to your workout routine is an excellent equipment-free way to incorporate HIIT.
In Summary
Above are just a few ways to improve weight loss and help burn stubborn fat. The bottom line to fat-burning isn’t just to focus on one thing. Making a lifestyle change, including a healthier diet and regular exercise, will help you speed up the fat-burning process while helping you build a healthy routine to maintain your weight loss.
So go ahead — get those few extra steps in throughout your day and be sure to eat a clean, balanced diet to reach your weight loss goals.
Sources:
Resistance Training – Health Benefits | Better Health Channel
Calories Burned in 30 Minutes of Leisure and Routine Activities | Harvard Health
High-Intensity Interval Training | ACSM
Intermittent Fasting: What Is It, and How Does It Work? | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Seven Benefits of Eating Avocados, According to a Dietitian | Healthline
Protein Intake — How Much Protein Should You Eat per Day? | Healthline
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