How to Burn Fat

The article describes how to burn fat. It covers the exercise and nutrition aspects.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Motivation

1. Burning fat is a combination of doing exercise and having a sensible nutrition plan. Physiologically, for every 3,500 calories you burn (more than you consume), you lose 1 pound. However, human body is a complex creature and doesn’t always follow this rule; there are occasional plateaus that one experiences.

2. You need to do exercises to burn calories and increase the basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy expended while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment, in the post-absorptive state). If your basal metabolic rate is high you burn more calories while resting than a person with low basal metabolic rate.
   
   There are two types of exercises that you need to do to lose fat:
   
   1) Cardio Exercises
   
   2) Weight Training

3. 1)Cardio Exercises:
   
   These are also called aerobic exercises - by definition they are performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time. Most popular cardio exercises are running, walking, stationary bike, indoor rowing, stair climber, elliptical, aerobic classes, spinning classes, etc.
   
   When performing exercises it is important to warm-up first. After the warm-up, increase your effort level. You can do cardio in couple different ways:
   
   (a)You can carry out the exercise at a level where you can continue a conversation. This generally corresponds to 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate. This range is accepted as fat burning zone because 85% of the calories burned in this zone come from fat. But note that the total calories burned in this range are lower than high intensity exercises so it is best if it is done in longer periods.
   (b)You can carry out the exercise at a level where you can hardly continue a conversation. Maybe you can answer with some short sentences. This generally corresponds to 70%-80% of your maximum heart rate. In this zone you burn more calories than (a) but only 50% of the calories burned in this zone come from fat.
   (c)The problem with above exercises is that when body adapts to the exercise, the efficiency of the exercise diminishes a lot. So, most popular and effective way to burn fat is interval training where the repetitions of high-speed/intensity work followed by periods of rest or low activity. Most cardio equipment have built in interval programs but you can also do interval training (circuit training) using weights/weight machines. Best thing about interval training is that not only you burn calories with this type but also increase your basal metabolic rate much more effectively.
   
   Also if you are overweight or obese, it is better to choose exercises (like stationary bike, elliptical, indoor rowing and not treadmill or stairmaster) that put less stress on your knees.

4. 2)Weight Training Exercises:
   Cardio exercises are a must to burn calories but they do not build muscles. And muscles are very important in burning fat / losing fat. Leaner the body, more calories it burns. Lean body means higher metabolic rate. So, it is important to build muscles.
   
   
   Most important thing about doing exercises is that you should vary them constantly to stimulate your body – meaning do not always use the same machine or same weights for the same time period with the same intensity. Use different machines or weights for different time periods with varying intensities.
   
   Second important thing about doing exercises is that you should be careful not to overtrain. If you overtrain, you can injure yourself, you can reverse the positive effects and you can weaken your immune system. It is easy to keep an eye on your training intensity – when you wake up in the morning, make it a habit to measure your resting heart rate (before you leave the bed). If this number goes up that means either you are overtraining or getting sick (due to a virus or bacteria). In either way, if resting heart rate goes up, rest for couple of days until it goes back to normal.

5. Nutrition
   
   You need to have a sensible nutrition plan in order to lose fat. With a sensible nutrition plan, you can cut the calories and increase your metabolic rate. There are couple important points:
   
   (a)Cutting calories is very important but be careful not to eat less than 1200 calories a day. If you eat less than 1200 calories, your metabolic rate will slow down.
   
   (b)The number of meals you eat in a day is also important. It is best to eat small portions in multiple meals through out the day. Six numbers of meals are found to be very effective in losing fat and increasing the basal metabolic rate. Start with a good breakfast; get a snack in 2-3 hours after breakfasts then 2-3 hours after the snack have your lunch, take a late afternoon snack and dinner in the evening. 2-3 hours after the dinner have another snack. So, basically you should be eating small portions of food every 2-3 hours through out the day.
   
   (c)What you eat is another important point. For losing fat you should have a balanced plan with higher in proteins. But it is critical that you should both be getting small amount of fat and carbohydrates. Try to select your carbohydrates from low glycemic index (like Fruits, Vegetables , Whole grains, Legumes etc.) And try to stay away from high glycemic index foods (like Bread, Pasta, Rice,Cereal, Baked goods).

Tips & Warnings

• It is a great motivation to follow your progress.
• Another great motivation is to keep a journal and note everything you eat and every exercise you do
• Exercises Disclaimer: The exercises provided here are for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not to be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific treatment plan, product, or course of action. Exercise is not without its risks, and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. They include but are not limited to: risk of injury, aggravation of a pre-existing condition, or adverse effect of over-exertion such as muscle strain, abnormal blood pressure, fainting, disorders of heartbeat, and very rare instances of heart attack. To reduce the risk of injury, before beginning this or any exercise program, please consult a healthcare provider for appropriate exercise prescription and safety precautions. The exercise instruction and advice presented are in no way intended as a substitute for medical consultation. The writer disclaims any liability from and in connection with this program. As with any exercise program, if at any point during your workout you begin to feel faint, dizzy, or have physical discomfort, you should stop immediately and consult a physician.

[goodselfme]

on 2/3/2009 Great 5* post my friend!