Title: 
How To Burn Body Fat

Word Count:
584

Summary:
Losing weight is a big worry for many people. Each year, yet another diet book, exercise plan or fat burning potion is added to the pile in the closet. None of these get-thin-quick gimmicks seem to work, and in some cases, the fat returns in greater numbers than it left. The big question is: how to lose body fat, and how to keep from finding it again.

All of these fat-busting plans are ignoring the basic truth of weight loss: you have to work hard, and carry on working har...


Keywords:
how to burn body fat


Article Body:
Losing weight is a big worry for many people. Each year, yet another diet book, exercise plan or fat burning potion is added to the pile in the closet. None of these get-thin-quick gimmicks seem to work, and in some cases, the fat returns in greater numbers than it left. The big question is: how to lose body fat, and how to keep from finding it again.

All of these fat-busting plans are ignoring the basic truth of weight loss: you have to work hard, and carry on working hard, to loose inches and keep in shape. A quick loss plan does not cover you for the period after you complete the programme. If you have a six-week inch-loss plan, what happens on the seventh week? What happens a month after you finish? It won’t take too long for that fat to come back. A weight loss supplement that is supposed to burn body fat will probably waste your money, and will not help you.

The most important factor in burning body fat is diet. No matter how many hours you put in at the gym, if you are still consuming more calories than you burn you will carry on gaining weight. Take a close look at your diet. An ideal weight-loss programme includes regular meals, and a fat-limitation diet that is 55% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 15 percent fat. Cutting fat out of your diet completely, or skipping meals, could convince your body that you are starving, and this means it will try and store whatever fats come its way – exactly the opposite of what you wanted. A balanced diet combined with exercise is the only way to burn fat and keep it off. If you find that you are having problems losing those last few pounds, then dropping carbs and increasing protein will probably provide you with the answer.

Exercise is another important factor in weight loss. Burning body fat means getting the body to use stored fat as an energy source. The intensity of exercise, the length of time the exercise is performed for, and diet are the major factors in influencing the body to use fats instead of glucose for fuel. You should focus on increasing your physical activity rather than drastically reducing the amount of food you eat. Losing more one kilo a week implies that you are losing muscle rather than fat.

The most suitable kind of fat burning exercise is aerobic. A low to moderate exercise of this kind will burn fat, whereas the higher intensity exercise will just burn glucose. Any exercise will burn more stored carbohydrates at the beginning, and it usually takes between 20-30 minutes for any fat to be burned at all. Of course, the greater the intensity of exercise, the more calories are burned, but for many people, a lower intensity of exertion is the most practical. Over exercising is a danger which everyone should be aware of, and if you are worried about risk of injury, consult your doctor before beginning.

Regular aerobic training should be complimented with some weight training. Many people are intimidated by this, especially as it is possible to gain weight when you begin. However, resistance training is essential if you wish to build muscle (muscle cells burn calories more quickly than fat cells – 50-100 calories per kilogram of muscle a day as opposed to 5-7 per kilogram of fat. Strength training is the best way to increase muscle mass, and in addition to an aerobic exorcise will help burn body fat.