Patience may be a virtue, but when you have your sights set on a fat loss goal, you may find it hard to stay virtuous. No one wants to wait to see progress, and fortunately you don't need to. With the right methods, fat loss can be quick and effective.
Strength Training
Burning fat quickly requires raising your metabolic rate. According to the American Council on Exercise, muscle is critical to keeping your metabolism high and burning fat. A strength training program, followed three days per week will help you maintain and build muscle. To make your workouts as time efficient as possible, train your entire body at each workout. Use compound exercises like squatting and overhead pressing which recruit large amounts of muscle at a time.
Carbohydrate Reduction
Cutting down on your carbohydrate intake is an effective way to increase fat burning. According to Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, author of "The Metabolic Diet," carbohydrates are your body's preferred source of fuel. In the absence of carbs however, your body will switch to burning stored fat. To get this fat-burning effect, limit your carb intake to vegetables, legumes and some fruit. Raise your intake of lean proteins such as lean meat, tuna and chicken breast.
Interval Training
Cardiovascular exercise is an important component of fat loss. You can make your cardio even more effective by adding intervals. Interval training combines short sprints of high-intensity exercise with lower-intensity recovery periods. A typical progression would be 15-second sprints, followed by 45-second coasts, repeated for between five and 15 intervals. Managing exercise intensity this way allows you burn lots of fat in a very short period of time. Although interval training can be performed using any modality of cardiovascular exercise, running on a track and stationary cycling tend to work best.
Test Your Body Fat
Attempting to lose fat quickly can result in a loss of muscle, which lowers your metabolism. Using the scale alone to measure progress will not tell you if you are losing fat or not. Body fat testing will let you know if your plan is working and keep you on schedule. Body fat testing is available as a free service in many fitness centers.
References
- The American Council on Exercise: Interval Training
- "The Metabolic Diet"; Mauro Di Pasquale M.D.; 2000
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