How To Get One's Body To Burn Fat Efficiently

The most efficient way to lose weight and burn body fat is to make your body a more efficient machine. While still significant, the number of calories burned during an average workout are miniscule compared to the number of calories your body burns to sustain life in a normal day. By focusing your routine on high-intensity exercise and proper nutrition, you can make your body more efficient at burning fat and maintain your body image.

Step 1

Change your nutrition. A normal diet gets 55 percent of its calories from carbohydrate, 15 from protein and 30 from fat, reports Joanne Larsen, the American Dietetics Association editor and registered dietitian. Carbohydrates should be from vegetables and whole-grains, protein from chicken and turkey, and fat from unsaturated sources like olive oil, salmon and raw nuts. Emphasize leafy green and bright vegetables to be sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals.

Step 2

Take chromium. Supplemental chromium has been shown to help people avoid the metabolic syndrome, says an article published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a cluster of risk factors that means big trouble for your body later on. Among these are the risk for being overweight. Talk to your doctor before you begin taking chromium.

Step 3

Strengthen your muscles. Muscle burns more calories than fat. If you exercise your muscles and increase their size and activity, you can increase the amount of calories your body requires to function and burn fat more efficiently. Strength train two to three times a week by performing full-body exercises for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions, says the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Begin your session with abdominal crunches and back extensions, followed by oblique crunches, standing rows, bench presses, squats and shoulder presses. Stretch thoroughly after to avoid injury and increase performance.

Step 4

Run anaerobically. Anaerobic exercise is a scientific word to describe a condition where your body is exercising so hard that it can no longer transport oxygen well. At this point, you will be breathing hard, finding it difficult to speak and sweating heavily. One form of this training was developed by Izumi Tabata, a Japanese scientist, who found that a person's fat-burning ability could be increased for up to 48 hours after the session had concluded. Start by walking briskly for five minutes. Next, sprint as hard as you can for 20 seconds and recover with a brisk walk for 10. Repeat this 30-second cycle eight times and cooldown for five minutes.