Many people mistakenly believe that they need pills to burn fat and lose weight. In fact, the human body is programmed to burn fat and only stores it as reserve fuel in case the food supply runs short. Simply starving yourself, however, can lead to both muscle and fat loss. This can make you lose scale weight, but it will not improve your body composition or body fat percentage. Ideally, you would keep all of your muscle and burn fat exclusively. Although this is not likely, you can follow a few simple guidelines to burn fat without taking a single pill.
Step 1
Eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day. Try not to let more than three or four hours go by without at least getting a snack that includes 15 to 20 grams of protein. According to "The Fat Burning Bible," this strategy keeps you burning fat all day long and decreases the amount of body fat you store.
Step 2
Take in about 30 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 40 percent carbohydrates per meal. "The Fat Burning Bible" recommends this as the optimal fat-burning macro-nutrient ratio. Jeff Anderson recommends using your hands to visualize appropriate servings of protein, carbs and fat. For example, he recommends a serving of carbs and protein that would each be about the size of your fist (smaller person, smaller hands). A serving of liquid fat, such as oil, would be the size of your thumb, while a dry-fat serving, such as almonds, for example, should fit into the palm of your hand.
Step 3
Eat only "clean" foods. Good sources of clean protein include whey powder, lean cuts of beef, turkey, chicken and fish. For carbohydrates, stick to oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain pasta and bread, and sweet potatoes. Healthy fats include olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and flaxseed.
Step 4
Perform a resistance training program three to five days per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for example. According to "The Abs Diet," this form of training elevates your metabolic rate for 48 hours or more, meaning you will be burning more fat all week long even when you're at rest. You do not even have to train that intensely to get many of the benefits of weight training.
Step 5
Do 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular exercise immediately after resistance training. Best-selling fitness author Jeff Anderson recommends low-intensity cardio, such as walking on a treadmill. On days you do not lift weights, simply do your cardio on an empty stomach upon waking if this suits your schedule. However, it does not really matter when you do cardio; you will still receive the fat-burning benefits. You can also divide your cardio into several brief sessions, as it is cumulative. Pick activities you enjoy if you dread the exercise machines at the gym.
Step 6
Drink 3 or more cups of green tea to boost fat burning naturally. Green tea contains polyphenol antioxidants, one of which is EGCG. According to "Homemade Supplement Secrets," EGCG elevates metabolic rate even at rest. Drinking a few cups a day can keep your insulin levels stable, helping to prevent fat storage, as well as give you an energy boost to get out and burn more calories.
Step 7
Have a cheat meal one day per week. Eat whatever you want: pizza, ice cream, cookies or whatever you have been craving all week. Besides giving you a mental, physical and psychological break from your diet, this technique actually keeps your metabolism elevated. Our bodies adapt to lower calories by decreasing metabolic rate. It is an ingenious mechanism that allows us to survive during brief periods of starvation. However, it also keeps our bodies from burning fat. Trick your body into burning unwanted fat by treating yourself to a cheat meal once a week.
References
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; Rodale, 2004
- "The Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC, 2008
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