Burning fat fast requires decreasing caloric intake while simultaneously increasing your physical activity. However, not all exercises and calories are created equally. For example, some forms of cardio burn more muscle than fat. Some calories are more readily stored as body fat than others. Implement these fat-burning dietary and training strategies to burn fat fast and achieve your fitness goals in the next six weeks.
Step 1
Do three to five resistance training workouts per week. Training with weights and weight machines causes a different type of fat-burning than aerobic exercise. Resistance training can burn fat for 48 hours or more, following a training session. Moreover, it builds new muscle, which burns calories even at rest every minute of every day. To maximize fat-burning, choose a good circuit training program. Circuit training means performing several exercises back to back, with very little rest. After you catch your breath, repeat this circuit of exercises for a second or third round.
Step 2
Do 30 to 60 minutes of cardio immediately following your resistance training program. According to fitness author Jeff Anderson, this "super cardio" burns fat almost exclusively. He recommends low-intensity cardio, which does not burn away as much muscle tissue as higher-intensity exercise. Remember that muscle gives our bodies a shapely look, and it elevates metabolic rate even at rest by burning extra calories.
Step 3
Eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day. This strategy keeps hunger at bay, stabilizes insulin levels, preventing fat storage, and decreases the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which can slow cause fat gain and muscle loss. "The Fat Burning Bible" recommends 30 percent lean protein (whey, fish, turkey or chicken), 30 percent healthy fat (olive oil, avocado or nuts and seeds) and 40 percent low-glycemic carbohydrates (oatmeal, brown rice or sweet potatoes) as the best fat-burning macro-nutrient ratio.
Step 4
Combine green tea extract, standardized for 300 mg of EGCG, with 200 mg of caffeine. This combination has been shown to boost metabolic rate, increasing lipolysis or fat-burning, according to "Homemade Supplement Secrets." If supplements are not your thing, just drink a couple cups of coffee a day and have three to five cups of caffeinated green tea.
Step 5
Have one cheat meal per week. Pick one day out of the week and eat whatever you want. Besides giving you a mental and psychological break from your "diet," this technique also prevents your body from down-shifting metabolic rate in response to decreased calories. You read that right, you can cheat on your diet and actually speed up your results, according to "Xtreme Lean" by fitness experts Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
Step 6
Drink eight 12 to 16 oz servings of water every day. Water acts as a natural fat-burner. In fact, many of your body's processes require it, including energy production and fat-burning. Water also acts as a hunger suppressant and keeps you energized and hydrated. Have a cup (8 oz.) or two with each meal. Sip from a water bottle throughout the day. Take in as much water as you can when exercising to replaces fluids lost through sweat.
Things You'll Need
- Green tea extract, standardized to 300 mg EGCG
- 200 mg caffeine
- Coffee
- Green tea bags
References
- "Xtreme Lean;" Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; Homebody Productions; 2006
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC, 2008
- "The Fat Burning Bible;" Mackie Shilstone; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; 2005
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