You want to say goodbye to your muffin top or fit back into your skinny jeans? It’ll take more than a couple of workouts a week. Why is that? Because it’s only by changing your lifestyle that you can burn off fat and keep it off, and that means eating healthy, whole foods and making physical activity a daily occurrence.
Choose the right type of workout
Doing a few reps of a muscle-ripping exercise is great for speeding up your metabolism and building muscle mass, but you need to leave lots of time for your muscles to recover in between that kind of workout. The best fat burning exercises can be done every day or at least three times a week.
Choose moderate-intensity cardio workouts, which get your body burning fat faster; highly energetic workouts burn carbohydrates before they get to your stored body fat. Keep in mind that targeting a specific area of the body is seldom effective when it comes to fat-burning exercises. Your fat is distributed all over your body, and your body burns it in no particular order of priority. That means your morning leg lifts are not necessarily burning fat off your thighs.
Choose a variety of exercises
For best results, diversify your workouts. Include long sessions of walking, cycling or swimming with interval workout sessions. Interval training involves alternating periods of high intensity exercise with periods of lower intensity. For example, you could do a few sets of lunges and stretches as a restful break between your intense cardio efforts.
Hydrate properly
Water helps to eliminate toxins, hydrate your cells, stimulate your brain and keep your body from overheating. Drinking lots of water increases your endurance and reduces the risk of injury when you do fat burning exercises. You should avoid alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and other sweetened drinks if you want to lose weight. If plain water doesn’t thrill you, add some slices of fresh fruit to your water bottle.
Eat healthy
Eat whole grain foods along with healthy fats, lean proteins and fresh or freshly frozen fruits and vegetables. Whole, home-cooked foods deliver the most nutrition and satisfy your hunger for longer periods of time. To optimize your fat burning exercises, eat some fresh produce along with a protein-rich food such as meat, nuts or cheese. Just be sure you snack at least two hours before your workout so you won’t get cramps or nausea.
Stay motivated
A good dose of motivation is essential to change your lifestyle and sculpt your body. Choose a kind of exercise that you enjoy, so you can burn fat while you’re having fun.
