Most people that start exercising have the main goal of losing weight, that should not come as a surprise for anyone because like most of us know the human race is becoming fatter and fatter with each decade. The main reason is that junk food portions are becoming bigger and BIGGER, more jobs involve sitting in front of the computer and modern people simply do not have time to make healthy nutritious meals and therefore go for ready-to-eat convenience foods containing high levels of saturated fats, salt, or sugar, and little or no fruit, vegetables, or dietary fiber.
Eat More Often
Eating many small portion meals a day is much better than eating few large ones. The reason is that if we eat regularly our blood sugar and energy will stay relatively stable over the day and the craving for sweets decreases. Also eating many small portion meals gives your body a constant flow of nutrition in your body. Eat 5-6 small meals a day with and keep 2-3 hours between them.
Calories
To burn fat you must burn more calories than you ingest. This can be done by reducing meal portions or increasing your exercise. Well doing both is even better. To get a better picture we will have to calculate just about how many calories you need to stay in the same weight as you are already in. (Harris-Benedict equation):
Men: Basal Metabolic Rate = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age)
Women: Basal Metabolic Rate = 665 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age)
This is the BMR that takes place in your body, but to find out the right calories amount you have to multiply with the following:
- If you are sedentary (little or no exercise): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
- If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
- If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
- If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
- If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
Example: A Men aged 22, weighing 80 kg and 180 cm. He works out 4 times a week (moderately active) BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) = 66 + (13.7 x 80) + (5 x 180) - (6.8 x 22) = 1912 calories a day. BMR x 1,5 (moderately active factor) = 2869 calories a day.
Note: This is based on average numbers and leaner bodies need more calories than less leaner ones. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the very muscular (will under-estimate calorie needs) and the very fat (will over-estimate calorie needs).
Weight lifting
Weight lifting exercises are crucial when it comes to burning fat and you increase your BMR by doing heavy weight with few reps. Muscles need more energy than any other tissue in your body therefore with added muscle mass the higher the BMR is. And the opposite is that BMR decreases if muscle mass decreases hence we have to lift heavier weight to prevent muscle deterioration which happens if we don't eat enough.
Alternative exercises
While lifting weight your body does not burn that many calories (a common misunderstanding), instead it raises your BMR for a considerable long period of time after each exercise. But to burn fat you have to do some alternate exercises along with weight lifting. Jogging, swimming, long hikes, cycling or just any other exercise that gets your blood pumping and makes you sweat. Do at least of 30 minutes 3-4 times a week besides your weight lifting. Another good tip is to park your car farther away from the entrance and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Drinks
Stay away from ALL drinks that contain a high level of calories. Diet soda, coffee and tea are all right but the most important thing is to drink water, preferably 2-3 liters a day.
Protein
Each meal you have should contain proteins. Because proteins are essential parts of organisms, participate in virtually every process within cells and also have structural or mechanical functions. Worth to note that one calorie of proteins is not the same as one calorie of carbohydrates or fat. To make my self clear, lets put it this way: it takes a considerable more energy to digest protein than it takes to digest fat or carbohydrates. Hence it "lowers" the number of calories in a meal if it contains proteins. The protein should be natural, by that I mean come from the animal kingdom or from beans; chicken breast, fish, low-fat beef, turkey, eggs etc. are all a great source of natural proteins.
Carbohydrates ( Carbs )
My opinion is that we eat way too much carbs, especially fine white bread, pasta and heavily processed products like cinnamon buns and cakes. If you are trying to burn fat this is without doubt a BIG NO! Allowed carobs are ones you get from fruits and vegetables also natural ones you get form sweet potatoes and oatmeal. Just remember, if something is heavily processed you shouldn't eat it.
Fat
It's necessary to eat fat to burn fat! yeah I just said it. Read it again if you think you got it wrong the first time. Fat is very important for your body and plays many important roles in the human body and is necessary for his normal daily operation. However there are two kinds of fats, good and bad ones. You can get good fat from nuts, olive oil,fat fish, Cocos oil and avocado.
Natural Fat Burners
There are many natural substances that increase your metabolism and can aid you in your weight loss.
Among are:
- OMEGA-3 Fat Acids and Fish oil
- CLA Fat Acids
- Cayenne Pepper
- Green Tea
- Almonds
My name is David M. Freeman and I've been a health enthusiast for over 20 years. Please read my Proactol Review [http://popular-products.net/proactol-plus/] which is a natural product that I strongly recommend due to its efficiency and quality.
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