Burning fat is a bit of a misnomer. You can only burn
calories, but depending on your nutrition plan, you can combine what and when
you eat with your workouts so that you position yourself to burn the excess fat
that you have. You want the calories you burn to come from fat, not lean
muscle. And after all, that is what everyone wants, to get rid of the excess
fat. So simply put, here's the best way to burn fat.
There is a tiered system of how your body finds calories to
burn for energy. A good rule of thumb is First In - Last Out. That is why it is
so challenging to burn excess body fat that you may have had for awhile. Your
body will burn calories from food you have consumed first before getting energy
from the fat or lean muscle stores you have. So one key to the best way to burn
fat is to moderate your caloric intake. If you are consuming fewer calories
than you can burn, your body will then begin to use the resources it already
has to create energy.
Next you need to demand calories from your body by burning
more calories through exercising. If your body has burned the calories that you
have consumed, it will then begin to utilize energy from the fat and lean
muscle stores in your body. But not all calories are equal. If you are
consuming an adequate amount of protein, the building block of lean muscle,
then it will burn fat and preserve more of the lean muscle you have. If you
consume more carbohydrates or sugar or saturated fats, then it will burn your
lean muscle first.
Putting this together means you should only eat or drink
enough to get you to your workouts and no more so that you are utilizing your
body stores. Combine this with consuming at least 30% of your calories from
high-quality proteins and you assure that you will burn fat.
The final piece of the puzzle is to maintain this approach
over the long run. Your body will adapt it's metabolism to burn fat more
efficiently as you continue to demand more calories than you consume and what
you eat is good, healthy foods focusing on protein intake. As you burn fat and
increase your amount of lean muscle, your body becomes like a fat-burning
furnace.
It isn't rocket science, but it is a formula that you need
to follow if you want to burn fat. Understanding how your body works will help
you align your exercise and nutrition to burn the fat you want and change your
body.