It is with a smile that I am typing “Best wishes for 2023” to everyone reading this column. I wish you all the best of health and happiness for this new year.
Without a doubt, many of us will be looking to shed some extra body fat gained during the year-end festivities, or perhaps to get into the best shape possible.
While there is no simple answer to how to get rid of stubborn body fat, there are certain lifestyle factors that may help increase your metabolism and give your body the boost it needs to accelerate fat burning.
Do cardio and hit the weight room
A combination of aerobic and resistance training is essential for healthy and sustainable fat loss. Aerobic exercise is one of the best forms of exercise for fat loss as your body uses fat for fuel, significantly increasing your calorie expenditure. HIIT (high intensity interval training) in particular, is a great option if you want to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. Studies have also shown that HIIT can increase your metabolic rate for hours after exercise.
Strength training helps build muscle, and the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories your body will burn. Previous studies have shown that resistance training over a 10-week period could help increase calories burned at rest by 7% and reduce fat weight by 4 pounds.
Eat in a calorie deficit
Eating in excess of your caloric energy requirements is what causes stubborn fat accumulation. Therefore, to get rid of body fat, you must eat in a calorie deficit. Most people give up on their diet before reaching their fat loss goal because of a perceived lack of progress. Keep in mind that a healthy, realistic rate of fat loss is 1-2 lbs per week.
To begin with, you will need to find out what your maintenance calories are. This is how many calories your body burns on a daily basis. Online calorie calculators can help estimate your maintenance calories based on your weight, sex, age, height, and physical activity level. Typically, January is the month people tend to eat healthy because they crave a change from the festive food. Try to maintain the January-style eating year round.
Limit alcohol and processed foods
Consuming too much sugar drives the majority of weight gain to the abdomen. This is a result of carbohydrate metabolism and the role of the hormone insulin.
Excess sugar, which the body cannot immediately use, is stored as glycogen which is the body’s stored form of glucose in the liver. The glycogen reserve is not readily emptied and the body holds onto glycogen for use in times of deprivation, with the majority of the excess sugar stored as fat. Alcohol should also be limited as it supplies almost twice as many calories per gramme as protein and carbohydrates. The calories in alcohol lack beneficial nutrients for a healthy metabolism, hasten fat storage and make it more difficult to get rid of fat.
Take a fat burner
Numerous studies have shown that a fat burner, which contains caffeine and green tea extract, enhances fat metabolism properties. There are a variety of fat burners, which have been formulated to stimulate your body’s fat receptor cells and boost metabolism to promote an increased level of fat burning. Unless you are unable to use caffeine for health reasons, be sure to follow these tips to get rid of stubborn body fat for good.
