LET’S BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU.

HOW DOES OUR BODY BURN FAT?

When our body is introduced to a new lifestyle change, our brain sends signals to our fat cells that cause us to burn fat. These signals can be triggered by a change in our diet or a new addition to our exercise regimen. Our brain instructs our fat cells to function differently in one of two ways; by utilizing the energy stored within the fat cells to perform tasks or by lessening the number of fat cells the body stores. When either or both begin, we enter the fat loss stage of fitness.

HOW DOES OUR BODY BURN FAT?

When our body is introduced to a new lifestyle change, our brain sends signals to our fat cells that cause us to burn fat. These signals can be triggered by a change in our diet or a new addition to our exercise regimen. Our brain instructs our fat cells to function differently in one of two ways; by utilizing the energy stored within the fat cells to perform tasks or by lessening the number of fat cells the body stores. When either or both begin, we enter the fat loss stage of fitness.

HOW DOES OUR BODY BUILD MUSCLE?

Muscles in our body begin to grow with exercise. When we work out efficiently, our muscles incur micro tears that stimulate muscle repair. As our body repairs, our fibers experience muscle hypertrophy, in other words, muscle growth.

A GUIDE TO BURNING FAT AND BUILDING MUSCLE SIMULTANEOUSLY.

For both diet and exercise, we must follow a few steps:

Diet

To trigger those fat-burning brain signals, we need to reduce our calorie intake. This doesn’t simply mean that we should eat less. Instead, the aim is to ingest fewer calories than we burn in one day. When we do this, our body can employ our stored fat cells for energy which gets us to that fat-burning stage.

A DIET FOR WEIGHT LOSS:

There are so many trending diets; how do you choose?

Well, the good thing about caloric deficit is that you have the freedom to choose a diet that fits your lifestyle. If your goal is to lose weight, the most important factor of any diet is maintaining the balance between what you intake and what you utilize. Here are some quick tips on how to decrease your caloric intake:

- START BY TRACKING YOUR CALORIES – a good place to start is knowing how many calories you intake and use in a day. To measure the number of calories you burn, invest in a smart device, such as a smartwatch, that conveniently calculates your daily calorie usage. To measure the calories, you intake, invest in a food scale that converts what we eat into calories. This step is crucial as we can easily underestimate just how many calories one donut has.

- CUT DOWN ON SUGAR – sugar quickly runs up our calories and can be easy to consume. Get in the practice of checking your drinks and snacks for their sugar content, and try avoiding too many sugary treats.

- SWAP YOUR SNACKS – a lot of snacks are known to be calorie dense which means that a tiny bar of chocolate can equate to an entire meal worth of calories. Instead of purchasing snacks with high calories, try your hand at a few recipes that allow you to alter your ingredients to suit your diet.

- CONTROL YOUR PORTIONS – if you’re someone who often skips meals and ‘makes up for it later, get in the habit of portion control. This means eating on time and managing your portions. We don’t disagree with a few sessions of binge eating, but perhaps we can leave those for cheat day.

Exercise

Working out is equally important for body recomposition as it increases the number of calories we burn daily and prompts muscle growth. The key to simultaneously burning fat and building muscle requires two specific types of workouts.

1. CARDIOVASCULAR (CV) TRAINING – cardiovascular workouts use our body’s stored fat and carbohydrates for energy, therefore, burning fat. These aerobic exercises include running, jogging, swimming, walking,dancing, cycling, hiking, et cetera. Think of exercises that increase your heart rate. If you’re new to CV training, start with 20 minutes per day and gradually increase your sessions to suit your adaptability.

2. RESISTANCE TRAINING – this replaces the fat your bodyburnt from cardiovascular training with muscle. Alsoknown as weight training, this method increases yourmuscle growth by adding force to your workouts withthe use of weights. Typical resistance training sessionsinvolve dumbbells, barbells, medicine balls, et cetera. If you don’t have access to any training tools, experiment with your body weight. Start with exercises such as squats, planks, leg lifts, pushups, et cetera.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that we can achieve that body we want with commitment and discipline. So, let’s summarize the rules for body recomposition:

1. To burn fat, lower your calorie intake and practice cardiovascular training.

2. To build muscle, increase your protein intake and practice resistance training.

In combination, those steps can get you closer to meeting your fitness goal. Remember, choose diets and exercises that are enjoyable to you, and be patient with your body. Progression takes time. Create a schedule to help you stay on track, and don’t overdo it.