You Can’t Burn Fat Without These 3 Important Things

Everyone is looking for the next groundbreaking way to burn fat by putting in as little effort as possible. Well, bad news — that doesn’t exist (at least not yet). And while you may still have your fingers crossed for some new technology or miracle pill, there are three things you should be paying attention to if you want to look your best.

Is your goal to burn fat? If so, we are going to discuss three things you need to focus on. I even put these three things in order of their importance when it comes to burning fat. Read on to see what they are.

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1. Nutrition

It’s going to be next to impossible to see any sort of results if you don’t have your nutrition in order. You can have your workouts and cardio on point, but if your nutrition is off, you’re not going to see much progress, if any at all.

Focus on putting yourself in a caloric deficit. That means consuming fewer calories than you need for maintenance. If your maintenance calories are at 2,000 per day, consume around 1,750 and after a week, see how much weight you lost. You can always reduce your calories more if you plateau or aren’t seeing any progress.

Additionally, you’re going to want to increase your protein intake if you want to burn fat. Your muscles need protein to recover properly, and when in a caloric deficit, the last thing you want to do is burn precious muscle. Protein has a higher thermic effect as well, which means it takes your body more energy to break it down compared to other macronutrients like carbohydrates and fat.

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2. Resistance Training

A secret weapon to effectively burn fat is to maintain or even build lean muscle mass. In order to do so, be sure that you are getting in resistance training throughout the week. This can either be by utilizing full-body workouts 2-3 times per week or by focusing on specific muscle groups each workout.

What many fail to realize is that muscle utilizes energy — and lots of it. Simply moving throughout the day causes the muscles to work and burn calories. Additionally, resistance training breaks down muscle fibers, which causes the body to produce energy to aid in the recovery process and rebuild those torn down fibers. 

The more muscle mass you possess, the higher your metabolic rate is (even when at rest).

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3. Cardio

Last but not least is cardio. Can you burn fat without cardio? Sure. However, cardio is important when it comes to overall health, cardiovascular health, as well as the ability to help burn fat and aid in weight loss.

Start slow. Maybe 15 minutes is all you can do at first. Gradually move up to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, then 45 minutes — you get the idea. 

Play around with your cardio and make it fun. You don’t need to walk on a treadmill while staring at the wall for 45 minutes. Try taking your cardio outdoors. Or hop on the treadmill for 10 minutes, then change it up to a different piece of cardio equipment to keep things fresh.