What Burns Fat Quickly and How Do I Know When My Body is in Fat Burning Mode?

Fat can also be a great source of energy. Burn fat quickly by eating a high-protein diet, healthy fats, and fiber and you know you are in fat-burning mode if your mood and sleep are better.

Your body gets its energy from the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that you eat. Many commonly eaten foods, such as bread, pasta, and rice, are high in carbohydrates, so your body is more likely to convert them to glucose to use as fuel. 

Alternatively, fat can also be a great source of energy. If you can train your body to mainly burn fat as fuel, this could help you reduce your body’s fat stores. 

Most fad diets, fat-burning supplements, or radical exercise routines promise easy solutions or rapid results, but such weight loss results may not be safe or even sustainable. More importantly, this weight loss may not be a result of actual fat loss. You could be losing water weight or even muscle tissue. 

A healthy lifestyle is essential to long-term fat loss. This involves a balanced diet, an optimal meal schedule, and a suitable exercise regimen. To better understand what this involves, here are some of the ways in which you can modify your lifestyle to help your body safely enter the fat-burning mode. 

If you’re not sure where to start, you could incorporate some of the following changes in your diet.

1. Opt for a protein-rich diet

Increasing your protein intake can decrease hunger and make you feel full so that you eat less. 

A protein-rich diet can also preserve healthy muscle tissue during weight loss. Consider including protein-rich foods such as meat, seafood, legumes, and dairy in your meals to lower your overall calorie intake.  

2. Choose healthy fats

The fats in fried or processed foods, known as trans fats, are associated with weight gain, but not all fats are bad. 

Nutritious fats from sources such as olive oil, nuts, avocados, coconut oil, and seeds can assist in long-term weight loss compared with diets involving low fat quantities. Try replacing refined oils or processed ingredients with healthy fats for effective weight loss.

3. Avoid high-calorie beverages

Beverages containing sugar or alcohol contain many calories and have been associated with excess belly fat development. 

Opting for no-calorie beverages like water and green tea instead can prevent overeating by providing a feeling of fullness and decreasing hunger.

Green tea also contains antioxidants, which improve metabolism and boost fat burning.

The caffeine in green tea and coffee can also aid in breaking down fats. Caffeine intake has been associated with a lower risk of obesity and the maintenance of weight loss.

4. Increase fiber content

Eating high-fiber foods such as vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, seeds, and whole grains can lead to greater weight loss because they absorb water and move through the gut slowly, resulting in a feeling of fullness. Soluble fiber has also been associated with improved dietary adherence.

5. Avoid refined carbohydrates

Consuming refined carbohydrates and processed foods can lead to sudden spikes and crashes in your blood sugar levels, which can make you feel increasingly hungry.

Replacing refined carbohydrates with whole grains such as oats, quinoa, and barley could result in a decreased waist circumference and greater weight loss.

6. Include probiotics

Beneficial gut bacteria are called probiotics. Increasing your probiotic intake can result in enhanced fat loss and can also support long-term weight loss. 

Consider adding probiotic supplements or probiotic-rich foods such as yogurt, kombucha tea, and kefir to your diet.

When you fast, you do not consume calories, so your body has to use the existing store of calories as fuel. Intermittent fasting is a diet pattern that uses this principle to accelerate weight loss. 

While this method is not suitable for all, some of the documented benefits of time-restricted feeding include hormone changes that may promote fat burning.

There are many types of intermittent fasting regimens. Do your research and seek medical advice if required before choosing the one that best fits your lifestyle. 

Modifying your diet or taking up a fasting regimen are the primary methods to lose weight, but if you want to stay fit and active, food-related changes aren’t enough. Here’s how you can adopt a healthy lifestyle to boost your fat burning and maintain weight loss.

Strength or resistance training

This type of exercise is useful, building muscle and improving your strength over time. It involves contracting your muscles and usually includes the usage of weights or resistance bands. 

Strength training has been shown to significantly decrease body fat and can even help your body burn more calories when at rest. 

Consider starting with bodyweight exercises and gym equipment. Consult a trainer if you’re unsure of where to begin. Don’t overdo it, though, especially if your body is not used to regular exercise.

Cardio

This type of exercise is useful to train the lungs and heart. It involves any aerobic exercise that builds stamina such as walking, running, swimming, and cycling. Cardio can help you decrease belly fat and lose weight. 

Consider doing 20 to 40 minutes per day (or 150 to 300 minutes per week) of moderate-to-vigorous exercise to achieve the best results. If this is too difficult, start with smaller durations and gradually build up your energy.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

This type of exercise is useful for burning fat quickly and reducing waist circumference. It involves rapid bursts of activity alternated with rest periods. 

HIIT requires less training time and can burn more calories than other types of exercise. Consider alternating between exercises such as jumps and squats or walking/jogging with short sprints with brief recovery periods in between. 

Good sleep 

Lack of sleep has been associated with a higher risk of obesity, as it can affect your hunger hormones and increase your appetite. It can even slow down the results of all your weight loss efforts. 

Research shows that a minimum of 7 hours of sleep per night are needed for optimal weight management. Consider going to sleep earlier or waking up later for the best health benefits.

Losing weight in a healthy way can be slow, but you are more likely to achieve long-lasting results. Persistence is key. 

Some other signs to let you know that your weight loss plan is working and your body is burning the excessive fat include:

• An improved sense of well-being
• A decreased appetite
• An improvement in the way your clothes fit
• Better-quality sleep and less snoring
• An improvement in your mood
• Better health parameters such as a lowering of blood pressure, decrease in chronic pain, or smoother bowel movements
• A change in body measurements and muscle definition

To burn fat quickly yet effectively, don’t opt for crash diets or extreme exercise routines. Make small but sustainable changes to your overall diet and lifestyle. Avoid being overly reliant on the scale. Instead, use the physical and emotional signs that your body displays as encouragement on your successful weight loss journey.