Weight loss tips: How to reduce body fat

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Kevin Mangelschots

Being overweight is a huge problem in modern society. And a big part of why people are too heavy is because it’s a luxury issue.

Never in history has there been such an abundance of food, more specifically, UNHEALTHY food. Sugar overloaded food and drinks like chocolate milk, soda, and greasy foods such as fried food, and pizza being popular examples.

But what everyone can do is learn how to reduce body fat with the following weight loss tips.

How to reduce body fat?

Illustration of an obese woman enjoying eating with a lot of fast food on the table. Illustration about overeating.

  1. Tracking your calories

    This is the single, most important weight loss tip that allows us to reduce body fat in a healthy, controlled manner.

    Simply put, count your calorie intake and your calorie output during the day.

    You can write it down on a notebook or use one of the many available calculator apps. This way, you know if you need to lower or increase your calorie intake in order to lose weight steadily.

  2. Drinking water

    By far the easiest tip from this list to start implementing into your life in order to lose weight. Drink more water, it’s as simple as that.

    Water is essential for our survival, as our bodies are made out of about 60-70% of water. That means that it’s essential for all the processes going on in our bodies.

    But specifically regarding fat loss and getting rid of love handles, drinking water boosts your metabolism. Boosting our metabolism means we get to lose weight due to burning more calories than our peers with a slower metabolism do.

  3. Intermittent fasting

    Intermittent fasting is a form of dieting that’s becoming hugely popular in current times.

    During intermittent fasting, you are eating during specific time periods alternating with particular time blocks when you’re not allowed to eat anything. Fortunately, you are allowed to drink water at all times though.

    Why is it this form of diet so effective to lose weight, you ask? Because your feeding period, which is the specific time you are allowed to eat, is so small that it’s almost impossible to eat the required amount of calories in order to get fat.

    This means that not being able to eat as many calories as what got you obese in the first place will make you lose weight.

    Remember that losing weight is nothing more than burning more calories than you ingest.

  4. Exercise

    Picture of men and women in a gym class exercising.

    One of the best weight loss tips is exercising.

    Not only is working out mandatory for health purposes, but it’s also a great way to burn off the excess calories that you are consuming during the day.

    Both weight lifting, and cardio training burns a lot of calories, making it possible and easier for us to lose weight.

    Training also prevents your metabolism from slowing down while being at a calorie deficit, which will help to keep your engine burning those calories.

  5. Eat more fruit and vegetables

    Vegetables and fruit both contain lots of fibers and water, making them very filling while still containing few calories.

    There are also a lot of micro nutrients in fruits and vegetables that our body needs in order to operate smoothly. So consider eating them not just for the purpose of losing weight, but for your general wellbeing as well.

  6. Snack on healthy food

    Snacking on healthy food is a great way to reduce body fat and to lose weight.

    It’s often very tempting to start snacking between meals because we get the desire to eat something.

    We typically fill these gaps between our large meals by snacking on unhealthy food such as cookies, chocolate, and junk food. However, we can all make the switch to snack on healthy things like fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

  7. Get a good night’s rest

    Illustration of a woman sleeping at night in a bed.

    Sleep is one of the most vital and important things we need to do in order to keep our bodies healthy, fit and functioning well. It’s required in order to recharge our batteries that we deplete while being active during the day.

    An insufficient amount of sleep is a big risk factor to become obese, as a good deal of research articles have shown. This means that you should aim for at least 7–9 hours a sleep each night in order to keep your body and mind in tip-top shape!

    Younger people generally need more sleep than aged folks.

  8. Eat healthier instead of dieting

    While starving yourself may make you lose a lot of weight in the short term, it won’t pan out as a sustainable long term strategy.

    It has been suggested that people who crash diet tend to gain more weight over time. Probably because they inevitably revert to the same bad eating patterns once again. Even worse is that they regularly develop even worse eating habits than they did previously to compensate for the mental fatigue of crash dieting.

    Dieting is mentally and physically exhausting. Due to this, I recommend people to eat healthier instead of depriving yourself of food, which is something no one can keep up over a long period of time.

    If you start eating healthier than you did before, then weight loss will occur naturally.

  9. Eat more protein

    Protein rich foods like eggs, meat, poultry, legumes, and dairy has always been a large part of a good, varied diet. But now it seems that protein also plays an equally essential role to lose weight.

    Eating protein rich foods will help you with feeling full faster. If you feel full, you will eat less, which means you will consume fewer calories. Protein also helps to boost your metabolism which will aid you to burn off more calories.

  10. Don’t stress too much

    Image of a fit woman holding a yoga pose at the beach.

    A convenient weight loss tip is not to stress too much.

    That’s because our bodies will start to release the stress hormone called cortisol when we are under chronic stress for a prolonged period of time. Not to mention that long term stress leads to a variety of chronic diseases.

    A high level of cortisol has shown to increase our level of appetite, leading to overeating, over drinking, and in general, binging a lot more.

    While most of us lead busy lives, there are still a number of things we can do to prevent tension from taking control of our existence. Lifting weights, running, yoga and practicing mindfulness. These are my best tips to relieve chronic stress and anxiety that I find effective to reduce mental strain.

    Perhaps most importantly is socializing with close friends and family. Feeling connected will have a positive effect on your mental state, thus, reducing stress by lowering cortisol levels.

  11. Cut back on the alcohol

    Image of someone's hand pouring whiskey in glasses.

    One of the ways to reduce body fat is by cutting back on the alcohol.

    Beer contains roughly the same calories as a soda drink. This means you’re consuming a lot of empty calories if you’re getting tanked in the weekend. (Or during the week, who am I to judge.)

    Furthermore, alcohol prevents your body from burning stored fat, as our bodies prioritize alcohol to break down first.

    It can also lead to a temporary increased appetite, leading to eating more. All of his means we will consume more calories which will make us gain weight.

  12. Drink tea

    Tea contains caffeine, which speeds up our metabolism for a short time.

    This means that tea acts as a fat burner by burning calories at a quicker rate than you would otherwise. Be sure not to overdo it, though, as too much caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep and can even cause heart palpations in extreme cases.

What burns the most body fat?

Image of a man measuring his waist while having excess belly fat.
 
Working out, in particular cardiovascular exercises burn the most body fat by cutting through a lot of calories.
 
It’s one of the most common and easiest forms of training to perform. Not to mention that it’s great for your overall health as well since it exercises the heart and longs in particular.
 

What foods reduce body fat?

  1. Eggs
  2. Coffee
  3. Protein
  4. Fish
  5. Tea
  6. Chili peppers

These are just some examples of foods that can help you to reduce body fat by being healthy and calorie dense, but many more exist.

What fat is the hardest to lose?

Belly fat is the hardest to lose since it’s one of the first places where fat gets stored, and is typically lost last when dieting.
 
The reasons why it’s so hard to lose fat around our stomach is because it’s one of the best places to store excess weight since it hinders us the least in that spot, and because it’s deemed “active fat.”
 
Active fat differs from dormant fat because it releases hormones that hinder our capacity to lose weight, particularly in the abdomen area.
 

Does coffee burn fat?

Image of a cup of coffee resting on coffee beans.
 
Caffeine helps us to burn fat by boosting our metabolism, and by increasing lipase.

Lipase is an enzyme that aids to break down fat when we’re processing our foods.
 

Why am I not losing fat?

The reason you’re not losing fat is that you’re consuming more calories than you’re burning off. Put simply, you’re eating too many calories.
 
The only way to lose weight and fat is by being in a caloric deficit.
 
That’s why you need to be expending a lot more calories by employing healthy lifestyle habits such as eating less, eating healthier, and exercising more.
 
 

 

 

Does sleeping burn calories?

Sleeping does burn calories, albeit very little.

We burn approximately 50 calories for each hour of sleep.
 

Conclusion

Weight Loss, fitness, sport, health concept

There is no magic pill or cure to lose body fat and to get rid of love handles. A combination of multiple healthy lifestyle habits are needed to lose weight.

Again, The essence of losing fat is and remains simple. Burn more calories than you are taking in. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose fat around your waist, your arms, or legs. Losing localized fat is not possible, contrary to popular belief.

Tracking calories allows you to see and adjust how many calories you are ingesting. Remember that seeing is believing most of the time.

Make sure to develop healthy eating habits that you can stick to. Because consistency is key.