How to Burn Fat

Ready to make 2023 the year you shape up and feel excited about having a lean, slim physique? Whether you’re already on your fitness journey or just starting out, small changes to your diet or training plan can have a real difference in the results you see.

Understanding the basic science of fat loss will help you hit the right muscle groups and burn fat much easier – after that, it’s all about consistency to see your results. Join us as we discuss our tips and tricks on how to burn fat.

Fat loss or weight loss: what’s the difference?

Whenever you start out on a new weight loss training plan, it’s important to define what your goals are. Do you want to lose weight or do you actually want to lose fat? There’s a big difference between these two goals. After all, you could lose weight by losing muscle mass or even from being dehydrated. That’s not the kind of weight loss you want!

When most people have ‘weight loss’ as their goal, what they really want to achieve is slimming down, shaping up and looking leaner in general – or ultimately fat loss!

Weight loss and fat loss are different because one just focuses on the number on the scale, whereas fat loss focuses on body composition. A bit more muscle, a bit less fat equals the best sort of weight loss!

Top 3 Tips for Fat Loss

Sustainable fat loss is more than just crash diets – it’s a combination of changes to your nutrition, an effective and varied exercise plan and, above all, consistency. Here are our top tips for achieving Fat Loss in your overall training goals.

Follow a calorie deficit

Nutrition is absolutely key to losing body fat, and effective weight loss is all about calorie balance. If you eat more calories than you burn in a day, you won’t lose weight and over time you may even gain weight. Tracking what you eat and working towards a food plan can help you to stay on track, and small substitutions in your diet can help you to achieve a deficit.

Start your day with a healthy and filling breakfast, or grab our Smart Breakfast shake if you’re on the go. Smart Breakfast is specially formulated to contain the perfect balance of protein, carbs and vitamins in a handy shake, and even contains natural coffee extract to help give you a caffeine boost – forget needing that morning coffee and start your day feeling energised and ready!

Obviously, you need to eat a bit less (or burn a bit more) than normal to lose weight. So make it easier for yourself by eating healthy foods that fill you up without being too calorific. Build your weight loss diet around vegetables, low-fat carbohydrates, lean protein, beans, legumes, lentils, and whole grains.

Eat enough protein

Why is protein important for weight loss? Eating protein rich foods has been shown to help you feel fuller for longer, decreasing hunger throughout the day and ultimately helping you fit that calorie deficit (1).

Protein is also made from Amino Acids, which are essential for growth and repair of muscle tissue in the body. There are a variety of ways that you can incorporate protein into your diet, but our favourite is through our Smart Protein Bars or mixing a Diet Whey shake at the end of a workout.

Diet Whey is a great way to boost your protein intake without sacrificing your calories – with less than 3g carbs per serving and less than 100 calories, it is macro-friendly and can fit into any nutrition plan. Diet Whey also contains flaxseeds, CLA, L-carnitine and green tea extract, which all support fat loss.

Increase your cardio

Some people can really benefit from doing a bit of cardio to speed up fat loss. Incorporating a cardio workout at Low Intensity Steady State (or LISS) into your overall plan can help increase your fat burning potential by increasing calories burnt during your sessions. LISS aims to get your heart rate between 40-50% of max, improving your body’s ability to use fat as a fuel source instead of glycogen in your muscles.

But what’s the best cardio for weight loss? That all depends on what you like to do and will look forward to on a regular basis. Some good cardio ideas for weight loss include hiking, cycling, exercise classes, HIIT sessions, CrossFit WODs, swimming, dancing, or a team sport.

What are the best exercise to lose belly fat?

There’s a well known phrase in weight loss circles, that the best exercise to lose belly fat is the “plate push away”. This highlights the importance of your calorie intake and overall diet for weight loss.

But once you’ve got settled into that fat loss calorie deficit, what are the best exercises to burn fat and lose inches from your waist?

Ab and core exercises like planks, sit ups, and hanging leg raises will certainly strengthen the muscles in that area, but they won’t do much for actually burning calories. The best exercises for burning belly fat are the workouts that use the biggest muscles and crank up the intensity. So make sure your weight loss workout plan includes weight training as well as cardio.

Focus on compound exercises like squats, functional training with unconventional objects (kettlebells, sandbags, medicine balls) and some high-intensity interval training. And, yes, you can still do some direct ab work. Just remember that it won’t actually melt fat off your belly.

Is weight training good for weight loss?

If only there was a magic fat burning exercise… Well, their sort of is, and it’s something you can do at the gym or at home. You know what we’re going to say – weight training! Weight training is amazing for weight loss for three reasons.

1 It keeps your metabolic rate higher even as you get lighter – The challenge with losing weight and keeping it off is that you actually need fewer calories the more weight you lose. We know – annoying. So anything that keeps your metabolic rate higher will not only help you lose more weight but means you can eat more food to maintain. (2)

2 It builds muscle so you end up looking lean and toned – Resistance training will build muscle so you look toned and athletic with great muscle shape.

3 It burns serious amounts of calories – Lifting weights can actually burn just as many calories as a cardio session (especially if you lift really heavy, or combine exercises in a superset or circuit style workout). So weight training actually helps you lose weight whilst sculpting the body you are going to reveal!

Home exercises for weight loss

Do you have to go to the gym or have a Personal Trainer? Not necessarily. Anything load-bearing counts as strength training, so you could do bodyweight exercises, or use dumbbells or kettlebells for a fat-burning workout. Exercise for 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week to see a difference.

Here are 10 great home exercises for weight loss, including cardio and resistance training.