5 Key Strategies for Healthy Fat Loss

There are a lot of ways to lose weight these days, but not all of them are good for you. In fact, some of them are downright dangerous. When most people decide to lose weight, what they really want to achieve is healthy fat loss. After all, it’s possible to “lose weight” by deteriorating muscle tissue, or losing water weight.

If you want to achieve healthy fat loss, what should you do? Healthy fat loss is achieved by making positive lifestyle changes that promote the metabolism of stored fat – otherwise known as “burning fat”.

There are five key areas to consider:

1) Calories burned.

The more calories you burn in a day through physical activity, the more stored fat you will burn. One of the most effective activities for doing this is known as cardiovascular exercise or aerobic exercise. Common cardio exercises are: brisk walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, calisthenics, and biking. One pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. To lose one pound, you would need to burn off 3,500 calories – for example, burning 500 calories a day with aerobic exercise, which would equal a one pound loss in a week.

See: How Many Calories Are Burned…?

2) Muscle mass.

Beyond cardio exercises, the amount of fat your body burns depends on how much lean muscle mass you have. Men typically have more muscle mass than women, which allows them to burn fat and lose weight quicker and easier, even if they work out less or not at all. Healthy fat loss means increasing your body’s lean muscle mass through resistance exercises like weight lifting. However, don’t think that “building lean muscle mass” means you must bulk up like a body-builder. It’s very possible to increase your lean muscle mass while still looking lean and toned, rather than bulky. As you build lean muscle, you’ll automatically start burning more fat, even while you are going about your normal daily activities or resting.

See: How do Bodybuilders and Fitness Models Get So Lean?

3) Calorie intake.

Healthy fat loss also requires a few crucial dietary changes. First, you’ll need to reduce your caloric intake to be more in line with your goal weight. A goal weight of 140 pounds would require a daily caloric intake of 1,400 calories to maintain. (Multiply your goal weight by 10 to get the average number of calories you would need to eat each day to maintain that weight.) If you are consuming far more calories than that, you’ll need to make adjustments to your diet.

See: Calories Per Meal Calculator

4) Quality of diet.

Healthy fat loss also requires you to improve the quality of your diet. Sugar, pre-packaged foods, fried foods, and otherwise “junky” foods are all known to promote the storage of bodily fat. To start losing the fat, it’s important to get rid of all that poor-quality food and replace it with healthy, wholesome food that is naturally low calorie, low in sugar, low in saturated fat, and low in sodium. Eating plenty of vegetables, fresh fruit, whole grains, and lean protein is a sure recipe for a lean, healthy body.

See: Quality vs. Quantity — Which One is Better For Weight Loss

5) Water.

The last major piece of the puzzle for healthy fat loss is making sure your body is fully hydrated. If you don’t drink enough water, your body must struggle to maintain even the most basic yet crucial life functions, like brain activity, respiration, heart rate, and joint function – and yes, even the metabolism of fat by your liver. When you begin drinking more water (64 ounces a day is recommended for most people), miraculous changes take place in your body. Your cells, muscles and organs are suddenly able to function much more efficiently. You enjoy an abundance of energy, both physical and mental. Your body immediately begins releasing water it was retaining to protect vital bodily functions; you’ll notice that your frequency of urination dramatically increases for the first few days – that’s a clear sign that your body is releasing previously retained water. And finally, weight loss becomes almost effortless.

See: Boost Your Workouts With This Zero-Calorie Nutrient

Healthy fat loss is so EASY if you follow these simple strategies. Not only is it easy, it’s actually achieved in a very healthy, permanent way as long as you keep up with these actions long-term.

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