How Should I Exercise to Burn Fat?

How Should I Exercise to Burn Fat? By Lee Isaacs

If you are planning to exercise to burn fat, you will have to exercise long enough and hard enough so you work up a real sweat which gives your heart and lungs an effective aerobic workout.

A good aerobic workout gets your heart pounding and your lungs laboring hard. It makes your cardio-vascular system stronger, and it speeds up your metabolism so you burn fat fast.

You can get a powerful workout like this in any number of ways: running, fast walking, swimming laps, cycling, running on a treadmill or going out dancing (preferably without drinking any alcohol).

How you exercise your body really doesn't matter. What matters is that you do it at least three times a week and preferably six times a week.

Experts agree you should exercise for half-an-hour (minimum) to a full hour, and 15-20 minutes of that workout period should be pulse-racing and sweaty - to get your body into fat-burning mode and to speed up your metabolism .

Some people play a team sport like basketball, netball, hockey, baseball or football. Others prefer a martial sport such as boxing, fencing, wrestling or judo. Whatever appeals to you; give it a go. They are all extra good for you because you will make friends while you're getting fitter. You will socialize more.

Now, when you exercise to burn fat, there won't be much weight loss initially from all the good exercise. Why? Because you're burning fat and building muscle. And guess what? Muscle weighs more than fat.

That means that exercise alone may actually _put on_ a few pounds for you at first.

Don't be scared, it is perfectly normal. And it's healthy... However, you need to change the way you eat to encourage weight loss.

Here's where a healthy, well-balanced but portion-controlled diet comes into the picture. A well-designed weight loss diet will stop you gaining weight from your exercise routine. And it will slowly change your metabolism so you start shedding the pounds. That's how you can lose weight from your workouts, burning up fat while all that good exercise makes you fitter and healthier.

A fitter, healthier and better-looking body - for a new and happier you. That will give you a feeling of accomplishment, especially when your friends start to notice what's happening.

But don't take that as a signal you can relax and go back to your old bad habits. You have to keep up your exercise to burn fat, and stay on the food plan. A nutritionist or personal coach can advise you how to make adjustments from a weight loss diet to a maintenance food plan when your new body is ready for it.

Remember, there is no quick fix. It took years of bad habits to turn you fat and flabby, so it will take years of careful eating and exercise to burn fat and to make you healthy once again.

Lee Isaacs knows about being overweight, losing pounds through dieting and workouts, and keeping healthy by personal experience over several decades. He shares some of his insights at http://www.byebyeflab.com and also at http://www.squidoo.com/exercisetoburnfat

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