How to lose body fat? Probably you found this page searching for an answer to this question and to get the body of your dreams or only for good health.

There are tons of products or services you can see on the internet which promise different solutions depending on what are your needs as like time available, budget, medical restrictions, etc.

You can take pills, buy machines, register in the gym… and a bunch more options.

The truth isn’t a magical formula (at least that’s my thinking). To lose body fat and maintain your weight in long term is necessary to adopt a different lifestyle (what you eat, exercise, good sleep, among others).

What is body fat and how to lose it?

But first, to give a good answer you must understand the question. What is the meaning of losing body fat? And what is body fat? Ok, in simple words body fat is the reserve of energy produced by the body when you eat over your daily needs.

There are some optimal ranges of fat depending on your age and gender, and also different ways to measure. There are more accurate ways than other (e.g. skinfold calipers, hydrostatic weighing) but you can go to body fat calculator to get an easy way to measure yourself (important, is just an estimate).

To lose body fat you must burn it by using it as energy. The body gets the energy in different ways to maintain its normal functions. But to get energy through the body fat requires energy deficit, change to a diet low in processed foods, exercise, and intermittent fasting (well, isn’t strictly necessary but helps a lot).

Exercise is good to produce the well-known caloric deficit to generates weight loss and therefore lose fat. But is important to keep in mind when you lose body fat also could lose other things, like muscles, and that is something you don’t want to happen.

So, let me share some tips that, in my opinion, and self-experience, could help you to lose body fat.

Resistance training to lose body fat

There are many ways to exercise and lose body fat. But if you want to minimize the loss of muscle then interval training or resistance/weight workout are excellent options. Why? Because other options like classic cardio (low intensity, like jogging) requires at least 45 minutes to take effect and more than 3 times a week. Also, cardio contributes to burning muscle when you do long sessions (more than an hour) and a diet low in calories, especially proteins (what people do most when they want to lose weight). This means that an excess of physical activity (such as running many hours a week) is riskier for your health versus a more moderate exercise (study, study, study). But remember that we talk about moderation in terms of time.

On the other hand, interval training or resistance workout don´t require a lot of time. You can get good results with only 30 minutes (could be less in case of interval training), 3 times a week. That’s all, and the benefits are awesome. But why is awesome? Due to the short time workout is easier to follow and to plan the days to exercise. Resistance training also can be done with body weight to generate a similar effect to weights. This type of workout helps to develop the muscular system, so you also will have a good-looking body!

The importance of nutrition

Another key factor to lose body fat (maybe the most important) is nutrition. Don’t matter if you make the right training and respects all the rules, you must take care of what you eat or the body fat will remain where is it.

The thing is to eat “real food”. That’s means avoid processed food and eat more natural food.

And also, another crucial factor, avoid sugar. Nowadays this is a proven truth, you can easily find the information (study, study, study, study,… just see the conclusion part).

Another important factor is to generate a calorie deficit (15-20% at the beginning, more is not good for your health). But also, important to consider the differences between the energy source. The main are the macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrate.

• Protein: A big ally against losing body fat because it has a satiating effect and helps minimize muscle loss in a hypocaloric diet. Must eat protein in at least 25% of your total calories but less than 40%.
• Carbohydrate: There are many types of carbohydrates and you should know which ones to eat more. Reduce processed carbohydrates (such as bread and pasta) and eat vegetables freely at any time, they are an excellent source of micro-nutrients and fiber. Include fruit, ideally with less sugar while trying to lose fat. Avoid juices. It is also advisable to adjust the intake of tubers, legumes, and cereals to your level of physical activity.
• Fat: Commonly people think all the fat is bad for health, but that’s not true. There is good fat and is called unsaturated fat which exists in nuts, salmon, and olive oil. Saturated fat (like butter, cheese, and ice cream) is the one you should decrease the consumption because have harmful health effects (like more chances to have a heart attack). But to be honest, in general, you don’t must eat so much (even the unsaturated). This owing to this kind of nutrient have much more calories in comparison with others like carbohydrates and proteins.

Sleep less can increase the body fat

And the last thing that affects the loss of body fat and that cannot sound very important is sleeping. That’s right the sleeping, that is, sleep at least between 7 and 8 hours minimum. Let me explain to you why.

First, when you don’t sleep well you are more tired so the most probable is you will not exercise. Second, not getting enough sleep increases the need to eat more calories, especially when you have those late-night snacks.

And the last it’s due to a biological cause. The balance of hormones that control appetite is disturbed (study). Sleeping less reduces leptin secretion (a hormone that reduces appetite) and increases ghrelin levels (a hormone that stimulates appetite).

So, what can I do?

There are a lot of things that can help to improve your current situation regardless of where you are.

First and more important is to change what and how much you eat. For instance, avoiding refined carbs and junk food can be a good starting point.

Second, try to exercise more. No matter where you are, but is highly probable you’re not exercising enough. There are so many types of workouts out there that we can spend a lot of time researching. But resistance training could be one of the best in your workout routine. There is also a type of training called HIIT (high intensity interval training) but depending on your current level could be some advanced.

And third, be aware of your sleeping time. This can sound irrelevant at first glance but studies show alterations in eating habits when you don’t sleep enough. And also, you could feel less energy when it’s time to workout.