If you've been meaning to lose those extra 15 to 20 pounds of fat no doubt this will be on your new year's resolution once again. The problem is that you didn't get it done last year; what's going to be different now? Perhaps it's time to take a serious look at how to shed those extra pounds. Quite often we find various excuses to start the diet or exercise program then give up.
Fat Burning Furnace -
The Diet Solution Program -
Eat Stop Eat -
Xtreme Fat Loss Diet -
Master Cleanse Secrets
We may start the program and literally walk away from it within three months. Don't worry, you're not alone; part of the problem is a basic misunderstanding of what it takes to get the weight off. In order to lose fat instead of muscle, you need an effective fat burning system. Your body naturally burns sugars during normal activity. Depending on your level of fitness, you may be burning sugar all day long and never touch an ounce of fat.
Those who decide to go on diets will generally lose a lot more muscle mass than fat because they've never managed to reach the point of triggering their fat burning mechanism. So how do you do that? There are various ways to ignite your fat burning furnace; quite often we try to follow the fitness gurus but totally misunderstand their technique.
From the vantage point of simple fat burning mechanics, there are three ways to push yourself into the fat burning zone through activity. You can do it the fast and intense way, the slow and leisurely way or the high pressure muscle building way. Regardless of your method, the process is the same. Your activity starts to build up and your body uses up its carbohydrate supply. At some point in your activity level you run out of carbohydrates and due to the adaptive nature of your metabolic system, it will reach for its fat stores and begin to burn fat as fuel.
If you perform your exercises in a fast and intense manner; for instance using a jump rope, wind sprints or working out on the heavy bag; you'll reach a point at which you flip the switch on your carb output and go into fat burning mode. Once you do, you need to keep going in order to get maximum benefit from the process.
The slow leisurely way of fat burning usually takes about 20 minutes before your carbohydrate supply runs out. Everybody's different so it might take a little bit longer but essentially the same process occurs when you flip the switch to fat burning mode. People who choose walking or cross country skiing for example will receive great benefits from this process. An hour long walk every day is a great way to burn fat while enjoying the great outdoors.
Intense weight training involving the large muscle groups can offer similar results. The process is slightly different but the results are the same. When you incorporate compound exercises such as squats, presses and lunges you are involving quite a few muscles in the process. When you push yourself to your limits during these exercises your body's hormonal system comes to your aid to repair and replenish your body's muscle cells.
You initialize what is known as the thermic effect in which your body continues to burn fat for up to 72 hours after your workout. If you want to create an effective fat burning strategy, it would be wise to incorporate all three options into your weekly exercise routine.