As you most definitely know, body fat has mass and it is measured in kilograms. Even though you hear the term “burning fat” everywhere, few people actually understand what happens to the fat we are trying to get rid of. Studies show that, through pretty complicated biochemistry, we exhale it as invisible gas in a proportion of 84% and eliminate the rest of 16% as water. It basically converts on its way out from solid-state to gas and water. We breathe out the fat through the mass of carbon dioxide and urinate or sweat the rest.
Unfortunately, we can only exhale a tiny fraction throughout the whole day. That is why aerobic training can help in this matter. Let’s say you want to get rid of 10 kilograms of fat. That becomes 8.4 kg of CO2 and 1.6 kg of water. Knowing this, do you still believe in magic fat loss pills or supplements that do the job without any effort?
Now, maybe you are wondering why are we even talking about training when you can just breathe away the fat. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t breathe out the extra poundage by sitting still, in your chair. You have to help the process. Let’s dive into specifics!
First Step: Do More Cardio-Based Training
It makes sense to get involved in physical activities that make you breathe more, and here, aerobic training wins the ground. HIIT, strength training, or SIT (Sprint-Interval-Training) are based on a short burst of high-intensity work. You don’t need oxygen to exercise as you catch your breath after. With aerobic training, on the other hand, you continuously need and utilize oxygen.
You burn fat during low intensity, aerobic workouts, but the benefit from high-intensity exercise occurs predominantly after the workout. At a high-intensity rate, you burn more sugar than body fat because it is easier and faster to provide the required energy.
Cardio training fits best in these circumstances because the body burns fat as fuel, once you have gotten through the available sugar. Therefore, you have to do extended cardio sessions of at least 40-50 minutes. If you are unable at the moment, then build it up through constant training. One of the best aerobic exercises you can do is: running, hiking, swimming, and cycling. But there are many others, find your own.
Until the age of 29, I went through 4 body transformations. Every time I wanted to drop in weight, get rid of stubborn belly fat, or shred my musculature, I had more success with cardio but in combination with calisthenics.
Remember this: Spot reduction doesn’t exist! According to Wikipedia: “Spot reduction refers to the claim that fat in a certain area of the body can be targeted for reduction through the exercise of specific muscles in that desired area. For example, exercising the abdominal muscles in an effort to lose weight in or around one’s midsection.”
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Skinny-fat or extremely overweight, each one has to continue to drop in weight until the belly is flat. Is the skinny-fat guy going to become even skinnier? He will get thinner, but he will also get rid of his belly-fat too, and it’s the best he can do before growing lean muscle. Stubborn belly fat doesn’t exist either. You metabolize the macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat) and use their provided energy for the brain, metabolic functions, and physical activity. But there is a possibility to store what’s left as body fat, depending on what you do (read here about the biochemistry behind weight loss).
Overeating, incorrect nourishment, insufficient training, the lack of it, or just inappropriate exercising can lead to this outcome. Match in every single box, and over time, it can lead to obesity. Genes play no role. There is an exchange that happens in nature. It is inappropriate to say, but you eat energy from the sun. You gain size unless you burn it all out, and it requires some years to get fat; it doesn’t happen overnight. Losing weight is a reversible process, but it takes time. We measure fats’ energy in calories or kiloJoules. When calories-in versus calories-out equals 0, then you are maintaining the current weight.
Second Step: Train Correctly!
Stamina, muscular endurance, body adaptability to training are all built as you go through. It is in our nature to crawl first before walking and running. Then we swim, do strength training, etc. Respect the natural inertia and development, and you will be rewarded eventually. For instance, I firstly swam 1k and built up to 5k in a matter of months. I went from running 6k throughout the streets of my city to running +30k on the mountains with an elevation gain of over 1300m.
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You need volume, extended training sessions, intensity, and a very high frequency. If you ride the bike, then do it a lot every day and build to hundreds of kilometers per ride. Regardless of what activity you do, don’t stop. You need continuous movement. If you run and the elevation or speed is too high and intense for your cardiovascular system, then walk until your heart slows down a bit.
I started running on flat terrain 3 times a week for no longer than 30-40 minutes per session. In a couple of months, I found myself running for 1-2 hours every time. As I got more adapted and better at training, I lost kilograms of body fat in the process. Moreso, I burned even more fat after I started to run on trails.
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I recommend you:
- Do cardio training 3-4 times a week
- Each session has to be of at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours
- Try to also do bodyweight circuits or HIIT and SIT
- Use elevation for when you run, hike, or ride the bike. If you have no hills or mountains nearby, then use the stairs
- Do sports in nature where you find plenty of fresh air
- Drink at least 1L of water before your workout for hydration only
- Wear proper shoes or equipment. It can make a difference. If you can’t afford, do it either way because the biochemistry doesn’t care about that.
I said that I also did anaerobic training. It is true, I never stopped training with calisthenics during my fat loss journey. It as a great way to preserve the pure muscle mass and focus on burning fat only. By doing mixed training, you cover a higher spectrum and get more benefits. During this summer, to shred my body, I concentrated my workouts around 70% on cardio and the remaining to calisthenics. Because I also knew how to fuel my body, I became jacked:
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Third Step: Eat Right!
I don’t know whether nutrition is more critical to get fit or training. But I do know that once you fuel and train correctly, results are right across the corner. And counting the calorie intake isn’t sustainable in the long run. It is also easy to calculate wrongly. Instead of that, you make little adjustments to your usual meals.
1) Stop frying in oils or butter, I don’t care if it’s extra-virgin
Don’t use anything for cooking that will add more calories. Sauces or oils can double the amount, and you will end up eating 1000 kcal instead of 500. Those 50-100grams of the fat you add for taste or for frying will provide hundreds of calories:
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2) Try to cook your own meals
It is time-consuming but I got the best results once I prepared my own food and ate it warm. You can’t eat better in a pretentious restaurant, regardless of how much you pay. When I prepare the food, I can control the ingredients, quantity, and quality. I am always trying to buy the best products: whole wheat, corn pasta, beans, chickpeas, brown rice, fresh fruit, and vegetables, etc (see what types of carbs are best).
Where in the city can I eat steamed sweet potatoes with various vegetables and scrambled eggs of 5? That’s just an example. And even if it was, it contained oil either way. Whole wheat pasta can provide 3 times more fiber, protein, and other nutrients. It also has a lower glycemic index and slightly fewer calories. On top of that, when I cook pasta, I don’t add oils or cheese to it.
You can’t overweight when you do it right. Food of higher quality is poor in calories and offers various other essential nutrients at optimal levels (Watch this video about what means healthy nutrition).
3) Stop eating everything containing sweet sugar or junk food
Limit the amount of table sugar and junk food you eat. Instead, learn how to snack. Here is an example of how to do that successfully:
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