Fiona Outdoors logo My independent guide to the best of Scotland outdoors

5 great ways to burn fat

Written by Fiona

December 15 2016

Christmas is almost upon us and for many that involves over-indulging and naturally piling on a few pounds. But once you’ve taken the tree down, many people will turn their thoughts to getting fitter and losing that weight. My guest writer Sophia Evans suggest five ways to help you on your way to improved fitness and weight loss in 2017.

If you’re looking for easy yet effective ways to lose the extra pounds you’ve gained during the holiday season, this article can be a great help. Listed below are five ways to help you burn fat:

Play like a child

One of the biggest struggles in losing the pounds is staying motivated and choosing exercises that you’ll enjoy.

Adults, for example, usually have a lot of responsibilities to manage, and this can become the reason why they no longer have the time or energy to sweat.

According to Active Beat, some of the best ways to burn stomach fat come from the activities we participated in as children.

This includes hula hooping and doing the limbo, both exercises that use muscles that aren’t usually worked in the more traditional training routines.

If you loved swimming as a child, visit local pools in your area as often as possible. Aside from being a fun activity, you can also lose weight swimming as your body burns fat whenever you move your upper and lower muscles to stay afloat in the water. 

Drink tea

The majority of us are caffeine addicts and need a cup of something hot to start our day. The good news is that according to Women’s Health, a cup of brewed tea can raise your metabolism by 12%.

Theory has it that the antioxidants called catechins in tea give your metabolism that extra boost. Moreover, teas contain flavonoids that improve your body’s ability to burn calories.

Workout with a friend

Exercising with another person can help to keep you motivated. This is because you’re less likely to cancel workout plans if someone else is relying on you and, in turn, it can create a friendly competitiveness that makes you train harder.

Working out with a friend can also make exercising more fun, especially if you’re planning to enrol in local gyms for this purpose. 

But, if nobody you know is up to the task, it could be worth looking at the different fitness boot camps that are on offer around the country.

Joining these camps is a great way to improve your fitness without feeling isolated as you’ll be surrounded by experts and positive people. 

The fitness boot camps are likely to be full of people that have similar aims to you, which creates an automatic support network. According to Prestige Boot Camp, the experience can help not only change your body but your mindset which, in turn, will help you continue your hard work at home, and make a new workout friend in the process.

Before you enrol in any fitness boot camp, make sure to do some research first. You should be aware of the activities the camp offers, and how long are participants expected to stay in the boot camp. It’ll be easier for you to manage your expectations when you’re fully-informed about a specific fitness boot camp

Train with weights

A lot of focus has been put on cardio workouts in recent years in relation to fat burning, but the Body Building website states that “the more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn each day”. There’s a lot of research to support this, including an experiment from Penn State that found weightlifters in the group lost 6 pounds more fat compared to those who didn’t lift. There’s also more room to change up your workout with weights to keep it more exciting while making sure your body doesn’t get used to the same routine.

Plan your meals

Going food shopping when you’re hungry is never a good idea, even worse when you’re not sure what you need. Writing a meal plan and doing one big shop at the start of every week can help you keep on track to burn those extra calories.

However, if you’re too busy, there are diet delivery services that can have your weekly meals delivered to your door without worrying if you’re purchasing the right foods and in turn helping you to burn more fat with metabolism-boosting foods.

Resources: https://blog.factor75.com/cold-thermogenesis/

Your Consistency Matters

With the number of options presented in this article, you won’t have any problems burning fat and losing weight this year. However, keep in mind that the key to achieving any of your fitness goals doesn’t solely rely on the strategies you follow – how consistent you are in following these strategies is just as important.

Burning fat is a long-term process, so make sure that you’re ready to change your daily routine by incorporating the tips presented in this article. The more consistent you are in making healthier lifestyle choices, the sooner you can see results from your efforts. 

More Like This

Adventure

Road trip essentials: How to pack and prepare for your rooftop tent adventure

Adventure

Beinn Ghobhlach: Fiona bagging on the Scoraig peninsula

Adventure

Fiona bagging: Three summits from Luss

Adventure

Prepare your car for UK adventures: MOT insights

Adventure

Anna Wells is first female to complete Winter Munro Round

Adventure

Montane’s Red Nose Day fundraiser