Facts and myths about burning fat
Spring is here and just like in past years, even this year we can expect it to turn warm very suddenly. The winter coats and the long-sleeve pullovers are put away from one day to the other and we start wearing clothing items that cover increasingly less body parts. With the changes in the seasons we are trying to renew ourselves every now and then, and get rid of the accumulated fat reserves. In order to follow the right lifestyle, some questions and widespread myths might be dispelled first.
Before we would get to the actual questions and answering them, let us consider what fat burning is.
SOME BASIC IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN REPEATED A MILLION TIMES…
The proportions are well-known: if you want to lose weight, more or less 70% of the success depends on your diet and “only” 30% is subject to your workout. (There are some who estimate it even more wildly, whereby 80% depends on nutrition, and some others believe in a 70%–20%–10% division, where the 10% represents rest and regeneration.)
To lose more fat, the body must enter into a calorie deficit: it has to burn more energy than what you take in the given day!
It also matters what that calorie content (which can be calculated specifically per person) is made up of and how it is taken in. We prefer slow-absorbing carbohydrates that release energy in the longer run and they don’t give a sudden surge to your blood sugar level.
Take the right protein and carbohydrate quantity with 5–6 meals a day, and drink 3–4 litres of water or plain tea a day.
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS LOCAL FAT BURNING?
Oh, well… even this morning I heard an advertisement on the radio about a tool that can break down fat locally (of course, it costs several tens of thousands of Forints). Somehow, we want to get rid of those extra calories that we accumulated slowly over the years with our overeating from one day to the other…
Obviously, there are industries and even the media targets people with this in mind. Sometimes I am playing with the idea of trying one or two of these products that offer miracles. But if I am honest, I have to disappoint you: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LOCAL FAT BURNING!
The fat tissues consist of fat cells, and energy is not derived directly from these (and they are not directly linked to the muscles either), therefore you might be working on your abdomen for hours to get a six pack, yet the muscle will only have a limited effect on the fat layer above it). It happens only if they are broken into glycerol and free fatty acids during metabolic processes that are coupled with the right diet and exercise. This way they get into the blood stream and this is when fat burning occurs! However, this phenomenon kicks into motion the fat cells not only in a certain body part, but also the whole body. Therefore, if you lose weight, you are going to lose weight from everywhere.
… WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THOSE “FAT-BURNING” MEALS AND DRINKS?
I am sure you have heard this expression before. I don’t like it, because it suggests that by consuming these drinks and foods you lose weight and fat. Obviously, that is not the case! When you browse the website of food delivery companies you can come across scams like fat-burning chocolate shake or sth similar.
It is true however, that some foods contain only a limited amount of calorie, while they are rich in fibres, enhance your sense of fullness and help in digestion. Some other fruits and vegetables contain materials that boost your metabolism:
Green tea and green coffee contain caffeine that helps the oxygen metabolism, enhances the power and the stamina, speeds up the regeneration process and also has a thermogenic effect on your body.
Tomato: thanks to its oxalic acid content it helps digestion, and indirectly the weight loss, as it boosts the body to produce L-carnitine. 100 grammes only contain 17 calories.
Hot pepper: its active ingredient is an organic compound – capsaicin – that boosts metabolism, while it also has a thermogenic and pain-killer effect.
Rasberry: the rasberry ketones reduce the risk of fat being deposited, the craving for carbohydrates and they also help to regulate the blood fat level.
Pineapple: probably the most well-known fat-burning food that owes its fame to bromelain, which has a favourable effect on the digestion of proteins. It positively affects the acid-base balance of the body, and 100 grams contains 57 calories. Let us not forget though that the popular canned pineapple contains a lot of sugar, too!
THERE ARE NO EXILIRS AND MAGIC PRODUCTS!
During its history of thousands of years, the human body didn’t change so much for us to be playing tricks on the good old rules, at least not without any detrimental effect. Burning fat and losing weight requires a lot of attention and there are some key rules that you must adhere to. Luckily, however, there are some things that could be of help in this process.
There are so many different views, in our era it is especially complicated to find your way around all the information that is available on the internet! Sometimes even the experienced and credible experts are on differing opinions on what is useful and what could be a scam when it comes to fat-burning, but one reason for this could be that we are different. And as such, there are different methods and tools that work for different people. However, there are some issues that we can all agree about, in my opinion.
Most miracle diets are built around the campaign of one product. “Take this, apply that, use this product to burn fat locally”. By now, we know that such thing doesn’t even exist. And they say that you don’t need to change what you eat or how you exercise… or maybe they tell you to exercise 5 minutes a day. And when there are changes recommended, they disregard your lifestyle and tell you things like “don’t eat after 6PM”.
BioTechUSA