How do you lose body fat?

Ariane,

silly question – which I am sure you have answered before. How do you lose body fat? Is it through not eating fat? Through gaining muscle or just plain losing weight?


Thanks, Sandy
Sandy,


good question and at the core of understanding how you can create a change in your body.

To lose body fat you need to allow your body to burn energy from stored body fat instead of energy from food. Most of us eat too many carbohydrates. Carbs are energy for the body and as long as you have a decent amount of carbs coming in from the food you eat, your body will burn just those. Only when you lower your carb intake can your body switch from burning carbs  (from food) to burning body fat on your hips, thighs, butt, abs – wherever you store it.

Here’s the deal. A 150 lbs woman needs to eat roughly 150 grams of carbs per day to stay in fat burning mode. Eat more than that and you’ll store the extra energy away as body fat – for times of famine (yeah, we have a few, I’m sure). That means you can eat about 30 grams of carbs 5x a day to stay in fat burning mode. This amount allows your body to have enough energy to feel good have energy for working out, but it isn’t more than you need. If you eat more carbs than you need, then the body converts the excess into glycogen and shuttles it to the muscles and liver. It sits there until you need that energy to work out or until your body needs it because you haven’t eaten in a while. You have about 2,000 calories of those glycogen stores in your muscles and liver at any time, which will last you about 2 days – or less if you work out intensely.

In order to switch your body from carb burning mode (from food) into fat burning mode (from body fat stores), you need to lower your intake of carbs. That’s best done by cutting out sugar and starches since they are high in carbs and they also signal the body to store fat. Once you lower your carb intake, then your body runs out of incoming energy within 2 days. At that point it has to switch over to fat burning mode to get energy and that’s when the fat loss starts. The first 2-3 days of any diet or fat loss plan are usually the hardest because your body is making this switch and you’re still craving carbs and sugar. However, once that switch is made, you no longer crave those foods and feel satiated and energized.

To stay in fat burning mode, you need to monitor your carb intake – not too high (or you’ll go back to burning carbs and signal your body to store fat) and not too low (or you’ll be low energy and hungry all the time).

Fat intake doesn’t relate directly to fat loss. Yes, it has more than twice as many calories per gram as protein and carbs, but it also fills you up, makes food taste good and helps you absorb your nutrients. You need to have fat in your diet but if you overdo it then it can stall your fat loss.

The key in fat loss is your carb consumption. Protein is also important because every time you eat protein you signal your body to burn fat, provide your muscles with fuel, and protein also fills you up. That’s why every meal should consist of a lean protein and a vegetable.


Interestingly enough, we’re talking about eliminating those types of carbs that the USDA Food Pyramid endorses as those you should consume 6-11 servings of per day. If you ate that much you would have to work out for 2-4 hours to stay at your weight. They’re promoting such a high consumption of grains, breads, pasta, and cereals because the grain farmers of America need to get rid of their excess. Be careful whose recommendations you listen to!
Make sure you eliminate grains, pasta, rice, cereals and sugars and focus your diet on the types of carbs that provide amazing health benefits and fiber: loads and loads of veggies. Limit your fruit intake as it’s high in sugar as well. 

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