Too Much Fat? Find Some Ways To Burn Calories and Fight Fat
Getting yourself in shape takes more than just a high-intensity workout routine. You have to be very aware of what you’re putting into your body. That’s not to say that some athletes or celebrities can bend the rules a bit with their food intake, but that’s not usually the norm. For the average person, watching what you eat means understanding two major things: calories and body fat.
Relative to food and the body, calories are units of energy that allow the body to function. Food provides this energy, some of which the body stores and some of which it uses. As the body breaks down food, it releases calories as energy. Max Wishnofsky first propagated the concept that there are approximately 3,500 calories in a pound (lb) of body fat.
How fat works
Body fat, or adipose tissue, consists of adipocytes.
These are fat cells, and they occur alongside other types of cells and proteins. Fat cells contain lipids, including cholesterol and triglycerides.
Adipose tissue stores energy for the body to use and protects the organs. It also releases hormones that control many functions in the body, such as insulin sensitivity and appetite.
People with more body fat may experience something called leptin resistance, in which the body is less sensitive to the satiety hormone leptin. This, in turn, drives up hunger and food intake, making weight maintenance harder over time.
There are two types of adipose tissue: white and brown. Brown adipose tissue is more metabolically active. It burns more calories and helps manage weight, insulin sensitivity, and overall health to a greater extent than white adipose tissue.
If people have excess body fat, it is most often due to the fact that their white adipose tissue has expanded.
Having too much body fat can cause obesity and result in many health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Having too little body fat can also be harmful and lead to health concerns such as malnutrition and fertility issues.
What Are Calories?
Calories, contrary to popular belief, are not the same as body fat. A calorie is a measurement of the energy amount released when the body digests and absorbs food. Specifically, one calorie can heat one liter of water 1°C. If you’re looking to go even further in your calorie knowledge, there’s even a difference between a calorie and a Calorie.
A calorie is, as mentioned, a measure of food energy. However, a Calorie (or kilocalorie) is equal to 1,000 calories. This is actually what’s measured when reading nutrition facts labels on your packaging. This may seem misleading, especially if you are very concerned about your caloric intake. However, it is more of a discrepancy between nutritionists and scientists like engineers who use each definition in their respective fields. For the sake of discussion, a “calorie” in this article will refer to the kilocalorie.
What Happens If You Have Too Much Body Fat?
As most doctors will tell you, the more excess weight you have, the greater your health risks become in the long run. On the mild side, it can affect your mobility and general comfort level physically and mentally. However, having excessive body fat for a long time can be detrimental, and even deadly.
Some Ways to Burn Calories and Fight Fat
1. Don't Skip Breakfast
Evidence supporting a link between skipping breakfast and increased body weight is growing, according to a recent editorial in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Some research has shown that when people skip breakfast, they tend to eat more calories by the end of the day. Other studies have suggested that skipping breakfast is associated with a higher body mass index in teens.
While we could use more research in this area, eating a healthy breakfast certainly makes sense as a lifestyle habit.
2. Drink 8 Cups of Water a Day
"Just about everything you call on your body to do burns calories, including absorbing and utilizing water while maintaining fluid balance (sometimes by excreting excess)," says Pope.
Drinking almost eight cups of water (2 liters) may help burn nearly 100 extra calories a day, according to findings of a small study from Germany, notes Pope.
3. Drink Caffeinated Green or Black Tea
In addition to caffeine, green tea contains catechin polyphenols, plant chemicals that may also boost metabolism, according to a study from the University of Geneva in Switzerland.It burns a few calorie—and it keeps you from mindlessly grazing, especially when you're cooking, says McGee.
5. Better sleep.
According to a University of Pennsylvania study, a lack of sleep leads to people eating less healthy foods. Another study found that those who are sleep deprived just move less.
4. Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals
5. Exercise to Burn Calories
6. Do Strength Training to Build Muscle
Body fat gets a bad rap, but it’s essential for your health. Fat keeps your metabolism in check and your hormone levels balanced. You definitely want some fat to stick around.
Fat in total. Adults' dietary reference intake (DRI) for fat ranges from 20% to 35% of total calories from fat. If you consume 2,000 calories a day, that equates to 44 to 77 grams of fat. It is advised to consume more of certain types of fats because they have health benefits.
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