A Beginner’s Guide to Losing Body Fat

Losing fat is different from losing weight. Many people would like to lose fat that is accumulated in the body and not tamper with their weight. People go on a diet to lose fat, but it is not the right decision. Here is a beginner’s guide to losing body fat.

Nutritional Principles

Nutritional principle phase is an aspect that applies in the types of food one has to consume to help in body fat loss which narrows down to calories. The term calorie applies in two different concepts. One is the amount of energy the body obtains from food per its weight, and the other is the energy the body burns during daily activities. To lose body fat, a person has to know how many calories they need in a day to help in losing the fat. And since, the calories are obtained from macronutrients in the food which can be cooked under high or low temperatures.

Proteins

Protein intake is essential when trying to lose fat as it will maintain the muscles thus preventing weight loss. When working out and exercising, muscles will be broken down. Therefore, proteins help to maintain these muscles. Animal proteins such as fish, poultry, and meat are essential as they are broken down to the building blocks of proteins, amino acids, which support the recovery of the body after exercise. Lentils, pulses, and beans are also important foods rich in proteins. It is advisable for a person who wants to reduce body fat to increase daily protein intake by about 2g per Kg of the body weight.

Protein is one of the most important nutrients for weight loss. Vegan pea protein powder is a great way to get all of your protein needs met while sticking with your vegan diet. It can be used as an ingredient in smoothies, oatmeal, and just about any dish! Check out our Vegan Pea Protein Powder Guide for more information on how you can use vegan pea protein powder to assist with weight-loss goals.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide the body with the needed energy used during exercise when working out to reduce body fat. A person whose intensity of training is low should consume low amounts of carbohydrates. When trying to lose fat, one should consider essential aspects before intake of carbohydrates which are the type, total, and timing. The person still needs energy and therefore should consume a total of 200g to 300 g of carbohydrates in a day which can be obtained from low carbs food such as leafy greens, fruits, and vegetables. Moreover, the person should not consume huge amounts of carbohydrates in the evening when going to sleep because less energy is needed.

Fat

It is ironical how fat intake is necessary for fat loss. Various types of fats are essential for burning calories which in turn leads to losing body fat. Anyone who wants to lose body fat should consider using coconut oil which has a high percentage of Medium Chain Triglycerides which help the body to initiate the process of burning fat. When working to lose fat, one should increase fat intake by about 1g per Kg body weight. Some of the foods that will provide someone with this type of essential fat that helps in fat loss are butter, walnuts, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, olive oil, low-fat cheeses, and canola oil. In this nutritional aspect, both saturated and unsaturated fats help in the process of losing body fat but retaining one’s desired body weight.

Supplements

Finding alternatives is important when one wants to be assured that they are only losing fat and not weight. Protein shakes are essential in providing macronutrients without consuming too many proteins. Whey protein is also a vital supplement to reducing body fat while the person still has a balanced nutritional body and thus achieves the needed dietary goal which is losing body fat.

Physical Exercise

Since the goal is losing fat and maintain body muscles, one should perform physical activities that send signals to the body to build more muscles. The good news is that when one builds more muscles by increasing metabolism during exercise, the person also burns fat. Resistance training is a good exercise that helps increase muscle strength and burn calories. Free weights, resistance bands, weight machines, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), calisthenics, and WODs are effective resistance training exercises.

Cardiovascular Exercises

Cardiovascular exercises are essential for losing body fat. They work hand in hand with the diet and thus a person who has eaten high carbs foods should try intense cardio such as running, cycling, or swimming. People who do these exercises together go way longer than a person who does it alone. Being fit is the most important goal, and thus when someone is working towards losing body fat, fitness should be primarily considered.