This Exercise Primes Your Body to Burn Fat

🗓 Jan 21, 2022 | ⌛️ 5 min read

There are a lot of reasons to exercise. You can feel better, look better and even live longer. But studies show that certain types of exercise–practiced during specific windows in your day–are more effective for burning body fat. Getting activity during these intervals improves your body’s ability to burn more fat by increasing fat metabolism, improving blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, and reducing fat storage.

First, when you exercise, three main things happen:

Your body burns calories.
Muscle cells use up stored carbohydrates.
Your body increases fat oxidation, or fat burning.

The basics of fat loss works off these 3 factors, and the good news is that you can optimize them using timing and certain exercise to maximize weight loss efforts and body fat burned.

Let’s learn how to do this without having to do hours of cardio or restrict your favorite foods.

When diet and exercise don’t seem to work for fat loss, the issue might lie elsewhere. Get to know my holistic course for a 30-day weight loss jumpstart.

Basics of Burning Fat

Why do some people lose weight so easily, and others struggle with weight gain for years? Before we talk about losing body fat, you first have to understand a little about how foods in your diet affect your ability to lose weight.

When you eat food–and especially carbohydrates–your blood sugar rises. In response to this, your pancreas releases insulin to help your cells lock away the glucose (or sugar) in your blood for energy. Carbohydrates cause the biggest and most abrupt rise in blood sugar, which also means more insulin is released.

But here’s the problem if you’re trying to shed excess fat: insulin also increases fat storage. High levels of insulin in the body restricts the breakdown of fat cells–called fat oxidation–and instead directs the body to store excess calories as fat mass (1).

Yikes! So what can you do to keep insulin in check to increase fat breakdown?

Related: 5-Day Sugar Detox

How can I increase my ability to burn fat?

Healthy fat metabolism works the best when insulin and blood sugar levels are relatively steady, and don’t fluctuate wildly from high to low. You can optimize calorie burn and shedding fat with easy methods that:

Don’t require any equipment
Most anyone can start immediately
Don’t cost anything (other than your commitment)
Are pretty easy for most people!

To get started, the most effective ways to increase calorie burn while decreasing body fat involve exercise and movement. And we’ll talk about some other helpful hacks in a moment.

Moving or exercising (especially in the post meal window) makes changes that blunt abrupt spikes in glucose levels, AND make your muscles more sensitive to the effects of insulin (2). This means your body can produce LESS insulin and still do the same amount of work. Basically, any kind of regular exercise equals more fat loss and reduced body weight for you, if this is your goal.

Take the quiz: What’s Your Weight Loss Type?

Exercise helps you lose more weight now, and in the long-term

During exercise your muscles burn through glucose–the sugar in your blood from foods you eat. This is the beginning of calorie burning. The more active you are, the more glucose your muscles will burn through.

Regular movement is a healthy habit even if you’re not focused on losing weight. Exercise has been shown to improve your resting metabolic rate–or how many calories your body burns when you’re not doing anything (3). This effect also helps everyone by reducing the amount of insulin needed to shuttle glucose into cells.

In addition to priming your body to burn fat, exercise has other health benefits:

It can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce insulin resistance
It can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes
It boosts mood and energy levels
It builds more muscle to make your body a fat burning machine even at rest

So how much exercise do you need to do?

Studies show that 30 minutes of exercise at least 4 times per week is effective to enhance insulin sensitivity and promote fat loss for women.

Insulin sensitivity and calorie burn can be boosted for up to 48 hours after a single exercise session.

It’s always a good idea to incorporate some kind of strength training into your routine, as this will promote muscle growth, which, in turn, boosts your body’s ability to burn calories.

Types of exercise for fat burning & weight loss

The first thing to remember is that any kind of movement is beneficial for weight loss, so if you don’t currently exercise, start by adding in some movement throughout your day. You can gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts as you get more comfortable with being active.

If you need help sticking to exercise goals–or any others–download my 3-part journaling plan here.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great way to burn fat because it combines short bursts of high-intensity exercise with brief rest periods or low-intensity activity. This type of training has been shown to be more effective than traditional aerobic exercise for weight loss and fat loss (4).

Strength training (or weight training) is another great way to burn fat, as it helps increase muscle mass and metabolic rate. Strength training may also support weight loss–especially around your midsection–reducing belly fat.

Yoga and Pilates are excellent mind-body exercises that can help improve insulin sensitivity, weight loss efforts, and body composition.

Last, to burn more fat, make sure you’re exercising at the most efficient times during the day for fat burning.

When should I exercise to lose weight?

While our ancestors were active throughout the day, our modern lifestyles keep most people sedentary for a majority of their day. Lose more fat when you exercise during windows that enhance calorie burn:

After a meal – 45 to 60 minutes after you eat has the best ability to reduce glucose levels in your blood (5).
In the evening – Prime fat burning by balancing blood glucose and insulin levels after dinner.
At intervals throughout the day – small exercise breaks keep insulin at a healthy level all day long and are effective for weight loss.

Exercise is the first step toward boosting your overall metabolism. When you move your muscles, you are depleting stored carbohydrates within the body. When you deplete one fuel source, your body then moves to fat burning to sustain energy. Then, after you’re done working out, exercise helps your muscles become more insulin sensitive, leading to easier fat burn in the long-term.

Is fasted exercise better for burning fat?

Intermittent fasting is a great way to lose weight because it helps increase insulin sensitivity and allows you to eat fewer calories while still feeling satisfied.

There are many different ways to intermittent fast, but the most common way is to fast for 16 hours and eat during an eight-hour window.

Exercising in a fasted state can help you burn more fat, as your body will be relying on stored energy sources (fat) rather than stored carbohydrates.

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, adding intermittent fasting to your routine may be the answer. Just make sure you’re eating the appropriate amount of carbohydrates for your physical activity level, and always listen to your body when it comes to nutrition and exercise.

Keep reading: How to Get Started with Intermittent Fasting

Try an exercise “snack”

Sprinkle exercise throughout the day. Researchers call them ‘exercise snacks’. These snacks can be as simple as going for walks, doing some squats or push-ups during work breaks, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or playing tag with your kids.

Numerous studies have shown that people who sprinkle their day with short bouts of exercise have greater success with weight loss than those who don’t move at all on a regular basis (6).

More tips to keep you in the fat burning zone

Eat early, and sleep early. Inadequate sleep is the elephant in the room when it comes not only to body weight, but your overall health as well. Eating your largest meal earlier in the day helps support a healthy metabolism and sleep rhythm (6). Adequate sleep is a key piece of weight loss.

Eat carbohydrates to match your activity level. Very active people, and those with a good amount of lean muscle mass need more carbohydrates than sedentary people or those who are less active. If you’re participating in weight training, healthy carbohydrates are still a great fuel source, in moderation.

Eat enough. Drastically restricting calories over an extended period of time can cause hormonal imbalances that make it harder to lose weight in the long term.

Try exercising in a fasted state, but always listen to your body. If fat loss is your goal, you may want to consider exercising in a fasted state.

How to Burn Fat with Exercise

So, as you can see, there are many different ways to prime your body to burn more fat. Just make sure you’re adding in some type of exercise, whether it’s high-intensity interval training, strength training, yoga or Pilates. And lastly, be sure to exercise at the most efficient times during the day for burning fat.

When you add fasting and exercise together, they work synergistically to help you burn more fat. And by incorporating both of these methods into your lifestyle, you’re sure to see amazing results in a short period of time. Most importantly: be patient and stay consistent with your diet and exercise routine, and the weight will start melting off.

Go beyond diet and exercise with my 30-day program to reset your metabolism and banish belly fat for good.

Resources

The Pursuit of Better Health is just a click away!

Join our email list for exclusive offers, personalised tips and the latest news.

Have a Question?
E-mail us at
support@doctortaz.com