Do you limit yourself to eating your favorite food or drinking beverages you love just because you are conscious of the calories they may contain and you can’t take a risk to put on extra mass around your body because of those calories?
For all the fitness freaks out there, I have gathered some great lifestyle modification tips for you in this blog post that will help you burn calories effectively and in no time.
Let’s talk about calories first:
What calories actually are?
When we say the word “calorie”, what immediately comes to mind is “Fat”. Calories aren’t something bad! These are actually a source of energy but, as they say, “excess of anything is bad”, excess calories are also very bad for our health and well-being.
If you want to keep yourself physically fit and active, maintaining a balance of calories in the body is a must.
How to burn calories:
Exercise:
What comes to mind in the very first instance when we talk about burning calories is exercise. Exercise of any kind is a great way to burn calories. In fact, aerobic exercises can burn calories within minutes. When we do aerobic exercises like cycling, walking, dancing, swimming, etc., our body works at a very fast pace, and to supply the need, more calories are burnt. The more rigorous the activity is, the more calories are likely to be burnt. Not only do exercises speed up metabolism to burn calories, but also regulate heart rate, BP, and sleep cycle.
Fidgeting
Fidgeting means abnormal body movements that are made in nervousness or some thought process and includes activities like tapping fingers on a table or shaking a leg or foot continuously. Studies have shown that people who fidgeted while sitting or standing burn more calories compared to those who sit or stand still.
Drink an adequate amount of water
Drinking 8 glasses of water as advised by physicians is considered best for not only burning calories but also maintaining overall health. Sometimes, we confuse thirst with hunger when we feel there is an urge to take something in our mouth and we eat stuff to satisfy the need but in actuality, there is the need to drink. Drinking adequate water solves the problem. Drinking water actually enhances metabolism in the body and therefore burns calories. Other health benefits include maintaining body temperature, regulating heart rate, detoxification, and maintaining a healthy GIT.
Take caffeinated coffee
A cup of caffeinated coffee taken without sugar and milk is such a great way to burn calories. Having this done, one can cut out 60 calories from a cup. A cup of caffeinated coffee taken a few minutes before a workout signals the mind that there is much energy in the body and one can exercise more and more, which leads to a higher rate of metabolism. Caffeine also burns calories by generating heat in the body. Caffeine also gives the body a feeling of fullness and thereby reduces the urge to eat and hence a lesser intake of calories.
Take Green tea
Green tea is well known for its antioxidant properties and the caffeine it contains. The benefits of caffeine are already discussed in the above section. While talking about the antioxidant in green tea EGCG, helps in inhibiting the enzyme that breaks down the hormone norepinephrine which is responsible for fat breakdown. Thus, more norepinephrine accumulates in the blood which promotes more calorie burnout. Another advantage of green tea in eliminating extra calories is that it reduces appetite. Other health benefits of taking green tea include a lowered risk of heart disease, a decreased incidence of cancer, and improved brain function.
Build Muscle Mass
To burn more calories, one should do muscle-strengthening and building exercises. When more muscle mass is building up, it consumes more calories to speed up the work and one gets rid of excess calories. Also, muscle tissues consume more calories even when they are at rest compared to fat tissues. So the more muscle mass, the more the number of calories burnt even at rest. Also, muscles are made up of protein, which consumes more calories during the workout.
Modify your Diet
Cut down carbs from your diet and increase your protein content if you want to burn extra calories from your body. This is very beneficial for overall health as well. Carbohydrates are actually sugars and most snacks contain carbohydrates which increase the urge to eat these snacks and one ends up taking a large number of snacks and therefore more calories. Carbs also increase the level of sugar in the body and put one at risk of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
In comparison, protein consumes more calories in order to get digested. Also, proteins give the stomach a sense of fullness and one consumes fewer calories.
Make Breakfast Mandatory
One may think that skipping breakfast would help him consume fewer calories, but sadly it’s not true. Breakfast actually fuels the stomach to start and the stomach starts the process of metabolism early in the morning. Also, having breakfast in the morning helps one in less snacking throughout the day and also less eating in the lunch and dinner thereby cutting down extra calories from daily routine.
Eat Small but Frequent
When you eat smaller amounts of food after frequent intervals, what happens is that your stomach turns on and burns calories to start up the process of digestion. Every time you eat something, it starts up. Therefore, if you wish to burn more calories, it is advisable to eat small but at frequent intervals. The more frequently you eat, the more calories will be burnt by your stomach by virtue of the process of digestion.
Summing up, to burn out the extra calories from your body and maintain a healthy lifestyle, what you can do is change in overall routine and habits. All the tips mentioned above are given as advice. To achieve the best results, consistency, and adherence is a must. Try to incorporate all the changes in your lifestyle and burn out extra calories.
