The biggest mistake people make when trying to burn more calories is they focus on doing hours of cardio.
Cardio is the least important aspect of fat loss.
The primary reason to do cardio is to have a stronger and healthier heart and circulatory system and to improve recovery on rest days.
If you enjoy cardio, do it as much as you like. Most people will get 99% of the benefits by doing 2-3 cardio sessions per week for 30-60 minutes each.
Instead of doing cardio to burn more calories, focus on increasing basal metabolic rate (BMR), non exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and the thermic effect of food (TEF).
Increase Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
The biggest contributor to how many calories you burn in a day is your BMR. This is affected by things like age, height, weight, and genetics, however, a major contributor is how much of your weight is muscle mass.
More muscle = faster metabolism! This is why there’s a difference between losing fat and losing weight.
Build muscle and you increase your calories burned while doing nothing!
Increase NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
Did you know: You burn more calories throughout the day from the activity you do outside of exercise (NEAT) than you do from your actual exercise session itself?!
Set a step goal or add a long morning walk to increase your calories burned in your daily life. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Work on your computer while stretching on the ground. Do more, sit less!
Increase your calories burned in your daily routine, find them and make it a habit!
Increase Calories Burned from Eating (Thermic Effect of Food)
The thermic effect of food is the calories you burn by digesting what you eat.
The foods that burn the most calories to digest are foods high in protein (like meat, fish, and greek yogurt) and fiber (like fruits, whole grains, and veggies).
You increase the amount of calories you’re burning just by eating foods high in protein and fiber!
Burning calories is only one side of the equation. If you eat fewer calories, then you don’t have to spend as much time burning it off! The primary focus of any fat loss journey must be nutrition.
If you’re looking to burn some fat, schedule a fitness consultation and let’s create a custom plan for you!
Hope this helps! - Tom
