Tropical Weight Loss
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What does the body burn first?

Your muscles first burn through stored glycogen for energy. “After about 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise, your body starts burning mainly fat,” says Dr. Burguera. (If you're exercising moderately, this takes about an hour.)

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What happens when you diet and exercise

What happens to body fat when you shed pounds — do you sweat it out, pee it out or breathe it out? The answer is yes, yes and yes. Advertising Policy Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy How on earth does this happen? “It helps to understand that our bodies are designed to store excess energy in fat cells,” says endocrinologist Bartolome Burguera, MD, PhD. If you’re carrying extra pounds, it means you’re taking in more energy (calories are units of energy) than you’re using. “The extra energy is stored in adipose tissue all around your body in the form of triglycerides,” says Dr. Burguera. Smaller amounts of energy are stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen.

How does your body use energy? In more ways than you’d think:

When you’re resting. Your heart needs energy to pump, your lungs to breathe and your brain to think. (That’s your basal metabolism.) Your heart needs energy to pump, your lungs to breathe and your brain to think. (That’s your basal metabolism.) When you’re active. Your muscles need energy whether you’re only getting up from a chair or running a marathon. Your muscles need energy whether you’re only getting up from a chair or running a marathon. When you’re eating. Your digestive system needs energy to break down and store food.

What happens to body fat when you diet?

When you diet, you take in fewer calories than your body needs. Because of this deficit, your body turns to fat reserves for energy.

The byproducts of fat metabolism leave your body:

As water, through your skin (when you sweat) and your kidneys (when you urinate).

As carbon dioxide, through your lungs (when you breathe out).

“Meanwhile, fat breakdown liberates energy for biological functions and physical activity,” he says. “It also generates heat, which keeps body temperatures normal.”

What happens to body fat when you exercise?

Your muscles first burn through stored glycogen for energy. “After about 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise, your body starts burning mainly fat,” says Dr. Burguera. (If you’re exercising moderately, this takes about an hour.) Experts recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio two to three times a week. They also recommend weightlifting and resistance training. Increasing muscle mass may help you burn more calories and raise your basic metabolic rate. Exercise also increases your respiratory rate, so more CO2 leaves your body when you work out.

About exercise and weight loss

“Exercise is key to weight loss and to maintaining that weight loss,” says Dr. Burguera. But it may take time to move the number on your scale, so be patient. Everyone’s response to exercise varies: Some people lose weight, others maintain it, and a few may even gain a few pounds. “Generally, however, people who successfully lose weight and keep it off tend to be physically active — up to an hour per day,” he says. “Engaging in some form of exercise three times per week is highly recommended.”

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How can I increase my fat burn?

Here are eight possible ways to burn more calories and fight fat: Exercise to Burn Calories. ... Do Strength Training to Build Muscle. ... Drink Caffeinated Green or Black Tea. ... Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals. ... Don't Skip Breakfast. ... Eat Low-Fat Dairy. ... Drink 8 Cups of Water a Day. ... Fidget.

For years, products have been marketed with the promise of helping you burn more calories. But is there really anything you can do to increase the number of calories your body burns each day?

Well, yes and no, experts say. The truth seems to be that the No. 1 way to burn more calories is the old-fashioned way -- by moving more. "Essentially, we know of no way to burn more calories or up our metabolism than to move more," says Barry M. Popkin, PhD, director of the Interdisciplinary Obesity Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Still, research suggests that there may be a few other ways you can increase calorie burn. Here are eight possible ways to burn more calories and fight fat:

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