March Madness baby!!  UK is playing, days are longer and getting warm, flowers bloom, trees turn green and you can smell spring. My focus this time of year shifts to fat burning, which in itself can cause plenty of “madness”. Too much body fat will affect how you look and feel for spring break and summer.

We all want to burn body fat which is my most popular request and I often see people coming in my studio saying they need to lose 10lbs two weeks before they go on spring break or summer vacation.  I find people working out too hard and not supplementing their body with adequate nutrition.  Other folks are beating their knees and feet up doing too much cardio and burning muscle instead of fat.  Listen to me when I say this is all madness!!

Eating to lose body fat is simple. Don’t make it complicated.  Remember this, “eat to live, not live to eat”.  Burning fat stores from the body requires a negative daily calorie balance.  Eat less and burn more calories to dwindle fat pockets and cellulite.  Every pound of fat contains 3500 calories; you have to burn that or more every week to lose 1lb.  People always ask “what do I have to eat?”  Stick to lean proteins, fruits & vegetables, seeds & nuts, and eliminate your starches and sugars.  Don’t forget water, you have to drink more water to lose extra water weight, 60-100oz depending on the temperature of the weather and your activity.  If you need special dietary recommendations due to medical conditions, seek a Registered Dietitian to further assist you in making the right food choices. 

The average healthy weight loss is 1-2lbs a week of fat, not muscle.  I tell people all the time its hard to get in “shape” if you don’t do strength training exercises to contour the body.  I never recommend new clients do more than a mile for cardio.  Doing excessive cardio will signal the body to store fat for fuel during long runs.  Running longer than 20 minutes will make the body want to lower its metabolism by shedding muscle, which is heavy, to save energy.  Muscle tone is our metabolism, essentially the more lean tissue we have the more fat we burn when we are not exercising.  Our genetics will determine how efficiently we gain and lose body fat and muscle.  Don’t forget that everyone is unique, so taking a workout, or eating plan from a magazine may not suit you as well as the paid celebrity on the front cover. 

You have thousands of ways to burn calories and my favorite way I use and prefer is high intensity intermittent training, which burns more calories in less time.  Keeping the intensity up doing various structured exercises requires your body to increase its metabolism or lean tissue to have enough strength and endurance to sustain that specific activity.  Everyone can benefit from this type of exercise because each workout is determined by your current fitness level and increases as you become fit.  If you’re in a pinch for time a typical workout lasting 30-50min can burn 500-1000 calories compared to 200-500 calories walking and jogging.  This type of workout 3 times a week will not wear and tear on the feet, knees and hips like the pounding the asphalt, concrete, and pavement.

We all just want to get toned.  When you hit the beach this spring break or summer you will be a fat storing or fat burning body.  Prevent March madness by providing proper nutrition and structured physical activities so that you can decrease fat stores and be a fit, healthy body.  There are many ways to achieve fat loss, choose the best way that works for you, “March Madness” is for basketball baby, keep it that way.    

About the author:  David has made physical fitness and healthy living a lifelong quest.  He is the owner of a local fitness studio in Bowling Green.  He holds a M.S. in Exercise Science from WKU and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.