On paper, getting rid of body fat seems simple — eat fewer calories, exercise more. But, the reality is that shedding extra pounds is more difficult in practice. According to Tom Venuto, author of The Body Fat Solution, a formula that can boost your chances of burning off fat has three components: understanding cause and effect, thinking differently, and acting on the answers or solutions.

Ready for the challenge? These tips will help you to embrace all three of Venuto’s rules for burning body fat.

Sprinkle on Cinnamon
This tasty spice increases your body’s ability to use and metabolize calories. According to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of The Fast Track One-Day Detox Diet, research shows that cinnamon contains a flavonoid compound that acts similarly to insulin to help control blood sugar. When you consume cinnamon, your body produces less insulin, which triggers fat storage in your body. By helping to stabilize your blood sugar levels, cinnamon also suppresses hunger and cravings, adds Gittleman. Cinnamon is available in powder form, as cinnamon capsules, or in a cinnamon liquid extract. If you have any medical condition or you’re pregnant, consult your doctor before taking supplements.

Do Low Intensity Workouts
Super-charging your workout won’t help you to burn fat faster, according to a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. Researchers compared the effects of women exercising at low intensity versus high intensity four times a week over a three-month period without dieting. The women in the low-intensity exercise group lost significantly more body mass and there was no significant difference in loss of fat between the two groups. Another bonus of low-intensity workouts is that you’re less likely to suffer an injury and be laid up, which can disrupt your fitness routine and cause you to regain fat. Good low-intensity workouts include walking, cycling, water aerobics and yoga.

Get Enough Calories
Contrary to what many dieters believe, extreme calorie restriction or deprivation diets aren’t the best way to lose fat. While you do need to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, consuming too few calories reduces your metabolism and puts your body into fat-storage mode. Also, when you don’t eat or drink enough, you lose vital protein that’s essential for maintaining lean muscle to burn calories more efficiently. According to the National Institutes of Health, women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day and men should consume no fewer than 1,500 calories daily when dieting, unless under the supervision of a doctor.

REFERENCES

Springer Link News Release, Shape Up the Quick Way

International Journal of Sports Medicine: “Does the Intensity of an Exercise Programme Modulate Body Composition Changes?”

ScienceDaily: Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness, Study Finds