In order to tap into the fat-burning mechanisms, we first need to focus on two main principles.
First is to reduce the storing hormone insulin so that we can release the fat cells to unlock those fat cells and use them as a source of energy. As long as insulin (the storing hormone) is high, then our fat cells remain locked up, and we can’t use it as a fuel source.
Second is to reduce the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone that is specifically tied to weight gain around the belly. Naturally, we produce cortisol throughout the day but excessively high amounts have been shown to increase in weight gain around the belly. (Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16353426/)
Now, we don't want low levels of cortisol, we just want to stabilize it. And with those two principles in mind, let's look at the 20 ways that can actually boost fat-burning mechanisms and reduce belly fat.
1. No Oatmeal for Breakfast
The problem with oatmeal is that it’s really high in starchy carbohydrates. Just one cup of cooked oatmeal has about 25 grams of starches while only having about 4 grams of fiber. This high starch to low fiber ratio makes it so that the body is going to produce a pretty high amount of insulin as a result of that higher level of blood glucose from the oatmeal. This higher level of insulin is going to lock up the fat cells so that you can’t use that energy as fuel. Especially for your first meal, you want to make sure that it’s not going to have these high levels of starchy carbohydrates. So if you love having some type of porridge or a bowl for your first meal, a really great route to go about this while having those lower starches that are not going to cause high insulin, is something like a chia breakfast bowl or chia porridge. All these are going to be lower in the foods that cause the spike in insulin so that you can actually tap into your fat-burning mechanism.
2. No Energy Drinks or Soda
Now if we’re looking out at one of the most popular energy drinks, Red Bull, for example, just one can, which is around 8.4 ounces, has around 26 grams of sugar. Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrates, which means it’s going to rapidly be absorbed and cause a massive spike in your insulin and therefore quickly causing you to be in fat-storing mode. And even if we look at the sugar-free alternatives, for a lot of these energy drinks, they typically use artificial sweeteners like aspartame which has actually been found to induce weight gain rather than weight loss (source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27997218/). If you really need a little bit of a “pick me up“ the best option is going to be the more simple route such as coffee or tea, especially unsweetened coffee or tea. You can make a sugar-free matcha latte as a really great alternative. Speaking of coffee…
3. No Sugar Coffees
Swap out Vanilla Lattes or other sweetened types of coffees, for black or keto coffee. Remember, the main thing that causes to be in fat-storing mode is to be high in insulin and what causes insulin to rise is sugar and high amounts of carbohydrates in general. And a 16-ounce Grande Vanilla Latte from Starbucks has around 31 grams of sugar!! Which is slightly less sugar than a full king-size Reeses peanut butter cup. On the flip side, unsweetened or Keto coffee doesn’t contain any sugar and therefore does not stimulate insulin. Especially when you compare it to these sugar-sweetened Lattes, that have that really big spike.
4. Walk vs. Run
Now, this tip mostly applies to you if you’re a daily runner or an endurance runner. Running a couple of times a week is totally fine and can definitely be included in your weight loss or wellness goals but running long distances especially if you’re doing that every day, can lead to that consistently higher level of cortisol. So so far we mostly talked about Insulin. But remember cortisol has a really big effect on weight gain specifically around the belly. If you are a runner, and you find that you’ve been storing weight specifically around your belly, then it might be an issue of elevated cortisol. In fact, there is a study done on endurance runners where the researchers took a hair sample and they found that the endurance runners had elevated levels of cortisol (source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21944954/). Walking, on the other hand, keeps your heart rate at a lower level which means that cortisol won’t be released. You don’t have to completely get rid of running but if you are finding that you’re gaining weight around the belly and you’re running every single day and you’re running long distances, swapping some of these days out for walking can be beneficial for reducing the cortisol levels and therefore helping with reducing fat specifically around the belly.
5. Eat Three vs. Five, Six, or even more Meals a day
When you actually have more of a 3 meal structure, it allows for a break of eating between those meals, and when you have that break between eating, it allows the insulin level to dip down. Now if you compare that to eating five, six, or even seven times throughout the day, your insulin levels are going to be consistently a lot higher, because you constantly absorbing those nutrients. And this consistent stream of insulin will physically lock up those fat cells so that they can’t be used and this also really helps with reducing bloating as well, specifically if you can have about 3 hours 45 minutes between your meals. This stimulates a pathway called the “Migrating motor complex” which is worth another article.
6. Have One or less Caffeinated Drink a Day
This is quite hard for those of you, who love drinking coffee including myself. Because although coffee can be a really great source of natural caffeine as well as it just tastes so good, having multiple cups or excessive amounts of caffeine can also keep your cortisol (that stress hormone) elevated. That high level of cortisol is what is specifically tied to weight gain around the belly, plus having multiple cups of coffee throughout the day can rally through off your sleep cycle, make it so that your sleep hormone Melatonin can’t really be efficiently produced so you don't get high-quality sleep and having poor quality sleep further leads to increased cortisol levels the next day. It’s a cyclical thing and you really want to make sure you are having only one cup of caffeinated drink per day, preferably before 12 am.
7. Don’t eat right when you wake up
Naturally, in the morning we do have slightly elevated levels of cortisol. That's when we want it elevated and because our cortisol levels are higher in the morning, it helps stimulate that release of blood glucose for energy, which renders any eating at this time unnecessary. We already have fuel coming from our own sources which when you think about fat loss that’s the goal and when you eat right away it’ll spike your insulin early and shut off this whole fat-burning mechanism that you naturally get from being in that fasted state first thing in the morning. So rather than eating right when you wake up either wait till you’re hungry or you can start slowly incorporate Intermittent Fasting as well.
8. Stop counting calories
The semi-starvation form of weight loss has even been found to increase hunger, make it way more difficult to stay on track, and even ultimately causing weight gain because of the decreased BMR (basal metabolic rate) that results from eating less than what your body needs. (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5639963/#:~:text=The%20body%20does%20not%20try,rate%20or%20stimulating%20food%20intake) And simply counting calories also removes the emphasis from the type of foods you should be eating, because remember, insulin is a fat-storing hormone. It’s the hormone that determines if you will be using fat as fuel or if you will be storing that energy. A calorie is not a calorie so pure sugar or glucose, which is technically lower in calories than something such as fat, will have a huge surge on your insulin where pure fat or protein on the other hand essentially zero effect on insulin which allows that unlocking of the fat cells to actually be used as energy rather than having that energy from the glucose or high amount of carbohydrates simply stored as fat instead. Instead of counting calories, you’re much better of focusing on the type of food that you’re eating rather than the amount.
9. Reduce HIT to 1 or 2 times per week
Although there can be some really great cardiovascular benefits — including some type of HIT training a couple of times per week exceeding that can cause the same issue as having a lot of endurance running where you’re going to have that chronically high levels of cortisol. Remember high levels of cortisol equals weight gain, specifically around the belly. So just like with excessive amounts of running, if you have 1 or 2 days a week that you’re using high-intensity interval training, swap those additional day outs for lower intensity training or walking.
10. Swap out “all Fruit” Smoothies with Protein, Fat + Fiber Smoothie
It’s not that fruit can’t be included in a smoothie, in fact, a lot of my own Protein Smoothie creations include fruit. But it shouldn’t be the main ingredient in your smoothie, especially if weight loss and fat-burning is your goal. If fruits are the main ingredient then you’re going to be using a lot of fruit for that smoothie and because fruits are so rich in carbohydrates and sugars, it’s going to spike in blood glucose and therefore that spike in insulin. Although some of these sugars are fructose aka that fruit sugar and therefore won’t raise your blood glucose these fruit sugars actually overload the liver because they have to be broken down in the liver to be used within the body and has been found to cause even further elevated levels of blood glucose and even insulin resistance. Both of which are not what you want if you’re looking for any type of fat-burning. Now instead you really want to load up on the ingredients that will stabilize that blood glucose level and not cause a high insulin response as a result.
11. No Protein Bars
Proteins bars contain highly processed and refined ingredients and typically a lot of sugar as well. Even if the sugar comes from “whole sources” such as dates, it’s still easy to use quite a lot of those dates and the bars that do contain high amounts of sugar will cause that spike in insulin and keep you fat-storing mode. Also relying on protein bars inherently causes you to eat multiple times the day rather than those 3 times that we talked about earlier.
12. No Granola
Don’t add Granola to your yogurt smoothie bowls. Now smoothie bowls and yogurt can both be used when you’re working towards fat-burning. Especially when you’re making those smoothies the right way as we talked about earlier. But adding Granola completely works around any benefit that you’re getting from the yogurt or the smoothie bowl. Because just like with oatmeal that we mentioned earlier, which oats are typically the main ingredient for Granloas and the honey or maple syrup or just plain sugar that’s typically used within Granola all that will lead to a pretty big spike in your blood glucose level which results in that release of insulin so if you’re looking for a crunchy topping that you can use that won’t spike your insulin some really great alternatives that I love are things like pumpkin seeds, cacao nips, coconut flakes, bee pollen, cashews, nuts/seeds, all those are much better alternatives that will keep you on track with your goals.
13. Spend (at least) 15 Minutes Outside
This might seem like a bit strange one but there is actually some research that has found by spending 15 minutes just outside in nature, especially if you live by a park, a forest, a lake, or an ocean, helps to significantly lower your serum cortisol levels — after just 15 minutes! If you do live by a lake or an ocean (lucky you) then taking a walk by these would be fantastic for helping you reduce your cortisol levels. (source: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722/full)
14. No Chips, Pretzels or Crackers
Don’t let these snacks deceive you into thinking that they’re healthy. These snacks are really low in fiber that helps to slow the release of the glucose in your blood supply and because of that low fiber they also are not satiating which means that you are going to be eating more and more of these and likely more than the recommended amounts and not only will that cause that increases in insulin but because it is more of a snack item you also shifting away from that 3 meal structure and more consistently keeping your insulin levels high.
15. No Tech 60 minutes before Bed Time
Exposure from the blue light that comes from most technology like your TV, your laptop, your cell phone even your kindle. This light called blue light which actually inhibits Melatonin production which is your sleep hormone and when you have that low quality sleep because of the low melatonin increases your cortisol levels the next day and we want to stabilize that cortisol level to our natural circadian rhythm we don’t want to artificially elevate it for the next day. So by shutting off that tech 60 minutes before bed, it can allow your natural Melatonin to go up, improve your sleep quality, and therefore help to keep the cortisol levels normal for the next day.
16. Eat Dinner Early
Allow some space between Dinner and bedtime. Ideally, you want to be done with dinner somewhere between one to three hours before you go to bed. Now when you’re sleeping your digestion slows down anyway so if you eat very close to the bed, then the food theoretically could be really slow-moving through your GI (Gastrointestinal) tract. And because it’s moving so slowly, it can allow more time for the bacteria within your GI tract to ferment the food and have gas as a by-product which causes that increased bloating. Now, this tip isn’t specifically tied to weight loss or fat loss, however, bloating is a really big issue for a lot of people. It’s uncomfortable, it’s not good for your GI tract and it can also make you feel like you not making any progress.
17. Don’t get hungry
We already talked about the importance of having those three meals but we need to also make sure that you’re eating enough at those meals. I.e. no small meals. Now, if you’re not eating enough it can lead to low blood sugar, which makes you feel hungry and these can cause sugar cravings. Hence, it’s impossible to achieve your goals. This might seem like a sense of willpower but you’re really fighting your physiology more than anything, it’s pretty unsafe to have that low blood sugar for your body. You need some amount of blood sugar for your brain and your red blood cells and by not eating enough at your meals, your body is actively going to try to get you to eat so it can bring the blood levels to a normal safe level. By eating until fully satiated at each of those meals can help to prevent this low blood sugar drop between meals so you don’t get sugar cravings and therefore you don’t snack. Especially on the things that will work against your goals and actually achieve your wellness goals.
18. Incorporate Intermittent Fasting
So I already talked about this in my previous article and also in this article with that 3 hours 45 minutes break between meals or not eating right away when you wake up. Something that’s really unique about Intermittent Fasting specifically is, that it’s been found to help to improve insulin sensitivity as well as reduce that fasting insulin level (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/). And as we've seen reducing insulin and the insulin response, is a key factor to be able to tap into the fat-burning mechanisms. Intermittent fasting can be a really useful tool for that. But it’s really important you do this the right way. There’s a lot of wrong ways to use Intermittent Fasting and not see results. I will write more about it in upcoming articles.
19. No Flavored Creamers
Don’t use flavored creamers in your coffee or tea. Coffee mate is probably one of the most iconic examples of this. The Iconic French Vanilla has 5 grams of sugar for a pretty small 15 milliliters serving size. That sugar is going to cause the increase in insulin so you’re actually better of just using half-and-half or even heavy whipping cream. But make sure it doesn’t contain any sugar. And if you are going to use these it’s really important that you use the grass-fed option that will have the more favorable omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.
20. Swap out Grains for Fat and Fibre
Now done consistently, this is one of the easiest ways to keep insulin levels lower. I mean, grains are the densest source of starches that cause insulin to go up. In fact, just one cup of cooked brown rice has about 50 grams of starch that will be broken down within the body and cause the insulin to go up. Now especially when you are really focusing on tapping the fat-burning mechanism, this is a really efficient way to actually be able to unlock those fat cells and to use them as fuel. But you do want to make sure that you’re swapping out these grains especially if you’re used to using them often more an alternative source that won’t spike your insulin because if you just simply leave it out and you don’t replace it then we fall into the issue of being hungry, which as we saw, something we don’t want either. So you can swap it out for less insulin-inducing ingredients such as cauliflower, zucchini, avocado, spaghetti squash, olives, broccoli, leafy greens, they’re seriously such an endless supply of fat and fiber options. Making cauliflower rice instead of white or brown rice even takes less time to cook than grains anyway.
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Thanks for reading! Stay healthy and fit.
