Weight loss is a billion-dollar industry because everyone is looking for the quick fix when it comes to losing weight. The problem is losing weight takes time, unless of course you go on The Atkins Diet and lose a lot of muscle and water! Everyone wants to burn body fat yet few people understand how the human body uses fat for fuel!
Stored body fat is the last thing your body will use as fuel. The whole reason we store extra calories (that can come from anything) is to have a back up or reserve. The only way body fat can be effectively used as fuel Is If blood sugar is stable, and the body is using more fuel than is being supplied! This is what keeps most people from burning fat.
I often have people tell me "I run all the time", or " I hardly eat anything, but I'm still not losing fat." The reason is because they have unstable blood sugar, and/or they exercise at the same level of intensity all the time (usually a moderate level). Remember that the two most important factors when it comes to burning fat are stable blood sugar and lack of hard physical activity.
Let's look at these two factors more closely. Blood sugar levels are directly affected by meal frequency and food choices. Eating small, balanced meals/snacks every 2-3 hours is one way to help stabilize blood sugar. Small frequent feedings (provided they contain only enough calories necessary for the level of activity at that time) force your body to adapt or get used to having food, which will keep blood sugar fairly stable. This makes it less likely for your meals to be stored as fat.
What you eat also plays a big part in blood sugar. For example, juice increases blood sugar quickly forcing it to skyrocket as opposed to vegetables, which burn at a much slower rate. Avoid foods containing large amounts of sugar such as soda, juice, candy, ice cream, table sugar, and other refined foods. Focus on whole grains, vegetables/fruits, lean proteins, and un-saturated fats.
Unstable blood sugar is something that can do serious damage to your body in addition to increasing body fat levels, such as hormonal discrepancies and Type II Diabetes. Most people are totally unaware as to what blood sugar is or what it does in your body.
Activity level is the other major factor, which prevents a lot of people from making any progress! Most people are misinformed and still think they need to sweat to burn fat. This is totally not the case! I have had great success with clients losing fat with out even going to the gym! Again, all that is necessary is that blood sugar is stable and that the individual is burning more calories than they are supplying. So what does that mean? Eat small, balanced meals or snacks every 2.3 hours, increase muscle tissue with progressive strength training, and stay active!
An easy way to stay on track is to ask your self before every meal or snack "what will I be doing for the next few hours?" If you are going to be at work and not that active then your body doesn't need a lot of calories. Don't forget that any extra calories (whether from vegetables or pizza) that don't get used will be stored as fat!