Fat burning is a hobby of mine. Quite frankly, I find it easy. But it’s only because I know the 6 simple steps to becoming a fat-burning machine that most don’t. It’s really disappointing when you are struggling to lose weight and burn fat. However after reading and using these tips you will be able to reduce fat fast and look more toned than ever. After recently helping a friend torch his own fat, I took the guide I wrote for him and tweaked it into this 3000+ word guide for effective fat burning. After helping him out and seeing awesome results, I knew I had to get it out for the world to do the same.

Following these 6 steps guarantees that you will remove every damn piece of fat from your body. It’s truly powerful. So without further adieu, this is the best guide on how to reduce fat fast and stop failing with fat loss once and for all.

Step 1: Being Ripped is Not Enough, You Have to Be Strong & Muscular Too

Sure many people may only want to lose those extra pounds of fat. Being shredded with model-like abdominals isn’t what everybody seeks. This doesn’t mean being a beast or making the gym a huge part of your life. But it is worth considering strength training if fat loss is an important goal for you.

On the other hand, when you are overweight, the idea of seeing a 6-pack in your belly seems as extraordinary as imagining your grandfather having a threesome with Megan Fox and Irina Shayk. Ok, maybe not so crazy but it seems kind of a difficult task. However, there are also supplements that burn fat super-fast but be careful if you do decide to go with one. It isn’t a difficult task. It’s absolutely easy to get it done. The difficult part is to maintain focus, determination, and commitment during the process.

Strength training 3X per week (at least) will assist the fat burning process in multiple ways like:

1) Maintaining muscle

If you manage to reduce fat fast but lose muscle in the process (if you have any) then you will just end up skinny. You won’t look much better, your confidence won’t likely improve, neither your gaming skills nor your impact on other people. It’s important to support your muscles and if possible trigger muscle growth. This can be achieved easier if you are a newbie in working out. But the main goal is muscle preservation.

When you have finally lost the excess fat the result will be a fit, toned and attractive body that will boost your confidence and give you a sense of pride for your accomplishment.

2) Burn extra calories

Clever cardio is just one way to increase your caloric expenditure. Strength training is another beneficial form of exercise that can help you shed extra pounds while becoming stronger and building muscle. According to MyFitnessPal, each hour of strength training you burn an extra 250 calories.

3) Define your muscles & boost your confidence

Just like said above, losing fat without having a toned muscular physique seems pointless. I have been skinny and it didn’t feel so great. I know many people who have achieved weight loss and who go from fat to a skinnier version of themselves, but in the end, they packed all the weight back because they were not satisfied with the result.

When you have defined muscles and a toned physique you are more likely to continue losing fat because you have extra motivation. Beyond that, the impact on your confidence is huge. The feeling of benching 5 more pounds each week is as great as having an orgasm (ok maybe not so exciting but almost the same). You feel like you can kick ass and achieve whatever you put your mind to. You grow stronger and your confidence grows together. That’s for sure!

You can achieve all these with:

– Compound lifts while lifting in the 4-8 rep range.
– Bodyweight exercises
– Adding some pump isolation exercises at the end of your workout.

Step 2: Have a Fat Loss Map & Know Your Destination

The most important aspect of fat burning is achieving a calorie deficit.  You can’t have fat loss without a caloric deficit. If you were following an unhealthy lifestyle with a lot of extra calories then you can lose some weight as soon as you cut fizzy drinks and snacking (step 1). However, this will slow over time. If you want your fat-burning to be constant and especially if you want to become ripped, you should count your calories.  If you get nothing else from this article, make sure that you understand the importance of tracking your calories.

Many people say that they don’t want to get obsessed with counting calories. I agree! Keeping things in simplicity is very important in order to have a clear mind and achieve your goal. You don’t want to be ultra obsessed. But you have to count your calories. This is an essential part of the fat-burning process. If you don’t, it’s very possible that you will overeat ( especially if you haven’t started hitting the gym). As a result, fat loss will not occur, you will feel disappointed, and then you will quit or even keep trying endlessly without results.

Expecting to lose fat without counting your caloric expenditure is like trying to save money and cut your expenses without tracking how much you spend. You can do it, but it’s not the most effective route. You’re often shooting in the dark. And relax, you don’t need to carry a notebook to write every damn thing you eat. Fortunately, technology and the internet have made things a lot easier. Smartphones have dominated the market. It’s unlikely that you don’t have one. You could even buy one now for less than 50 bucks.

You can count your calories through a simple app called MyFitnessPal. You just put in details about yourself, your weight goals and you don’t have to do anything else. You just use a search bar like Google’s and the application gives you the nutritional value of the food. You only have to input how much you have eaten and everything is calculated by the app. It’s pretty easy. You can spend 2 minutes after each meal doing it.

What’s 6 minutes per day to get a ripped and sexy physique? Now you have to do two things:

1) Determine Your Maintenance Level Calories

There are many calculators and formulas online but they can be a little confusing sometimes.

A good rule of thumb to find out your maintenance calories (the number of calories you need to keep your current weight) is by multiplying your body weight in pounds x15. This is provided that you get about 1 hour of daily exercise (if not use an online maintenance level calories calculator).

For example, an 190 lbs guy has a maintenance level of around 190 x 15=2850 calories. This is not completely accurate so you might need to adjust it as you go ahead, by adding or cutting some calories. OR, just use a calculator.

2) Determine Your Intake For Fat Loss

To do this, take your body weight and multiply it x12. This is how much you should eat for fat loss. This is a good rule of thumb because going too low in calories might cause too much hunger. Below this point, your meals won’t be satisfying and you will have low energy. So don’t eat below 12x your body weight in pounds. Just don’t.

For example, the 190lbs guy should eat about 190 x 12=2280 calories.

This is 570 calories below maintenance which is acceptable. You shouldn’t eat less than 600 below maintenance. The best way to achieve ideal fat loss is eating about 300-600 calories below maintenance levels. Be patient. If you go too low, you’re body with think you are experiencing a famine and slow down weight loss. Then since it’s impossible to maintain this type of diet when you start eating a lot again you will pack on the pounds.

Not smart, which leads us too..

Fat Loss Rate

Optimal Fat loss rate must be at 1-1.5lbs per week. This can be achieved by eating about 500 calories below maintenance.

If you notice that you aren’t losing much weight, drop your calories 200 more. If you lose too much add about 200 calories. Experiment to find the best possible caloric intake to achieve that rate of weight loss. For most people it’s about 500 calories below maintenance.

Step 3: Nutrition

Yes, it’s important to be in caloric deficit if you want to burn fat and lose weight but eating the right quantity of macronutrients is also important for maintaining muscle mass, keeping your energy and hormone levels high while keeping your stomach full and satisfied. I can’t go into a nutrition lesson to the full extent here, but here are the fat-burning micronutrients you need to be concerned with:

1) Protein

During a calorie deficit diet, you should eat a relatively high amount of protein to keep you fulfilled, maintain muscle tissue and help muscle cell regeneration. Protein intake should be around 35% of your total calories. Let’s take the 190lbs guy for another example. His cutting calories were 2280. Let’s make them 2300 for convenience. Calculate your protein by multiplying these calories x 0.35= 800.

Then divide it with four to find how much protein you need. In the specific case, it’s 800/4= 200 grams of protein per day.

I know it’s a bit high, but if you are taking this amount of protein you ensure muscle mass preservation and can even promote some new muscle growth. If you can’t achieve that number of protein, aim for at least 30% of total calories.

2) Carbs

Carbohydrate intake is calculated in the same way as protein. Your carb intake should be 35% of your total calories. While it’s in my head, be sure to add 1-2 refeed days every week to promote muscle growth. Refeed day is a day when you will eat 100-200 calories over maintenance. It can be a cheat day as well. The reason you are doing that is that muscle response will be higher after low calories days which can promote muscle growth. Except that, a refeed day will increase your Leptin levels which is a hunger & metabolism-related hormone. Leptin helps in regulating your body weight and desire for food intake. Low leptin levels can ruin your fat-loss.

3) Fat

Fat intake should be about 30%. Fats make your food fulfilling and help you build muscle by increasing your testosterone levels. (For a full guide on increasing testosterone levels go here) Calculate your needed fat intake by multiplying your cutting calories x 0.3 and then divide with 9. For instance (190lbs guy), 2300 x 0.3= 690. 690/9= 76 gram of fat per day. These calculations are not even necessary if you use an app for tracking. You just enter your cutting calories, the % percentage of each macro and the app takes care of the rest.

Step 4: Kick These Rats Out Of The Basement

The first thing you have to do is to kick the rats out. Who are those rats when we speak about fat burning?

Rats are Snacks & Fizzy drinks.

These two are guilty of making you gain extra pounds of weight and fat and that’s why you have to get rid of them in the beginning. You’ll be able to shred a lot of pounds just by eliminating these. And on top of that, you’ll be doing your body a huge favor by turning yourself to a healthier, more vital man. Fizzy drinks and snacks are unfulfilling and offer zero nutritional value. Combine that with the extra useless calories and your body starts storing fat everywhere.

You need a lot of self-control and discipline to cut these from your diet but I assume that you really want to burn fat, become leaner and start looking better. Otherwise why are you reading this? For this reason, I have to assume that you are willing to make some small sacrifices like avoiding stupid unnecessary snacks and cutting out fizzy drinks.

I understand how much you love eating chocolate cakes and popcorn while watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones, but if you want to change your physical appearance you have to cut these habits to the bare minimum. However, if you follow the next 5 steps you will be able to incorporate 1-2 extra snacks or drinks into your daily nutrition. But only if you do everything else perfect!

It’s a bit difficult to do everything perfectly because it requires action and acquiring experience. That’s why I have another great solution. It’s easier to remove something from your life by substituting it with something else, obviously something which is better and offers more benefits.

Fizzy Drinks Alternatives

1) Water

Water is a prerequisite whether your goal is fat burning, building muscle, or just being healthy. Your body consists of more than 80% of water. It can’t work properly if your water intake is lower than necessary. You have to make sure that you drink at least 2 liters per day and one glass of water upon waking. There is nothing better than water to satisfy your thirst. You may also add some flavor to your water by throwing in 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon.

2) Black Coffee

Coffee is a great combination with intermittent fasting. It can give you an extra energy boost and improve your focus. Just be sure to drink black coffee (no sugar or milk).

3) Tea

One of the best substitutes for water is herbal tea. Drinking tea is a good option when you get bored of drinking water and is actually great for you.

4) Juice

Juicing (natural not processed and packaged juice like minute maid orange juice) gives you some extra calories and sugar but it’s far better than the calories you would get from fizzy drinks. Moreover, the benefits of juicing for your health are huge because of the variety of vitamins and minerals that different kinds of fruits provide. You can even add protein in your juice and drink it after your workout.

Snacks Alternatives

The best way to deal with snacking is to NOT BUY snacks. I know it sounds simple, but when it becomes inconvenient to eat them, they will eventually be kicked out of your diet. Eliminate every snack from your house, job or car. If you don’t have snacks available you will have no choice but to eat something else.

And as you may know, you are more likely to eat snacks because of boredom. So if you crave a quick snack but have nothing at home (you will stop buying snacks!) I have a solution for you. Smoothies are a great way to get rid of the boredom of drinking water and get an extra protein boost. It’s also a great, extremely healthy, and filling substitute for unnecessary snacks. Even if you want to eat something sweet like a chocolate bar or 2-3 biscuits, you can add them to your smoothie (but you are a good boy and don’t buy snacks anymore, well done!).

The best approach is to make your smoothie late at night, half an hour before you go to bed. Smoothies are simply and easily made from yogurt, milk, fruits and extras. If you have the first three ingredients you can enjoy a delicious smoothie right away.
Another awesome benefit that smoothies offer is that their protein (from yogurt) is slow indigestion and will supply your body with amino acids for the next 10-15 hours which helps in muscle preservation.

This will be extremely helpful when you use intermittent fasting. That’s why I suggested to drink your smoothie before going to bed. Even if you choose to avoid intermittent fasting, drinking it right before sleep it’s still a good option. A very simple way to make a smoothie is the following:

– 200 g Greek yoghurt

– 250 ml milk

– Fruit of your choice

– Protein(optional)

– Biscuit, truffle, vanilla or whatever you want (optional)

– Put them all into a blender and after a couple of seconds, you have a great smoothie. Simple, easy and quick!

On to step # 2…

Step 5: Use Clever Cardio to Reduce Fat Fast, Burn Extra Calories, Become Smarter & More Productive

The worst way to achieve fat loss is with endless running on a treadmill, cycling or meaningless high intensity programs. I have nothing against things like CrossFit and traditional cardio, but there are better ways to burn extra calories while using the same time to learn something useful, become productive, put your brain into power thinking mode or just relax and enjoy the moment.

Which are these better ways?

1) Good, Old Fashioned Walking

1 hour of walking with leisurely pace helps you burn an extra 250 calories. It’s a great way to clear your mind and start thinking!

Our everyday lives have become so busy and crowded with making a living, worries, social media, activities and other stuff that we don’t take enough time to think anymore. People don’t take time to philosophize their life, make plans, dream, and visualize their future. They just act on impulse and live like zombies.

Walking is a perfect cure for that. Along with assisting in fat burning, leisurely walking can be an hour when you are finally able to think of ways to improve your life, construct plans to make it happen and apply self-criticism. It’s also an excellent way to become smarter and more productive by listening to audiobooks or podcasts! You can absorb unlimited knowledge while you are walking. You wouldn’t be able to do that if you were running on a treadmill or if you were jumping up and down in a CrossFit class.

Sure you can walk on the treadmill, but walking in nature can’t be compared with walking on a machine surrounded by walls. Go out and get some fresh vital air in your lungs. You can find unlimited podcasts to listen on iTunes or Sound Cloud (Like The Menprovement Podcast). You can even download audiobooks to your Smartphone or listen to YouTube videos.

2) Start Dancing & Move Your Body

This is for those who are eager to take an extra step and try something out of their comfort zone. Dancing is the best way to transform a dull cardio session with countless kilometers recorded on the treadmill’s screen into an enjoyable and interesting experience. Dancing has become a big part of my life since my video for Marquese Scott’s Dance Contest hit 38000+ views and I got second for the contest (worldwide). Since I started dancing I have never done a minute of boring cardio!

It’s also an exciting way to socialize, meet new people, burn extra fat and of course meet some ladies 😉 From my experience, dancing classes consist of 90% girls and 10% boys so it’s a great opportunity to practice your game. And if you stick to it and become really talented you will notice that women will be attracted to you just because of your dancing skills. Combine this with a ripped-muscular physique and they will be taking their wet panties off from the first moment they see you. (Ok not exactly, but your success will really skyrocket just because of that.)

Step 6: Intermittent Fasting Will Make You Ripped Easily

Did you know that you can Get Shredded Effortlessly Eating Chocolate & Ice-Creams? This is even more possible if you add intermittent fasting to your fat-burning equipment. IF is one of the best ways to reduce fat fast and lose weight. Beyond the multiple benefits of intermittent fasting, like increased growth hormone, boosted metabolism, and increased energy and focus, there is another extremely important advantage which is fat burning.

The approach I have tried for IF works by skipping breakfast and eating your first meal 5-6 hours after you wake up. This helps immensely the fat loss process. How is that possible? In the morning, your body’s insulin levels are very low and you don’t have much energy. Skipping breakfast will allow you to BURN FAT FOR FUEL.

Except that, intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity which allows your body to utilize nutrients in the best way possible and direct them to build muscle instead of being stored as fat.

*Note*: applying IF is optional. I hugely believe that it can be a huge fat loss booster. But if your breakfast is your holy meal, you can still burn fat using the other 5 steps. However IF makes the process easier and more enjoyable (you have the ability to eat huge meals, 2-3 throughout the day).

But if you really want to try it, check how you can structure your meals:

Option  #1:

You wake up at 8 am

First meal at 2 pm (lunch)

Second meal at 8 pm (dinner)

Third meal at 11 pm (snack)

Option #2:

First meal at 2 pm (lunch)

Snack at 6 pm

Last meal at 10 pm (dinner)

You can even remove the snack meal if you want and just stick to two enormous and satisfying meals. The hours are not exclusive to follow; you can adjust it based on your personal program. Just keep in mind that you should wait 5-6 hours after waking up, before eating your meal.

How to Achieve An Effortless Fast

The best way to make your fasting period easier and blunt your appetite is by drinking black coffee. This is  because it gives energy and blunts appetite. A good alternative is tea. To get the most benefits, consume the coffee in the fasting state. If you drink coffee after eating your first meal you risk getting used to caffeine’s effect and you won’t get much out of coffee. Instead you’ll be like everybody else; constantly increasing the amount you consume.

Stick to 1-2 cups in the morning before you eat your first meal. After that point you can always drink water, juices, smoothies and tea. Seriously, it’s a myth that you have to eat breakfast or 6 small meals a day. And it’s all backed by science.

If you’re still not convinced check out this awesome article on the health benefits of intermitted fasting. Seriously, they don’t stop at fat loss. They range from increasing mental clarity (by increasing your brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)) all the way to boosting your growth hormones. And best of all, it’s all proven.

Fat Loss: Putting It All Together

Let’s pass over each step one more time to understand them better. If you want to maximize fat burning and achieve fat loss you should:

1) Substitute fizzy drinks with healthy alternatives and eliminate snacks or even substitute them with delicious smoothies.

2) Use clever cardio to burn extra fat (walking, dancing) which will also boost your brain activity, make you smarter and improve your social life.

3) Use intermittent fasting to burn more fat by eating your first meal 5-6 hours after waking up.

4) Perform compound lifts and bodyweight exercises to build muscle, add definition and burn extra calories.

5) Count your calories (use an app) and determine your cutting calories to achieve the ideal fat loss rate.

6) Determine your macronutrient intake. 

That’s literally all it takes to achieve extreme fat burning and become shredded. What are you waiting for? Start changing your body and become lean now! And let us know in the comment section what you thought about these steps and if you have any tips for being a fat-burning machine. Cheers!