The Best Ways to Burn Body Fat

Body fat is stubborn and congregates in its favorite places: the belly, thighs, and hips. Sadly, these are the areas we would like to remove fat from. All hope is not lost, though--there are ways to burn fat and melt it from these areas. The secret is increasing your metabolism.

Cardio Exercise

• Cardio exercises are one of the best ways to increase your metabolism and burn fat from those problem areas. Cardio, also known as aerobic exercise, increases the heart rate and includes activities such as walking, jogging, and biking. Cardio should be done first thing in the morning, before eating--during the night, your body burns calories, but they are mainly from carbohydrates and blood sugar. In the morning, when these levels are low, your body will use the only other source it has to burn for energy--fat stores.

Strength Training

• Though strength training, which involves lifting weights to build muscle or performing abdominal exercises to tone muscles, doesn't help you lose weight, it does contribute to burning body fat. The more muscle you have, the more fat and calories you burn, both at rest and while active. Strength training should be alternated every other day, and can be done three days a week.

Increase Meal Frequency

• Think of your body as a car. It runs great when it has a full tank of gas, but as it approaches empty, it begins to spit and sputter. If it's completely empty, it either doesn't start or quits running while you're driving it. The same is true for your body. The food you put into it is the gas--the more you give it, the more energy it has, the better it runs. Eat four to five small, healthy, meals a day to receive all the benefits your body has to offer. Not only will you have more energy and fewer cravings, you will also have an increased metabolism that remains charged throughout the day, burning fat.