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What is fat metabolism?
The body's metabolism is the process of breaking down foods and compounds to make energy or for another bodily function. When the body is working hard such as during exercise we want to increase the chance of breaking down fat cells rather than using our glycogen (carbohydrates) for fuel to increase fat loss.

Lipolysis is the breakdown of fat from the stored fat cells - the extra fat you have stored around your body.
The enzyme sensitive lipase is essential for this breakdown to occur so making sure you get certain foods into your diet as detailed below will increase your stimulation of this enzyme.
If you are looking to boost your calorie burn or lose weight try some of these simple tips to help further break down stored fat as well as the calories you burn during exercise.
Build Muscle
Many people focus too much on the scales when they are trying to lose weight. One of the best ways to increase the calorie burn and breakdown of fat is to build more muscle. Including weights and resistance exercise into your training sessions will help increase your percentage of muscle. The more muscle you have the more calories are used to fuel them as they take a lot more energy to make them function.
Drink More Water
Water is essential for chemical reactions in particular those used in lipolysis (breakdown of fat). If you are dehydrated then the body cannot distribute enough water to increase fat metabolism because it must save it for other life sustaining reactions.
The most important glass of water is in the morning after you are extremely dehydrated during the night.
Spice Up Your Meals
Adding spices such as chilli's and peppers to your meals can boost your metabolism and help to increase your body burning fat. It has been seen that eating spicy foods can increase your metabolism by up to 8% which in turns burns more calories. Although this in itself probably wont see you lose weight but the increased metabolism actually makes you feel fuller and therefore less likely to eat more during a meal. Try adding peppers to a salad or into a hot meal like spaghetti bolognese.
See Also: The One Best Way To Increase Your Metabolism
Increase Protein Intake
This is a very simple change to your diet but can make a significant difference. Eating a higher protein diet is the same as a low carb diet because your are substituting the carbohydrate's for protein. Try making your main meals around protein rather than carb based products such as bread. The reason this helps shift fat and burn more stored fat is because it takes four times more calories to break down proteins than other foods. So this increase will help the body choose to break down stubborn stored fat to metabolise protein.
- Photo courtesy of USAG- Humphreys by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/usaghumphreys/14100236757
- Photo courtesy of Alexander Baxevanis by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/futureshape/6823153479
- www.webmd.com
- www.abcnews.go.com
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