I have made many mistakes in the past concerning my fat loss. But after all this time, I have certainly learned one thing: It isn’t about how many calories you burn during a particular workout, it’s about how many calories you’ve burnt at the end of the day, week, month, and year on a consistent basis. The only way to consistently burn more calories than you take in over a long period of time is to boost your metabolic rate. Greater caloric needs means that you will not need to drop any calories in order to burn more fat. Here are three methods to boost your metabolic rate:

1. Strength Train

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Building lean muscle mass does not directly effect fat loss, but it will be your long-term arsenal in your journey. Develop a base level of strength, mass, and general fitness before moving onto the next stage.

The fastest way to build mass is to use large, compound movements to hit the most muscle groups in one session, and as often as possible. Here is a sample program:

Day One: Push
Front Squat
Bench Press
Push Press

Day Two: Pull
Dead lift
Bent-Over Row
Power Clean

Perform 3-5 sets of 5-8 repetitions of each exercise. Each workouts should be performed on non-consecutive days. For example, you can train 2 days a week on a Monday/Thursday schedule, or 3 days a week on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

2. Perform Metabolic Conditioning

Metabolic Conditioning is a type of exercise which adequately taxes both your musculature and cardiovascular systems. In other words, you can build lean muscle mass, and burn fat at the same time. But more importantly, you’ll raise your heart rate up to 75% of it’s max, telling your body that your caloric needs have suddenly just gone up. This short boost will increase your overall resting metabolic rate.

The majority of the workouts written on this website are metabolic conditioning in nature. The idea is to combine body weight, strength bearing, and cardiovascular exercises into various different types of circuits. You can visit Crossfit.com or browse through YouTube videos for motivation and ideas for workouts. Many of the workouts on this website are metabolic in nature. Here are a few articles to take a glance at:

3 Advanced Workouts Using the Basics
10-20-10-20: Short, Intense, and Satisfying
Three Intense Bodyweight Workouts for Females

3. Eat More!

That’s right, I’m telling you to eat more while on your fat loss plan. I have talked about cutting calories to lose fat, but that’s more for people who need to lose large amounts of fat and are consuming three to four thousand calories without physical exercise. If you’re in the 2000 caloric range and have been consistently exercising for a few months, then chances are you need more food, not less.

You do not need to increase your caloric intake as dramatically as someone who wishes to put on muscles mass. Shoot for an increase of 500 calories over 4 weeks.

Putting it All Together.

I have made the mistake of performing only metabolic conditioning or only heavy strength training at one time. The truth is you need both in a training program. You can alternate between the two training methods three, four, or five days per week. When creating your training schedule, make sure that you are recovering properly from all your workouts. Remember that proper recovery comes from rest and food!

What are some other methods of fat loss that have worked for you?

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