- Introduction
- How does fat burning work?
- Where do women tend to store fat?
- What is the best fat burner for women?
Introduction
Given that women are designed to carry more body fat than men, it is only natural that you want to know the best ways to keep these fat levels healthy. So what can you do? What steps can you take?
In this article, we aim to explore the idea of whether there is such a thing as a ‘best fat burner for women’ as well as equip you with natural tips for controlling your fat loss.
How does fat burning work?
There is one thing you need to know before we delve into the science of how fat burning works.
You see, whilst women may accumulate and store fat in different places to men, when it comes to burning it off – men and women burn fat in the EXACT same way. The same foods. The same diet. There is no difference. Which is great news if you and your partner plan to embark on a fat loss plan together, as you can use the same techniques.
So how does fat burning work?
The main thing you need to know is that fat is our bodies preferred fuel source. Why? Because it is basically stored energy that our bodies convert and release into our bloodstream to fuel our muscles and tissues. In fact, 75-80% of our energy is supplied by fat, with glucose working at the same time to supplement the rest (but in smaller quantities).
Now fat is typically stored in fat cells (adipocytes) which expand in number and size as excess energy accumulates in your body (thanks to high calorie foods). As they grow in number, these fat cells end up being deposited onto your muscles, liver and other organs.
When it comes to sourcing energy, our bodies turn to this stored fat first – even whilst you’re resting and sleep – and convert it using a series of metabolic processes into free fatty acids (energy). This energy is then transported to the appropriate areas whilst your fat cells are left to shrink and die.
The exact Science:
It takes two things to trigger fat burn: a calorie deficit and regular physical exercise. This encourages your body to harness the stored energy in your fat cells to help fuel this movement, whilst preventing the accumulation of any excess energy.
Instead, your brain tells your fat cells to release this energy into your blood so that it can be picked up by your muscles, lungs and heart, and then broken down. It is actually the breaking of this molecules bonds which triggers the release of energy to keep you functioning. Any excess energy is discarded in respiration and urine, whilst your empty fat cells get absorbed back into your body. NOTE: once fat cells are empty/die they are not replaced – ever!
And this is the goal – to empty these fat cells (and prevent them being replaced) because eventually your body will be forced to extract energy directly from the foods you eat, instead of storing energy in new fat cells. With time, this will lead to an improved metabolism, better health and falls in inflammation.
Where do women tend to store fat?
Remember how we mentioned earlier that women are genetically engineered to carry more fat than men – due to feeding growing foetuses? Well, if you’re healthy and active then you should expect to have 18-20% body fat – 3-10% more than men.
Now alongside storing more fat than men, it also accumulates in different places. In women, you will tend to find more body fat around your lower abdomen, hips, thighs and bum, as again this is meant to make you better equipped for feeding babies during pregnancy and whilst you’re nursing.
In a study of over 360,000 people, when measurements were taken of their bodies, researchers noted:
- Men – had 28% of their body fat in their legs and hips, and 62.2% in their abdomen
- Women – had 39.7% of their body fat in their legs and hips, and 50% in their abdomen
In addition, women tend to have more subcutaneous fat than visceral fat. Not only does this insulate your muscles, but it also helps to create our infamous curves.
The science:
This difference in fat distribution has been linked to our genes. Researchers claim that of our fat genes, there are 37 which are only active in women and where men do have one of these genes (which would shuttle fat away from their middle), it isn’t always actively working to redistribute these fat cells around their body (in the same way it does in women).
What is the best fat burner for women?
Honestly, the best and most efficient way to burn fat is through a calorie controlled diet (calorie deficit) and regular exercise. Sure, you could incorporate the best fat burner supplement for women into your plan. But diet and exercise should form the foundation of your fat loss, as without them even the best natural fat burner for women can only do so much.
For this reason, we recommend harnessing the following advice on food and exercise before you explore fat burners:
Diet
When it comes to losing weight – even fat – the most efficient way to do it is to create a negative energy balance i.e. less energy coming in than going out, as this forces your body to used stored fat to fulfil this energy need.
By simply lowering your calorie intake, but increasing your exercise levels, you can begin to see a positive impact on your weight and the amount of body fat you’re retaining.
Now, you could simply take a risk and follow the recommended norm of eating only 1200-1500 calories a day. However, for optimum results you also need to take into account your height, current weight, physical activity and your food choices. Each of these can impact on your rate of fat loss, so it is important that you get it right.
That being said, each of the following food options can help you to stay on track and potentially stimulate fat burn:
Fatty fish
Rich in omega-3 fatty acids; salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel and other oily fish can all help to reduce inflammation and risk of heart disease. At the same time it has been linked to body fat losses. During one 6 week study, participants given fish oil supplements, lost 1.1lbs of fat and saw drops in cortisol (a hormone well known for triggering fat storage).
Another bonus to fish is their high protein content, which can help you to feel fuller for longer and boost your metabolic rate (significantly higher than digesting fats and carbs).
Tip: to boost fat loss, eat a min. of 100g of fatty fish at least twice a week.
Coffee
Probably one of the most common ingredients in best fat burner pills for women; caffeine can enhance your mood, improve your mental and physical performance, and can help you to burn more fat (by up to 29%). When taken an hour before exercise, participants in one study burned nearly twice as much fat as the non-caffeinate group and exercised for 17% longer. Similarly, research has found that:
- It can raise your metabolism by 3-13% (depending on how much you have).
- It can increase calorie burn. During a study on lean adults, when they drank 100mg of caffeine every 2 hours for 12 hours, they burned 150 calories more (on average), whilst obese participants burned 79 calories extra.
TIP: To guarantee fat burning results – with no possible side effects – aim to have 100mg of caffeine a day (1-4 cups).
Eggs
Considered a powerhouse for weight loss, including them in your breakfast can help to reduce hunger and make you feel fuller for longer. In fact, during an 8 week study, participants given 3 eggs for breakfast, ate 400 calories less a day and experienced a 16% greater reduction in body fat. In addition, as it is a great source of protein, it can also help to raise your metabolism by 20-35% for several hours after you’ve finished eating.
Coconut oil
Renowned for increasing good cholesterol levels and lowering triglycerides; 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day can help you to lose an inch off your waist without the need to make changes to your diet or exercise levels. This oil is also great for suppressing your appetite and is believed to have fat burning properties.
Green tea
Another popular and well known fat burner, green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate, an antioxidant that encourages fat burn and the loss of belly fat. In one study it increased fat burn by 17%.
TIP: drink 4 cups a day.
Whey protein
This natural appetite suppressant stimulates the release of fullness hormones PYY and GLP-1, whilst also boosting fat burn. The easiest way to make use of it in your diet is to take it as part of a protein drink/shake.
Apple cider vinegar
With links to appetite suppression and reduced blood sugar levels; the presence of acetic acid in this vinegar means you can also benefit from increased fat burn and a reduction in belly fat storage (according to some animal studies). In one study on 144 obese men, when they were given 2 tablespoons of this vinegar every day for 12 weeks, they lost 3.7lbs and saw a 0.9% reduction in body fat.
TIP: add 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to water and drink once a day. With time increase to 1-2 tablespoons per day.
Full-fat Greek yogurt
A great source of protein, potassium and calcium; studies have found that it can boost fat loss, reduce your appetite, protect your muscles (during weight loss) and help you to feel fuller for longer. This is thanks to presence of conjugated linoleic acid which is renowned for encouraging weight and fat loss.
Now these are just some foods you can add to your diet. You can also try reducing the amount of refined carbs you have, and boosting your fiber and protein intake.
Alternatively, you can attempt any of the following dietary plans, which incorporate many of the foods we’ve just listed:
The Ketogenic diet
Designed to restrict carbs and produce ketone bodies (for fuel), this diet encourages you to have high fat foods; little to no carbs, and a moderate amount of protein e.g. meat, fish, eggs, dairy, coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, nuts, seeds, leafy green veg. (kale, spinach, etc.), avocado and berries.
The Dukan
This diet is basically a low carb/fat diet that revolves around 4 phases that are designed to torch fat: 1) The Attack phase (eliminates all carbs and consists of 68 foods that are nothing but protein e.g. eggs, meat, fish and fat free dairy), 2), 3) and 4) allow you to reintroduce veg and other forbidden foods.
The Mediterranean Diet
Possibly one of the best known diets around, it is rich in protein, complex carbs, fiber and healthy fats that don’t require any calorie counting or portion control. Combined, they can help you to lose weight and shed fat. Food choices include: fish, seafood, poultry, grains, nuts, seeds, veg and olive oil.
These diets are just the tip of the iceberg. For more fat burning food suggestions, check out our article here. After all, men and women burn fat the same way, so why not take advantage of some of their food suggestions?
Exercise
No fat loss plan is complete without a strong workout regime to ramp up your calorie burn. Luckily, there are a number of exercises you can try that can support your fat burn endeavours:
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HITT (High intensity interval training) – these exercises focus on getting you to do highly intensive activities (with little rest in-between) to help boost your metabolism, fat burn and lean muscle mass. You can mix it up by doing any of the following workouts:
- – 45 minutes of HITT cardio and abs with interval cardio training and core
- – Bum and abs tabata workout
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HITT and strength training combined – this combo may leave you with sore muscles, but it is a great way to elevate your fat loss.
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Full body strength training – the idea here is to challenge yourself with the amount of weight you can lift. The stronger you become, the more muscle you build and the more fuel (fat) you’ll need to lift these weights. It can also raise your metabolism and help you to stay lean.
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Burpees – these will tone up your core, upper body and legs all at once.
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Jumping lunges – these are great for toning your thighs as you need to jump between lunges. This leads to a higher calorie and fat burn.
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Jack-knife crunches – this advanced abdominal move forces you to engage both your upper and lower abs to maximize toning.
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Lateral jumps – these are good for toning your core, glutes and thighs (great for us ladies) and thanks to engaging all of your large muscle groups will encourage higher calorie burn.
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Mountain climbers – great for providing overall toning; mountain climbers are notorious for boosting fat burn.
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Split squat jumps – designed to engage every muscle in your body, the more muscle you develop, the more fat you will burn.
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Broad jumps – this exercise will keep your heart rate up as it makes you use every muscle in your body. Done right it can help you to burn calories fast.
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Plank with dumbbell row – ideal for strengthening your deepest abdominal muscles – ensuring you’ve got a flat stomach – this exercise will help to develop your strength and definition in your upper back, shoulders and biceps and triceps.
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Jump rope – a great form of cardio, aim to do this for 1 minute at a time.
- Sprints – perfect for improving your athletic performance; sprints can help to keep your entire body strong and lean as it elevates your metabolism and calorie burn.
For more ideas on how to ramp up your fat burn during exercise, check out our article here.
Supplements: what is the best fat burner for women?
Scour the web and you’ll quickly find a whole host of fat burners claiming to be the solution to your fat loss problems. But out of all these pills, which are the real deal? Which can really claim to be the best belly fat burner for women?
Well, the first thing you need to realise is that fat burners are purely an assistive tool. On their own, they – the clinically proven ones – can encourage some fat loss. However, their promising results only get to shine through when these fat burner supplements are taken alongside good food choices and regular exercise. Incorporate these into your fat loss regime and you will soon see why some of the best fat burners for women have earned their title.
They use this lower calorie intake and workout regime to harness the energy used in fat cells to fuel your muscle, bodily functions and stamina.
So basically, if you genuinely want to succeed, then you need to accept that fat burners are not miracle workers, but are designed to solely nudge your fat loss in the right direction.
Take PhenQ. This best natural fat burner for women is formulated from a range of holistic ingredients that can support total body fat loss. By raising your internal body temp (through thermogenesis), this causes more energy to be expended from your fat cells, leading to increased fat loss, calorie burn and metabolism, as well as reductions in fat production, appetite suppression and elevated energy levels.
And PhenQ is not the only pill that can support your fat loss journey. There are many others who similarly use plant extracts, vitamins and minerals to stimulate fat burn. In fact, they quite often harness the same fat burning ingredients such as green tea extract glucomannan, caffeine, garcinia cambogia, cayenne pepper, black pepper extract and l-carnitine furmarate.
Other best fat burner pills for women – as well as PhenQ – include LeanBean, Instant Knockout, Alli, Raspberry Ketones and Transparent Labs
Conclusion
So is there such as thing as: ‘the best fat burner for women?’ We’d like to say yes. In truth, there are many that can effectively support your fat loss.
You just need to remember the following two things:
- 1) men and women lose body fat in the EXACT same way. This means exercises, dietary recommendations and supplements recommended for men are just as likely to be effective on women.
- 2) Fat burners are purely assistive tools. They can’t produce fat loss on their own. Only by combining the likes of PhenQ with regular exercise and a healthy diet, can you truly experience lasting fat burn.
Do that and you CAN achieve the results you want – greater fat loss across your entire body.
Learn more about PhenQ here.
Related: Glucomannan Weight Loss Supplement - Benefits and Side Effects