A surprising regulator of fat burning and metabolic improvement is free, accessible 100% of the time, and something you already do, just maybe not well.

Fat burning has a particular metabolic “coin,” so to speak, that, on one side, provides a significant ingredient to each cell needed to break down and “burn” fat. In contrast, the other side of the coin determines how much fat breakdown occurs overall.

What could it be? 

Believe it or not, breathing.

The oxygen we breathe in and the rate at which we can process it effectively provides a critical ingredient that drives the breakdown of fat.

Ever wonder where fat “go” when we lose it or burn it off? The ultimate end to fat is it is expelled from the body through our breath. 

We essentially breathe it out.

The rate at which we can get out our exhaled breath determines how much fat we burn. It is called a negative feedback mechanism.

We will not burn more fat than we can breathe out because that breath carries toxic metabolic waste.

This is yet another way that exercise, fresh air, and breathing techniques can aid our health and, ultimately, our fat-burning or weight-loss efforts.

This is why I include it in all my programs.

Here are some tips for increasing your fat-burning potential through your breathing:

1. Take multiple short, low-intensity daily walks, focusing on easy deep breathing.

2. Practice paced breathing where you take a 5-second inhalation, then a 5-second exhalation for 3-5 minutes a couple times a day.

3. Practice pre-breathing, where you start breathing deeper during the early phase of exercise before you really “need” to, and then keep it deep and steady when things get more intense.

Good ways to monitor your breathing efficiency if you are interested, but by no means are “needed”:

1. Heart rate variability monitor

2. Pulse oxygen meters

See, my friends, there are many reasons to slow down and take a deep breath. Enjoy!

We can do better!

Dr. Don