When you think of “burning fat” you think of exercise, right? Certainly that works, but there are several other ways to get your body to use your excess fat as fuel that don’t include sweating at the gym. Here are twelve of them:

#1 - Eat Breakfast

No doubt you’ve heard this one before, but it is so important to fat burning that it is worth repeating. If you want to stoke your internal metabolic fire, you have to give it fuel. Eating breakfast gets your body out of the calorie saving mode that it has been in all night and kicks it into overdrive. The alternative to having fuel in the morning is for your body to slow down and conserve (store fat), which is the opposite of burning and losing.

#2 - Think Natural

This is one area where many people fail in regard to weight loss. However, if you want to get rid of your excess fat, you need to eliminate processed foods from your diet. There are several different programs available to assist you with incorporating that into your lifestyle, such as the HCG Diet. After just 10 weeks, and up to 40 pounds lost each round, you will know exactly what your body needs to maintain a healthy weight – and you’ll be excited to do it!

#3 - Reduce Your Portion Sizes

Eat too much and your body will hold on to the excess calories, storing them as fat, because it’s too much to burn and eliminate. Therefore, you want to reduce your portion sizes so that you’re not feeding yourself more than you need.

#4 - Eat Often

The more often you eat, the longer you keep your body in fat burning mode. Also, eating 200-300 calories every 3-4 hours helps keep hunger at bay and reduces cravings.

#5 - Keep a Journal

Write down things such as whether or not you were physically hungry when you ate or whether the foods you chose satisfied you. Look for patterns that may indicate where your problem points are so that you know what to correct for maximum fat burn. Every person who has ever kept a log of what he or she ate every day was shocked at how the calories added up. Be accountable.

#6 - Stay Hydrated

In order for your body to burn fat at efficiently as possible, it has to be hydrated so it is functioning at optimal levels. Not only that, but hunger cues are very similar to thirst cues and you might just mistake your need for water as a need for food. The general rule is to drink half your body weight in ounces of water, up to 100 ounces per day.

#7 - Take a Supplement

If your body is having a difficult time going into fat burning mode on its own and you need a jumpstart, a good quality weight loss supplement will often do the trick. Choose one with all natural ingredients so that your fat loss is safe, as well as effective. Don’t waste your money on low-dose, high-hype products. Take Ultimate Lean Body, especially if you need more sustained energy, or Green Coffee Bean Extract with 800 mg of chlorogenic acid.

#8 - Increase Your Everyday Activity

You don’t have to participate in an actual workout to get fat burning benefits, as simply adding more steps in your day is enough to get your body to release its fat stores. Park further from the door at work or take the stairs instead of the elevator. It all adds up.

#9 - De-Stress

When you’re constantly stressed, your body produces cortisol which is a hormone that promotes fat retention for protection. Find ways to let go of things you cannot change and don’t sweat the small stuff if you want to get your body to go into fat burning mode. Ask yourself how important something is in the whole scheme of things – usually it’s not at all worthy of your stress!

#10 - Get Adequate Sleep

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t have the energy necessary to burn fat at maximum rates. Aim for 7-9 hours every night and you’ll literally dream off the weight.

Don’t give up on burning fat if you don’t like to exercise. These are just a few ways to help you reduce your clothing size that don’t involve heading to the gym. Use them and you will see your weight come down!