How To Quickly Become A Fat Burning Machine Using Lumen
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On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m showing you how to quickly become a fat burning machine and scientifically measure your metabolism.
One of the best ways to achieve a healthy lifestyle, and more importantly, sustain it forever, is learning how to turn your body into a fat burning machine.
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Back in 2013, I shared a video about how to turn on your body’s switch to become a fat burning machine.
In that video, I talked about the role processed carbohydrates have on insulin, and how sugar can be:
- burned as immediate energy
- stored as short-term energy in the form of glycogen
- stored as fat in the fat cells
To demonstrate how sugar can be stored as body fat, I shared a visual example of the spill over effect.
The cup symbolizes what your glycogen capacity is, and the water symbolizes sugar being stored as glycogen.
Once the glycogen levels reach their capacity, the sugar spills over and is stored as fat in your body.
Hopefully that gave you a quick understanding of how your body processes carbohydrates as either energy or stored fat.
Too quickly become a fat burning machine, it’s important for you to know if your body is primarily efficient at burning stored body fat or carbohydrates.
So in today’s post, I want to share one of my top hacks on how to know instantly, if my body is actually burning carbohydrates or stored fat for energy.
When your carbohydrate and glycogen stores are depleted, you’ll be primarily using stored body fat as fuel.
But the question is, how do you know if your carbohydrate stores are depleted?
How To Scientifically Know If You’re In Fat Burning Mode
This is where Lumen comes in.
Lumen is a metabolic tracking device and app that measures your metabolism in real-time, with just your breath.
I’ve been getting a lot of questions from the Live Lean Nation about Lumen, so I reached out to them and asked if we could partner on this post for you guys.
Based on my experience to date, I’ve been really enjoying the nutrition data gathered from my Lumen.
This means you can now take a measurable and data driven approach to your nutrition, by using real-time metabolic data and metrics about your daily nutrition decisions.
By doing this, it will give you the game plan to improve your metabolism, by improving your body’s metabolic flexibility, and ultimately turning you into a fat burning machine.
What Is Your Metabolism And Metabolic Flexibility?
Your metabolism can be described as your body’s process of converting the food you consume, into immediate or short-term energy.
Further to this, metabolic flexibility is improving your body’s ability to efficiently shift between burning carbohydrates and burning stored body fat as your energy source.
So why is this important?
Having high metabolic flexibility leads to:
- improved health
- easier fat loss and weight maintenance
- increased lean muscle
- better sleep
- optimized workout performance
- a stronger immune system
- balanced glucose levels
- increased energy
How Does Lumen Measure Your Metabolism?
Let me explain the science of how Lumen measures your metabolism, in a quick and simplified way.
When you breath into the handheld Lumen device, it measures your body’s CO2 concentration.
Based on your CO2 levels, Lumen’s scientific backed algorithm indicates on a scale of 1 to 5, what combination of carbohydrates or fat, your body is burning for fuel.
You’ll then receive your results inside the Lumen app within seconds.
Based on those results, Lumen then provides you with a personalized nutrition plan of what to eat and when to eat, to optimize your workout performance, based on your metabolism and goals.
It’s like having your own personal nutrition coach in your pocket.
Now that you know how to see if you’re primarily burning stored body fat for energy, let me know show you how I’ve been using my Lumen throughout the day.
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How I Use The Lumen Throughout The Day
Morning Measurement
Once I wake up in the morning, one of the first things I do to start my day is take my morning check in breath measurement.
I do this before eating or working out, as this breath measurement, in addition to the previous day’s data, is used by the Lumen app to create my nutrition plan for the day, based on how my metabolism is functioning.
Think of this morning measurement as the starting point for a healthy day.
Once you turn on your Lumen, it’s now game time.
To take a breath measurement, all you have to do is:
- inhale into the Lumen until the circle turns green
- then hold your breath for 10 seconds
- once the 10 seconds is up, breathe out while keeping the little ball within the gray area for the indicated time
Based on other people’s Lumen reviews, some people have said that they have a hard time learning the breathing technique.
However, for me it was very simple and straightforward, and wasn’t an issue.
There are also tutorials in the Lumen app to learn how to do it properly.
Based on this morning breath measurement, and the goals you set in the app, the Lumen will give you nutrition plan with today’s recommendation of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
You can also use their recipes and food database found inside the Lumen app, for meal ideas that are in alignment with your nutrition plan.
Typically my goal is to be in a 1 or 2 level which indicates my body shifted to fat burning overnight.
This is a good sign of developing a flexible metabolism, which is tracked based on your Lumen FlexScore.
However, if yesterday was a higher carbohydrate day, or cheat night, my Lumen will probably show I’m still burning carbohydrates.
Based on this, Lumen will automatically change my nutrition plan, to follow a lower carbohydrate approach for the day.
Pre-workout Measurement
I also like to take a breath measurement before my workout.
This helps me see what my body is using for energy, and whether it is ready for a workout, or if I need a pre-workout meal or snack to help optimize my energy for my upcoming workout.
Post-workout Measurement
Then 30 minutes after my workout, I like to take another breath measurement to see how my workout affected my metabolism, and see if my body shifted from burning carbohydrates to fat burning after the workout.
Before And After Meals Measurement
Lumen also recommends you take a breath measurement before eating as a check in.
Then you can also wait 1-2 hours after eating to take another breath measurement to see a shift.
Before Bed Measurement
Lastly, you can take a before bed breath to see how today’s nutrition and workout choices affected your metabolism.
If all these check-ins seem overwhelming, don’t worry.
The number of breath measurements you take really depends on you.
If you’re a data nerd, do more breath measurements.
However, if you find this overwhelming, simply start by focusing on the morning breath and before bed breath, then build in more breath measurements once you get more comfortable with the data.
4 Tips To Get You Into The Fat Burning Zone
Now that you know how to scientifically see if you’re primarily burning stored fat for energy, let me briefly share 4 tips to quickly get into the fat burning zone.
Let’s get into the first tip.
Tip #1: Intermittent Fasting
One way to quickly become a fat burning machine is to follow a 16/8 intermittent fasting approach.
Even though the 16/8 approach works for me, your ideal fasting window is unique to you.
Fortunately, you can use the lumen to find your perfect fasting window for you, that is not too stressful on your body.
The 16/8 intermittent fasting approach simply means following a limited feeding window of 8 hours, with a larger fasting window of 16 hours.
Here’s a typical example of 16/8 intermittent fasting:
- The fasting period, when you do not eat or drink any calories, would be between 8pm-12am
- The feeding period, when you eat and drink your calories, would be between 12pm-8pm
Following this intermittent fasting approach has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and keep your body in the fat burning zone for longer periods of time.
Tip #2: Carb Cycling
If you haven’t yet heard about the benefits of carb cycling, it’s a simple nutrition protocol that fluctuates your daily carbohydrate consumption.
This fluctuation can help improve metabolic flexibility and fat loss, while still eating sufficient amounts of carbohydrates.
A typical carb cycling approach breaks down the days of week into:
- Low carbohydrate days (50 grams or less per day)
- Medium carbohydrate days (50-100 grams per day)
- High carbohydrate days (100-150 grams per day)
Using your Lumen takes away all the guesswork with carb cycling, as it provides you with carbohydrate recommendations every day, based on your goals and metabolism.
Tip #3: Resistance Training And HIIT Workouts
Following a strategic and structured workout program combining resistance training and HIIT workouts is key to becoming a fat burning machine.
This is because your workouts help burn carbohydrates and decrease your glycogen levels.
Both HIIT and resistance training are great for building a flexible metabolism.
For many people, carbohydrates are a great energy source to build muscle and get stronger.
So when your workout program schedules you for a resistance training workout, from a strength perspective, it may help to be in a carbohydrate burning zone.
If you’re unsure if you’re in a carbohydrate burning zone, simply take a pre-workout breath to see if you need to carb up.
When my workout program schedules me for a HIIT cardio workout, from a fat loss perspective, it may help to be closer to a fat burning zone.
Since your glycogen and carbohydrate stores are already low, you’ll be primarily burning stored body fat for energy, during your workout.
This is why a lot of people prefer to do HIIT workouts fasted and on an empty stomach, early in the morning.
Tip #4: Use Lumen
If you’re into measurable data and need accountability and structure, then yes, the Lumen device and app is a great tool to help you reach your fitness and fat loss goals.
If you’re interested in trying Lumen, use this link as the first 100 people who use discount code: LLTV40 will get $40 off.
Paid promotion.
That’s it Live Lean Nation.
Let’s make this your year to become a fat burning machine.
As always, I’m here to help.
So let me know if you have any questions in the comment section below.
I appreciate you very much.
Thanks for watching and keep Living Lean.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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