Thread by @Gharsanayyy

Everyone thinks burning fat is diet less and exercise more.

But this is a lie.

You can’t lose belly fat if your hormones are chronically elevated.

Here's how to burn fat correctly (according to science): 🧵

https://twitter.com/947929847149580289/status/1950001450723266620

You are born with a set number of fat cells.

You can increase fat cell number (hyperplasia).

With obesity:
• Fat cells expand to store more triglycerides

When you lose fat:
• Fat cells shrink, but they don't disappear

This is why long-term fat maintenance gets harder.

When you eat more energy than you burn, the excess is stored as triglycerides in fat cells.

Hormones drive fat storage and lock fat in your cells:
• Insulin
• Estrogen
• Cortisol (chronic stress)

The key is to control the hormones, not only calories.

When fat cells shrink:

• They fight back and release hunger signals
• Appetite rises (ghrelin ↑, leptin resistance)
• Risk of fat regain increases

This is why fat loss must correct hormones + maintain fat oxidation.

It's not about creating a calorie deficit.

Burning calories is not the same as burning fat.

Burning calories happens when you use any form of energy: Carbs, fat, or protein.

You can burn 1,000 calories and barely touch fat stores if insulin is high or fat oxidation is blocked.

This is how fat burning actually works:

1. Lipolysis → release of fatty acids from fat cells triggered by low insulin

2. Fatty acid transport → bound to albumin, moved in blood

3. Fat oxidation → fatty acids enter mitochondria → oxidized to ATP + CO2 + water

Fat loss means optimizing for:

1. Fat mobilization → low insulin, high catecholamines
2. Fat transport → active blood flow
3. Mitochondrial fat oxidation → ATP + CO2 + water

You burn fat best when insulin is low and mitochondria are active.

Fix #1: You burn the most fat when you're not doing anything.

In metabolically healthy adults, 60–70% of resting energy comes from fat oxidation.

This is why sleep, stress, and hormones matter so much.

They impair baseline fat burning.

Fix #2: Walking is better for fat loss than most people think.

Try this:
• Heart rate: 60–70% of your max
• Duration: 45–60 minutes
• Frequency: 4–6 times/week

At lower heart rates, your body uses fat for fuel.
Go too hard, and it switches to carbs.

Fix #3: Fasting or low-carb intake

Insulin controls your body’s fat storage signal.

When it’s high, fat stays trapped.
When it’s low, fat gets released and burned.

Frequent snacks, carbs, and stress all spike insulin.

Fasting and low-carb diets lower insulin levels.

Fat burn blockers:

• Chronically high insulin (frequent snacking, excess carbs)
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
• Inflammation
• Sedentary behavior
• Sleep deprivation
• Low L-carnitine → impaired fat transport

Fat loss stack with real science behind it:

• Green tea extract boosts fat oxidation and increases energy expenditure
(via catechins and caffeine)
• L-carnitine shuttles fat into mitochondria, so it actually gets burned
(especially during exercise).

Backed by research.

Fat burning myths:

• You burn fat during a workout only → You burn fat 24/7, mostly at rest.
• “Calories in, calories out”→ Hormones decide where those calories go.
• More exercise = more fat loss → Diet drives the real results.
• Spot reduction → no such thing.

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

Follow me @Gharsanayyy for more.

Like/Repost the quote below if you can:

https://twitter.com/947929847149580289/status/1950843939751358845