You get your energy from fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

Which one your body draws from depends on the kind of activity you’re doing. Most people want to use fat for energy, which makes sense. You figure that the more fat you can use as fuel, the less fat you will have in your body. But, using more fat doesn’t automatically lead to losing more fat.

Understanding the best way to burn fat starts with some basic facts about how your body gets its energy:

• The body primarily uses fat and carbohydrates for fuel. A small amount of protein is used during exercise, but it’s mainly used to repair the muscles after exercise.
• The ratio of these fuels will shift depending on the activity you’re doing.
• For long, slower exercise, fat is used more for energy than carbs.
• When it comes to weight loss, it doesn’t matter what type of fuel you use. What matters is how many calories you burn as opposed to how many calories you take in.

This is a very simplified look at energy with a solid take-home message. When it comes to weight loss, what matters is burning more calories, not necessarily using more fat for energy.

The harder you work, the more calories you’ll burn overall. Think about it this way—when you sit or sleep, you’re in your prime fat-burning mode. But, you’ve probably never contemplated the idea of sleeping more to lose weight, as lovely as that thought is.

The bottom line is that just because you’re using more fat as energy doesn’t mean you’re burning more calories.