You’ve tried everything from those fad diets to unending crunches but still aren’t able
to reach your lean-belly goals?
Sadly, the fat around your tummy is the easiest to gain and the toughest to lose.
It is known as visceral fat, and although some is needed to cushion your organs, too
much of it can pose a major risk to your health.
There’s no magic formula for trimming your midsection.
You can lose belly fat and keep it off for good by staying committed to your goals and
following a few tips we’ll give you in today’s video.
From maintaining a healthy diet, sleeping well, cutting down on sugar, increasing your
protein intake to exercising regularly and many more.
Keep watching till the end to hear about them all!
Get Enough Sleep: If you often work late at night, you might want to reconsider.
Losing sleep can make you hungrier!
When your biorhythms are off, you end up eating more.
When you're tired you produce more ghrelin, which triggers cravings for sugar and other
fat-building foods.
Losing sleep can also alter hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause
insulin sensitivity, prime reasons for belly fat!
Getting about 7 hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your
body shaping goals.
Increase Your Protein Intake: You don’t have to hop on the Paleo train, but increasing
your intake of protein and reducing your carbs is one of the fastest ways to lose belly fat
without additional exercise.
Protein’s function in your body is to build and maintain muscle mass and the more muscle
your body has, the more fat it’s able to burn off.
So by increasing protein and decreasing carbohydrates, body fat is used as fuel.
Protein also helps to balance blood sugar and lower levels of insulin, a hormone that
signals your body to store fat, especially around your midsection.
For healthier carb alternatives, skip the white bread and pasta in favor of whole-grain
complex carbs, seasonal fruits, root vegetables, and squashes.
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Drink Green Tea Daily: Thanks to its waist-trimming compounds called catechins, green tea is the
perfect detox drink to help in losing belly fat.
Catechins speed up your metabolism and aid your liver in burning fat.
Consider swapping out your regular coffee for green tea for best results.
Studies have shown four to five cups of the tea is what’s needed to see the fat burning
benefits.
Also, beware of store-bought bottles of green tea that often contain extra sugar, which
can override any health benefits.
For maximum results, it’s best if you brew your own and ditch the sugar altogether, or
replace it with a natural sweetener like stevia that won’t spike your blood sugar.
Cut Out Sugar Completely: Eating sugar, especially refined sugars that are added in food and
beverages, is a leading contributing factor to visceral fat.
The glucose and fructose that come from sugar are simple carbohydrates that get quickly
absorbed into your bloodstream and are metabolized to release energy.
When there’s excess intake, they get converted to glycogen to be stored in fat tissue.
Cutting out sugar is perhaps one of the best things you can do today to lose belly fat
fast.
When you get a sugar craving, try eating fresh fruit next time.
Create A Caloric Deficit Diet: Creating a caloric deficit means cutting your calories
below your resting metabolic rate or RMR.
This is the amount of calories your body needs at rest.
For example, you could have an RMR of 1800 calories a day, so if you eat 1700 calories
a day, your body will dip into its fat reserve and burn 100 calories to maintain RMR.
After only a few days of maintaining a caloric deficit, you will start to see an improvement
in your waistline.
Keep this up over several weeks and you will notice the pounds disappearing.
Some of the best low calorie foods are Plain Greek Yogurt, Green Beans, Celery, Carrots,
Cucumbers Broccoli, Turkey Breast and Lentils.
Just remember to also factor in the calories you burn each day by exercising.
For example, you may eat 1700 calories, but burn an additional 500 by exercising – so
now you are down to 1200 calories.
Every individual has different caloric needs, so make sure you don’t cut your calories
too low.
Avoid Alcohol: Small amounts of alcohol can result in health benefits, but excessive consumption
can result in harmful effects.
According to research, too much alcohol can lead to belly fat.
Observational studies have shown that high use of alcohol can lead to a significant risk
of central obesity which means excess storage of fat around the waist.
Reducing alcohol intake can help you lose belly fat.
You don’t need to eliminate alcohol altogether, but limiting the amount consumed per day can
be very helpful.
Perform Resistance Training: Everyone knows that regular exercise is necessary in order
to lose weight; however not everyone knows that resistance training is one of the best
ways to do so.
Resistance training, also known as weight lifting or strength training, is important
for improving and maintaining muscle mass.
It also helps to spike your metabolism, which means your body burns fat even after you've
left the gym.
However, it's worth saying that the best possible training plan probably combines a variety
of exercises.
One study proved that a combination of weight training and aerobic exercise was the most
beneficial – which means that barbell curls alone aren't the answer.
Eat More Healthy Fats: Many weight-conscious dieters make the blunder of skimping on fats
to speed up weight loss.
The truth is, you need fats as much as you need carbs and proteins in your diet.
But here is a little caveat.
Not all fats are created equal in how they affect your belly fat and overall health.
Some are absolutely bad like trans fats whereas others like monounsaturated fats are essential
to a nutritious diet.
Healthy fats can increase your satiety levels, improve fat burning, increase metabolism and
regulate blood sugar levels.
Research has shown that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats is more effective at regulating blood
sugar levels than a high-carb diet.
Another study revealed that long-chain omega-3 fats or the good fats can help control hunger.
This research found that when subjects switched to a 1,600-calorie monounsaturated fats rich
diet, they shed a third of their belly fat in just a month.
Some foods rich in healthy fats are Olives and olive oil, Canola oil, Seeds, Peanuts,
Cashews, Almonds, Peanut butter, Avocados and Sesame seeds.
Drink More Water: Dehydration can cause more than just headaches.
It can lead to weight gain as well.
If you don’t drink enough water, your body will hold onto water and it can cause water
weight on your body, which looks the same as fat and causes bloating.
Try to drink at least 2 liters of water a day so your body can constantly flush out
toxins and stay hydrated.
Avoid Stress: When humans get stressed, our bodies create a hormone called Cortisol.
It’s essential for survival because it helps your body to mount a stress response.
Unfortunately, it can cause weight gain when produced in excess, especially in the abdominal
region.
This goes for both men and women, but women tend to hold onto more stress and therefore
it affects weight loss more negatively.
Some stress relieving activities that can help you reduce belly fat are taking a hot
bath, starting a new book, doing yoga, meditation or even writing in a journal.
Avoid Unhealthy Foods: If you want to burn belly fat, there are certain types of foods
you should be avoiding.
Processed Food First off, all that processed food will only
pack on belly fat and make you unhealthy.
Try to remove all the prepackaged, preservative filled junk from your diet and replace it
with whole foods that will help you lose belly fat.
Carbohydrates Not all carbohydrates are bad, but try to
cut how many carbs you eat by half.
Refined carbs are the worst offenders and these include white bread, pasta and flour.
So try swapping for all natural whole wheat versions.
Instead of having a whole sandwich at lunch have a half a sandwich and salad.
Small changes will show big results in losing belly fat.
Unhealthy Fats We are talking about the fried foods, heavy
buttery dishes and unhealthy cuts of meat like bacon.
You don’t really need us to tell you why these are packing on the belly fat do you?
Try to swap out fried for baked, use olive oil or coconut oil when cooking and opt for
lean protein that will actually help you take off the excess fat.
Do Cardio Everyday: Okay, you’re probably thinking, how does moving your legs shrink
those love handles?
Well, the truth is there’s no way to target belly fat.
Your genetics get to decide where the fat settles in your body, so the best thing to
do is start moving.
As you exercise, calories are burned and your body fat percentage goes down.
So, exercising not only helps you lose belly fat, it also sheds fat from other areas.
Running and walking are two of the best fat-burning exercises.
Plus, the only equipment you need is a good pair of shoes.
Between the two, running burns more calories, but walking really isn’t too far behind.
Running and walking can be part of your interval training routine and do not forget to warm
up and cool down if you take up running for weight loss.
Eat a High Fiber Diet: Foods that are high in refined carbs and sugar don’t actually
tame your hunger, so you end up reaching for more.
Instead, eat more fibrous foods like whole grain breads, oats, vegetables, fruits, beans,
legumes, and chia seeds.
They will fill you up more as fiber helps slow your digestion.
A study showed that for those who have a hard time following a strict diet, simplifying
the weight loss approach by just increasing fiber intake can still lead to weight loss.
Have you ever tried losing belly fat?
Did it work out for you?
Let us know in the comments section below!