Losing belly fat is of utmost importance when it comes to your overall health. Putting your self image aside, having abdominal fat can raise your risks for chronic conditions and diseases, such as high triglycerides, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Fortunately, there's more than one way to lose belly fat.
Adjust Your Diet
When you want to lose your belly fat, you need to adjust your diet. You can do this by getting rid of all the empty-calorie foods and replacing them with nutrient-dense foods. Deep-fried onion rings, cheeseburgers, pork chops, hot dogs, frozen dinners, ice cream sundaes and doughnuts are all empty-calorie foods. Nutrient-dense choices include chicken breasts, lean beef, eggs, low-fat-dairy, fish, whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables.
Small, Frequent Meals
By eating small meals throughout the day, you will keep your belly feeling satisfied while boosting your metabolism. Combine protein and high-fiber, complex carbs in each meal and eat every two to three hours. Foods that are high in fiber can help create bulk in your stomach, causing you to fill up and eat fewer calories. A baked tuna steak with steamed broccoli and brown rice is a meal example.
Muscle Building
Weight training is commonly done to create better muscle tone throughout the body. This impacts your belly fat because muscle is metabolically active, meaning you burn calories efficiently while reading a book or watching a ball game. Perform exercises that involve as much of your body as possible, such as push-ups, shoulder presses, back extensions, triceps extensions, biceps curls and squats. You can increase the emphasis on your belly by using a stability ball and dumbbells. All of the exercises can be done from a lying, seated or standing position. Perform 10 to 12 reps, three to four sets and work out two to three days a week.
Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise burns calories, which translates to fat loss in your belly. Choose any type of cardio that raises your heart rate, such as running, biking, swimming, elliptical training, rowing, jumping rope or power walking. Aim for 45 to 60 minutes of cardio, four to five days a week. To increase your caloric expenditure, do it in an interval fashion where you alternate between high and low intensities.
Ab Training
Strengthening your abs will help tighten and tone your muscles as you are burning the fat. You can do this by targeting your lower abs, upper abs and obliques with specific exercises like leg lifts, reverse crunches, side crunches, side bends, ball crunches and v-ups. Aim for 15 to 20 reps and three to four sets. If you like a group atmosphere, tighten your stomach muscles by attending yoga or Pilates classes. Either way, target your abs two to three days a week.
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