The desire to lose belly fat and get in shape is a noble goal that will help you to maintain and improve your health for the rest of your life. Excess fat around the mid-section increases your risk for stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and sleep apnea, according to an article on mayoclinic.com by Dr. Michael Jensen. Although diet pills, food-by-mail programs and shakes are plentiful, there are a variety of ways to lose your love handles naturally.
Watch Your Diet
Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR) using an online calculator. Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to sustain its current weight. Once you have your total calorie intake under control, modify the types of calories you eat. A healthy diet consists of 25 to 30 percent fat, 10 to 15 percent protein and 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate, according to American Dietetics Association nutritionist Joanne Larsen. These should come from sources such as fish and olive oil, turkey and chicken breast; and complex or whole wheat, respectively.
Run Long Distance
Long duration, rhythmic exercise such as running and cycling burn large quantities of calories in a relatively short amount of time. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests running five days a week for 60 to 90 minutes to lose belly fat.
Run Short Bursts
Tabata is the name of a 14-minute, high-intensity cardiovascular exercise model named after Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata. He found that the individual who performed the protocol had an increased caloric burn rate for up to 48 hours after the exercise session. To perform a tabata session, first warm-up on a treadmill by walking at a brisk pace for five minutes. Then sprint for 20 seconds as hard as you can followed by 10 seconds of rest and repeat for a total of seven repetitions.
Strengthen Your Muscles
Although calorie- based programs such as Weight Watchers, Nutri-system and Slim Fast help limit calories to reduce belly fat, they don't do anything to increase the BMR. Strengthening your muscles does, however. To strengthen the muscles and burn the most amount of fat during a workout, perform three sets of 15 repetitions of exercises with zero to 90 seconds of rest in between, says the National Academy of Sports Medicine. An example of a full body exercise program includes push-ups, reverse push-ups, squats and chin-ups.
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