How To Lose Visceral Belly Fat

Belly fat not only looks unsightly as it spills over your waistband, it also endangers your health. Rachel Whitmer, a researcher at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland notes in a USA Today edition from March 2008 that having too much belly fat increases your risk of developing certain diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, stroke and dementia. Visceral belly fat lies deep within your midsection, encasing internal organs and possibly secreting substances that harm your body. While anyone with a tubby middle should reduce visceral fat, men with a waist thicker than 40 inches and women with one bigger than 35 inches should make immediate efforts to slim down.

Step 1

Lose weight. Reduce your calorie intake and increase daily activity. Whitmer says that visceral belly fat will go away with diet and exercise. Eat smaller portions and switch to lower calorie versions of your favorite foods. Join a gym to fit in at least an hour of moderate intensity cardiovascular activity five days per week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Take a brisk walk for that hour if you do not have access to a fitness facility.

Step 2

Reduce your daily stress levels. Try meditation or yoga, at home or in a studio, to help calm your mental state. Learn to delegate at work and at home. Take vacations, even a long weekend, to get away from the rigors of daily life. Stress causes the body to release a hormone known as cortisol, which contributes to the development of centralized visceral fat--no matter how thin the rest of your body, says Elissa Epel in a 2004 issue of Shape Magazine. The more frazzled you get by stress, the more your abdomen stores fat.

Step 3

Stop smoking. Take immediate measures to quit smoking, not only for your lung and heart health, but to reduce your tendency to pile on belly fat. Smoking increases insulin resistance and correlates with central fat accumulation, according to a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in April 2008.

Step 4

Moderate alcohol intake. All types of alcohol, not just beer, contribute to a big belly according to the Mayo Clinic. Men should limit intake to no more than two drinks per day, and women to only one.

Tips and Warnings

You can perform hundreds of crunches per day and not see any reduction in belly fat. You strengthen the muscles around and under your visceral fat through these exercises. While there are benefits to a strong core, do not expect your strength training work for your abdomen to reveal a flat stomach without dietary and cardiovascular strategies.