When you want to lose flabby belly fat, you have to take an approach that involves your entire body. Not only do you need to change your diet, but you also have to fit exercise into your schedule--and not just ab exercises. They do a good job of toning up your muscles, but a poor job of burning fat. Focus on making at least some progress every day to lose your belly fat and keep it lost.
Step 1
Cut back on your caloric intake. If you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about one pound a week, according to MayoClinic.com. Since weight is lost throughout your whole body, your stomach would be included. Monitor your daily calories for a full week, add the numbers up and divide by seven to get your daily average. Utilize an online resource like The Daily Plate for help with tracking (see Resources).
Step 2
Feed yourself high-quality foods. Pass on the nachos supreme, bacon cheeseburgers, chili dogs, chocolate-glazed doughnuts and deep-fried onion rings. Eat foods that are nutrient dense, instead, like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, beans, low-fat dairy products, seeds and nuts.
Step 3
Avoid high-calorie beverages. Liquid calories still add up in the body and lead to weight gain. Give up the sodas, sweetened teas, dessert coffees and alcoholic beverages. Drink water as your only source of liquid to keep your calories down and to hydrate your system.
Step 4
Increase your meal frequency, but decrease the size of your meals. Combine protein and complex carbs with every meal and eat every two to three hours starting with breakfast. This will elevate your metabolism and keep you feeling satisfied. Hummus with whole wheat crackers and raw vegetables is a meal example.
Step 5
Run off the weight with cardio. Start with a light five-minute warm-up jog and run at a pace that causes you to sweat and breathe heavily. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio for weight loss. Work out three days a week on alternating days and choose some other form of cardio if you do not like to run.
Step 6
Perform weight-training exercises to build more muscle. A pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day just to maintain itself, according to the University of Michigan Health System. By increasing your muscle mass, you will burn more overall calories and promote faster stomach fat loss. Do exercises like chest presses, shoulder presses, back rows, triceps extensions, curls and leg presses. Perform 10 to 12 reps, three or four sets and work out three days a week on noncardio days.
Step 7
Execute ab exercises to tone and define your midsection as you lose the weight. Target your entire abdominal area with exercises like reverse crunches, side bends, Russian twists, bicycle kicks and stability ball sit-ups. Do 15 to 20 reps, three or four sets and work your abs after your weight-training exercises.
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