Most people tend to carry excess belly fat as they get older. If you're not physically active, the advancement in age typically causes a loss of muscle, explains the Mayo Clinic. This muscle loss has a direct impact on your metabolism, slightly slowing it and reducing the amount of calories your body burns each day. Inevitably, you start gaining weight.
Misconceptions
A common misconception exists that certain activities better help you reduce belly fat. However, there's no such thing as spot weight loss. Sit-ups, crunches and twists may strengthen and tone the abdominals, but they do nothing to trim excess stomach weight. The Mayo Clinic asserts that the only surefire way of shrinking your waistline is to reduce your total body fat.
Diet
Diet is one of the most effective methods of reducing body fat. Minimizing your intake of saturated fat, trans fat and sugar, while increasing your intake of nutritious foods, like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, helps limit your caloric intake. This can generate a caloric deficit, which is needed to lose weight and subsequently reduce belly fat.
Exercise
Along with diet, it's also important to get regular exercise. The National Institutes of Health recommends at least 2 1/2 hours of moderately intense exercise each week, which is roughly 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Any type of exercise that elevates both respiration and heart rate is effective, so try swimming, biking, walking or jogging. Competitive sports, like tennis, racquetball, hockey or soccer, are beneficial as well.
Strength Training
One facet to reducing belly fat that's sometimes overlooked is strength training. Strength training is any activity that builds muscle. It includes lifting weights, climbing stairs or rowing boats, to name only a few. Muscle burns far more calories than fat. When you build muscle mass, you're increasing the amount of calories the body can burn throughout the day, supporting weight loss and reducing belly fat.
Lifestyle
While the goal is to lose the excess belly fat, your ultimate objective should be a total change in lifestyle that incorporates all the facets of weight loss. Healthy diets and more physical activity not only help you shed the excess pounds, but they also can help you to keep the weight off. To ensure success, the Mayo Clinic suggests making gradual changes to your diet and level of physical activity. Easing into a healthier lifestyle is often more effectual in the long run than a total overhaul in a matter of days.
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