The bad news is that no amount of exercise rips fat off just your belly. Fat comes off your body as a whole. Luckily, your belly is part of your "body as a whole," so general efforts for weight loss will also help you shed belly fat. You can create the illusion of losing belly fat by doing abdominal workouts, a fact that is likely responsible for the spot reduction myth in the first place.
Take a Daily Walk
Even 20 to 30 minutes at a moderately brisk pace will help you burn more calories. This simple measure is so helpful that health and wellness celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of "You: The Owner's Manual," recommends it for everybody. Oz writes that you should walk fast enough that you break a light sweat but not so fast that your breathing speeds up. You can make your daily walk more enjoyable by inviting a friend or the family dog along.
Cardio Training
Losing fat means burning calories, and cardio training is your best bet when it comes to doing that. Although more time doing cardio means more calories burnt, Oz notes that extreme cardio tends to do long-term damage to your joints and connective tissue. Personal trainer Bill Phillips recommends 30 to 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous cardio three times each week for the best balance between high caloric burn and sustainability.
Resistance Training
Working your ab muscles may not remove fat from your belly, but it does tone up the muscles beneath the fat. This tightens your midsection, giving the illusion of fat loss. Once the fat does burn off through cardio, you'll have tight, defined abs peeking through. Sit-ups and variants such as crunches and leg-lifts are popular ab workouts and arguably the most simple. If your simple workouts need a little outside motivation, consider a group fitness class: Your instructor and classmates will provide accountability. Yoga, Pilates and core focus classes like "ab lab" are good choices.
Dietary Support
Phillips writes that any fat-loss workout method works significantly better if paired with a weight-loss diet plan. This allows you to split the burden of lost calories along two fronts. For example, instead of having to do 500 calories of workout each day, you could eat 250 fewer calories and work out the other 250. Something as simple as skipping dessert or cutting out soda can greatly improve your efforts to shed that belly fat.
References
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett et al; 2006
- "You: The Owner's Manual"; Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz; 2005
- "Body for Life"; Bill Phillips; 2006
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