Belly fat is often thought of as being undesirable for aesthetic reasons, but an accumulation of fat around your stomach also carries serious health implications, raising the risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions. Losing weight around your abdomen can be challenging, especially for men who have a tendency to gain weight in this area first. In women, weight gain tends to build up around the lower regions such as the thighs and hips before the stomach, although menopause and elevated stress can lead to excess abdominal fat. Regular exercises and a healthy balanced diet can help you lose body fat and reduce subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat.
Visceral vs. Subcutaneous Fat
Abdominal fat can be either visceral or subcutaneous, with visceral fat being deeply embedded beneath layers of fascia. Subcutaneous fat is easily grasped and lies directly under the top layers of your skin. This type doesn't pose any major health risks. Visceral fat, on the other hand, surrounds vital organs, interfering with their functioning, making you susceptible to heart disease and other health problems. Visceral fat is not easy to lose, but can eliminated through attention to diet and regular exercise.
Monitoring Caloric Intake
A pound of stored body fat contains about 3,500 calories, according to an article on the BMI Calculator website. To successfully lose fat, you must minimize your caloric intake in accordance with the BMI calculator. Exercise also burns excess calories. The BMI article recomends regular exercises while reducing your caloric intake to maintain weight loss for prolonged periods, with a deficit of no fewer than 500 calories and no more than 1,000 for minimum weight loss. Also highlighted in the article was the American College of Sports Medicine's advice to maintain a caloric intake of no less than 1,200 each day for women and 1,800 a day for men. Adopting a nutritious and healthy diet of whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and legumes, while eliminating processed and junk foods is essential to weight loss. You should also drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily to flush out toxins.
Strength Training
Spot training is not effective in reducing localized fat, contrary to popular belief. Although exercises like sit-ups and crunches strengthen abdominal muscles, you will also have to lower your caloric intake and participate in cardiovascular activity to shift abdominal fat. Include strength or weight training as part of your abdominal weight loss routine to tone and define abdominal muscles. This will help prevent unsightly loose and sagging skin from developing following dramatic weight loss. Life Supplemented suggests incorporating fewer repetitions and more resistance as a way of building strength, while reversing with more repetitions and less resistance to build endurance as part of your strength training routine.
Cardio Workouts
Cardiovascular exercises help improve circulation and burn calories, while speeding up your metabolism. Walking, cycling, step aerobics and yoga are examples of low impact cardiovascular workouts. High impact aerobics such as hiking, jogging, skipping and running will get your heart rate pumping a lot faster, allowing you to burn more calories at shorter intervals. Regulate your workouts depending on your age, fitness level and weight loss goals. Push your boundaries to achieve desired results but be careful not to overly exert yourself as this may lead to injuries. Regular cardiovascular exercises are also useful in reducing stress levels, which may be central to your abdominal weight loss. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is responsible for much of the visceral fat distributed around the midsection and is linked to disorders such as Cushing's disease, type II diabetes and heart disease, certified personal trainer Christian Finn explains. The production of this hormone can increase during menopausal years, often contributing to abdominal weight gain in women.
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