According to Harvard Medical School, too much belly fat can cause high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and heart disease. Harvard Medical School further claims that the measure of your waistline is a better indicator of how likely you are to experience other health problems. To slim down your waistline and lose fat, you need to incorporate diet, cardiovascular exercise and strength training into your lifestyle.
Step 1
Eat a balanced diet that includes complex carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, protein and healthy fats. Avoid empty calories from condiments, sugary drinks and alcohol. Drink between eight and 10 glasses of water every day. Sleep for seven to eight hours each night.
Step 2
Do not eat late at night, as this causes fat to build up easily in your belly. If you feel hungry at night, you can have healthy snacks such as apples and low- or non-fat yogurt to fill you up and keep your metabolism going strong.
Step 3
Do cardiovascular exercise. You should try to get at least 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise in the form of running, biking or swimming.
Step 4
Do strength-training exercises. If you don't want to mess with free weights or weight machines, do exercises that use your own body weight. A good way to do this is with yoga. Yoga also burns a lot of calories, which will supplement your cardiovascular training.
Step 5
Do a standing forward bend. Start by standing up straight with your feet touching each other. Keep your arms by your sides. Then lift your arms up toward the ceiling and bend forward from your hip joints (not your waist). Try to touch the floor in front of or beside your feet. Make sure you don't bend your knees. Keep your hands on the floor or hold onto your ankles or shins. Try to bring your head closer to your thighs. Hold the standing forward bend for up to a minute.
Step 6
Practice bow pose. Start by lying on your belly with your hands by your body, palms facing up. Bend your knees and bring your heels as close as possible to your buttocks. Reach back and grab your ankles (not the tops of your feet). Keep your knees no more than hip-width apart. Lift your heels away from your buttocks as you lift your thighs up off the ground. Pull your upper torso and head off the ground as well. Press your shoulder blades closer together. Make sure to keep breathing. Hold the pose for 30 seconds.
Step 7
Do exercises to strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles, such as sit-ups and crunches. While these exercises will do little to burn fat, they will help you flatten your belly and tone your stomach. Do crunches the same way you do sit-ups (by contracting your stomach muscles), except lift your head up off the floor about 45 degrees. Place your hands behind your head for additional support.
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