Shedding weight around your midsection is the pursuit of many people. It requires maintaining a generally healthy lifestyle with a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise regimen that targets your belly. However, if you want to build muscle in the process of losing belly fat, you'll need to focus your efforts a bit more on abdominal exercise with the aim of strengthening your belly.
Step 1
Eat a healthier diet by including more vegetables into each meal and ensuring you replace white flour-based products with whole grain ones. You should also switch to low-fat dairy products, and eat fruit as a snack. Opt for leaner proteins like chicken and fish and avoid foods that are high in calories but low on nutrition like chips, cookies and other snack-like treats.
Step 2
Drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration. However, it has the added benefit of slimming down your stomach because if you get dehydrated, your body starts to store water, leaving you bloated and feeling fat.
Step 3
Get your heart rate up for 30 minutes every day by performing cardiovascular exercise like swimming or riding a bike. Anything you enjoy should work, however. The point is to get your heart rate up so you burn calories and fat. Plus, the repetitive movements will help bring some muscle definition to your legs and abdomen.
Step 4
Increase the strength of your entire body and continue to lose fat by performing exercises like Pilates or yoga. These exercises tighten and tone your entire body and build muscle, but still burn a considerable amount of calories. They also have the added benefit of improving your posture, which can help to hide some of your belly fat.
Step 5
Focus on building abdominal muscle by performing sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts or any other abdominal workout you enjoy. These exercises will tighten and tone your stomach, improve your posture and help you burn a few extra calories, encouraging more weight loss and muscle defining.
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