Reducing stomach fat is a difficult task for most people. When you follow a healthy diet and a regular exercise regimen, you ultimately lose body fat, but it is impossible to target weight loss one part of your body. To lose excess stomach fat, changing your diet is crucial, and strength training your abdominal muscles can help tone that part of your body.
Proper Nutrition
The first step in losing fat anywhere on your body is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. This includes consuming foods from as many different food groups as possible. Try to consume protein, complex carbohydrates and minimal fats at every meal. Choose lean meats such as poultry and fish cooked in healthy oils low in saturated fat such as olive oil, corn oil and safflower oil. Reduce your consumption of white breads, sugar and other simple carbohydrates. Consume more fresh vegetables and fruits with meals and as snacks.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise helps boost your metabolism and reduces overall body fat, which may help you to shed abdominal fat. Examples of aerobic activity include brisk walking, jogging, running, bicycling, swimming or any other physical activity performed for at least 20 minutes that increases your heart rate. Strive to have at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week for best fat-loss results.
Crunches
Crunches and situps are popular trength training exercises for your abdominal muscles because of their effectiveness and because they can be modifies to target different areas of your abdomen. To perform a traditional crunch, lie on your back on the floor or on an exercise mat with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Clasp your hands behind your head, or cross your arms over your chest. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body off the floor and toward your knees. Hold this position for three seconds and return to the original position. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions. To target your obliques, perform the same exercise as above, but twist from the left to the right when your chest has almost met your knees.
Torso Twists
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Keeping your abdominal muscles tight, slowly twist your upper body to the left until you feel teh muscles on the sides of your abdomen tightening, and hold for three seconds. Slowly move your upper body to the right, and hold for three seconds. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions to each side.
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