Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise burns calories and fat off your belly, as well as the rest of your body. Unfortunately, you cannot instruct your body to let go of the fat on your belly exclusively, and even doing crunches won't cause your abdomen to shrink. The answer to belly fat reduction is physical activity. The harder you work, the faster you will see results. On the other hand, the harder the exercise, the less you will want to do it, so start easy and go from there. Only regular exercise will get the fat off your belly and prevent it from returning. Get your doctor's approval before beginning an exercise program.
Step 1
Exercise for a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Break your daily workouts into three 10-minute bouts, or schedule whatever works for you to fill up the entire 150 minutes, as recommended by the CDC. Moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, water aerobics, pushing a lawnmower and riding a stationary or regular bicycle.
Step 2
Increase the duration of your exercise by 10 to 20 percent per week, suggests the American Council on Exercise. Longer exercise burns more calories and leads to more weight loss, which means lost belly fat. Work up to 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise per day to lose weight and keep it off, says the CDC.
Step 3
Participate in yoga classes. Yoga is relaxing, which will help you lose belly fat because it will cut down on the production of cortisol. Chronic stress increases cortisol production. Cortisol is a hormone that increases belly fat, according to Elissa Epel, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco's Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment, an an AARP article.
Tips and Warnings
- Vigorous-intensity exercise may be too difficult at first, but it burns more calories and increases your metabolism more than light- and moderate-intensity exercise does. Running, playing competitive sports and mountain biking on hills are some examples of vigorous-intensity exercise that will help flatten your belly.
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