Of all the places to store fat, the belly is the most perilous to your health, reports Harvard Health Publications. Excess abdominal fat increases your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes and breast and colon cancer. Reducing carbohydrate intake reduces unhealthy belly fat, even if your weight doesn't change, according a 2011 study in "Endocrine Reviews." Along with a healthy diet, exercise burns fat and improves your health.
Calculate Daily Carb Consumption
Step 1
Calculate the number of calories to eat each day. Recommended carb consumption is based on a percentage of the calories you eat. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that women eat 1,600 to 2,200 calories a day, and men eat 2,000 to 3,000 calories. MedlinePlus says not to eat fewer than 1,200 calories if you're a woman or 1,500 if you are a man, or you might not get needed nutrition.
Step 2
Calculate the amount of recommended carbs in calories. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, recommended carb consumption is 45 to 65 percent of your total calories. Multiply your daily caloric intake by 0.45 and 0.65 to determine the number of calories from carbs you should eat.
Step 3
Convert your daily carb consumption into grams. Food packaging lists carb amounts in grams. Divide your daily amount of carb calories by 4 to calculate the number of grams of carbs to eat each day.
Cut Carb Consumption
Step 1
Reduce or eliminate simple carbohydrates in your diet. Avoid cookies and desserts, sugary beverages, chips, crackers, white bread, white rice and refined-grain pasta.
Step 2
Cut down your consumption of sugar and refined flour. Read product labels for these ingredients. Sugar is a common additive, even in savory foods such as hotdogs and peanut butter. Food with flour should say "whole grain" or "whole wheat" on the label, not "enriched."
Step 3
Eat whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables to get nutrients and fiber.
Burn Fat
Step 1
Participate in regular aerobic exercise to burn fat. Exercise not only improves heart and lung health, but it also speeds up fat loss by burning additional calories. Exercise hard enough to get your heart rate up for 30 minutes five days a week, recommends the American Heart Association. Find an exercise buddy or choose activities you enjoy to motivate you to continue.
Step 2
Perform abdominal exercises to tone and sculpt lean abs. The bicycle and stability ball crunch rank high in effectiveness with the American Council on Exercise. Pilates ab exercises such as the double-leg stretch and the hundred outperform traditional crunches, according to Inner IDEA.
Step 3
Walk and take the stairs. The more activity you add to your daily life, the more fat you burn. Park away from your destination and walk. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Take a walk instead of watching TV after dinner. All these tasks easily fit into your day and help you lose belly fat.
References
- Harvard Health Publications; Belly Fat Worse than Hip and Thigh Fat, from Harvard Women's Health Watch; August 2010
- "Endocrine Reviews"; Effects of Dietary Macronutrient Composition on Total and Intra-Abdominal Adipose Tissue during Weight Maintenance and Weight Loss; L. L. Goree, MS, et al.; June 2011
- U.S. Department of Agriculture; Balancing Calories to Manage Weight; 2010
- MedlinePlus: Tips for Losing Weight; D. Zieve, MD, MHA, et al.; December 2009
- Harvard Health Publications; Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It; December 2006
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Profiling Food in America
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