A small amount of abdominal fat is not unhealthy, but excessive ab fat can increase your risk for many health problems. The two types of fat that are found around your midsection are visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat is the dangerous fat that is around your organs, while subcutaneous fat is the fat you see when you look in the mirror. Adding extra cardio to your workout routine and cleaning up your diet can help you slim your waist.
Step 1
Monitor your food intake. To lose 1 lb. of fat you must burn 3,500 calories. All the work in the gym does not reverse a bad diet. Aim to cut your caloric intake by 500 calories daily, according to MayoClinic.com. Ditch soda, alcohol, processed foods and fast foods until you reach your tight belly goals.
Step 2
Amp up your cardio routines. Rather that doing traditional cardio, train with intervals to burn more calories and fat. Interval training uses both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems to increase your fat burn. Choose to run, swim or do another cardio activity to perform your intervals. Work at a high intensity for a short period of time, followed by a moderate intensity for a longer duration. For example, sprint for 30 seconds followed by doing a one-minute jog. Aim for 60 minutes daily to alter your body composition.
Step 3
Practice consistency. This is crucial for reaching your goals because cardio training daily increases your calorie burn. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests training aerobically for 60 minutes daily until you reach your goals.
Step 4
Increase your lean mass to boost your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more efficiently you can burn calories during your exercise routine and at rest. Circuit train to keep your heart rate up while you build lean muscle. Complete six to 10 different exercises one after another without rest. For example, complete one minute of squats, planks, lunges, bicep curls, push-ups, crunches and jump squats. Rest for two minutes and complete the circuit two more times.
Step 5
Eat frequently. Eat five to six small meals a day to increase your metabolism, help you to feel full and avoid overeating, which can lead to weight gain. Focus on lean meats, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
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