A study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle found that women who participated lost about three pounds of belly fat in 52 weeks. No dietary changes were made, proving that physical activity can affect belly fat. According to that study it would be reasonable to assume that someone could lose one pound of fat in approximately seventeen weeks through exercise alone. Even though this study showed exercise to be effective for losing belly fat, experts in an article called "Belly Full of Danger" recommend both diet and exercise. There are no particular types of exercises that will target belly fat and no real nutritional changes that will affect belly fat any differently than the rest of your body, but reducing your stress may help flatten your stomach.
Step 1
Create a workout chart for the next 17weeks. Schedule five days a week of exercise for 30 minutes a day, as recommended by the CDC. Increase that time to between 45 to 60 minutes if you are already exercising for 30 minutes a day. The combination of how much you are currently eating and how much exercise you are currently getting is the reason you are at the weight you are at, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). More exercise and less food will result in a slimmer stomach.
Step 2
Follow a menu plan. Planning out what you will eat in advance increases your chances of success when dieting because you're more likely to eat in, says Andrea Wenger Hess, a nutritionist for the Joslin Diabetes Center at the University of Maryland. Select some of the 1,200-calorie options if you are female; use the 1,600-calorie plans if you are male.
Step 3
Exercise doing activities that you consider fun. Keep yourself motivated by listening to music, exercising with a friend or taking a class where you know someone is expecting you to be there.
Step 4
Work up to a moderate intensity during exercise. Try to read aloud or talk to someone. Holding a conversation but being unable to sing is an indicator that you are working at a moderate intensity, according to the CDC.
Step 5
Fit in yoga at least twice a week in addition to your moderate-intensity exercise to reduce your stress. Yoga is both relaxing and challenging to your muscles, so it meets the AARP's recommendation for two days a week of strength training to reduce belly fat. Dr. Elissa Epel says that stress causes your body to produce more cortisol, a hormone she links to belly fat.
Tips and Warnings
- Continue with your exercise plan for as many weeks as it takes to lose the amount of belly fat you wish to lose.
References
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training: Course Manual;" National Academy of Sports Medicine; 2008
- CDC: Physical Activity for Everyone
- Common-Sense Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss
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