You fantasize about having toned abs, but your goal for right now is just to lose your belly fat. The kind of abdominal fat that you can pinch between your fingers (known as subcutaneous fat) is unsightly but not as unhealthy as the deeper abdominal fat (visceral fat) which resides between organs. Fortunately, following five tips will help you lose both types of belly fat.
Log the Ratio
Use a tape measure to determine the circumference of your waist and the amount of inches around your hips, then insert your calculations into a waist-to-hip ratio calculator. Keep a monthly log of your waist-to-hip ratio to ensure that you are not at high risk for health complications such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. According to study findings published in an August 2006 MSNBC Health and Fitness article, women shouldn't have a waist-to-hip ratio any higher than 0.8, and men shouldn't have a waist-to-hip ratio higher than 0.95. If your ratio is in the "unhealthy" range, recording regular measurements as you diet and exercise can encourage you to continue making progress.
Eat Good Fats
A study published by the American Diabetes Association's journal, "Diabetes Care," discovered that people who ate a carbohydrate-rich diet accumulated more fat in the abdomen; the same people experienced a reduced abdominal fat concentration just by eating a diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) with no other lifestyle changes such as additional exercise. Complement a well-rounded diet rich in complex carbohydrates and lean protein with foods that contain MUFAs. Avocados, olives and nuts are three excellent sources of this healthy addition.
Do Cardio
Moderate-intensity exercises such as jogging and biking will help burn off calories. It can reduce the store of abdominal fat that is already on your body and keep abdominal fat from returning in the future. The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day to control your weight. If you don't have a lot of spare time, you can break up your exercise into two or three 10- to 15-minute sessions. Consider taking brisk walks before you go to work, at break time and after dinner.
Do Strength Training
Do strength training exercises, such as weight training and resistance training, to build lean muscle. Lean muscle boosts your metabolism and helps burn off fat. Develop more muscle tone---that "chiseled" look you seek---in your abdominal region by doing spot-training techniques such as crunches. However, know that crunches won't cut back your visceral fat. You also won't see the muscle development if you aren't doing cardio activities to burn off the fat in your whole body.
Reduce Your Stress
The hormone cortisol has been widely linked to dangerous belly fat. For example, a study published in the September/October, 2000 issue of "Psychosomatic Medicine" found that women with a high waist-to-hip ratio reported being more stressed in daily life than women with lower waist-to-hip ratios. Women with higher ratios also secreted higher amounts of the hormone cortisol when they were exposed to stressors. This suggests that reducing your stress by participating in meditation, yoga or other calming activities may also help you lose belly fat.
References
- "Diabetes Care": Monounsaturated Fat--Rich Diet Prevents Central Body Fat Distribution and Decreases Postprandial Adiponectin Expression Induced by a Carbohydrate-Rich Diet in Insulin-Resistant Subjects
- Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: Abdominal Fat and What to Do About It
- "Psychosomatic Medicine": Stress-Induced Cortisol Secretion Is Consistently Greater Among Women With Central Fat
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