Burning bell fat at the age of 46 is pretty much the same as it is at any age, with the exception that you are battling hormonal decline and the natural process of aging. Because these factors slow metabolic rate, you must pay even more attention to your diet and exercise habits. A few simple nutrition and training changes can help you restore your metabolism to a more youthful level, to lose belly fat and keep it off for life.
Step 1
Eat "clean" foods that are not easily stored as body fat. Choose low-glycemic carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain breads and pastas and sweet potatoes, rather than their more refined counterparts. Eat lean proteins with low saturated fat, such as chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites and whey protein. Select healthy, unsaturated fats that improve heart health and help you lose belly fat: olive oil, avocados, natural peanut butter, nuts and seeds.
Step 2
Divide your daily nutrition into more frequent, smaller meals. For example, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, with two or three snacks in-between. When you eat every two or three hours, you may find that you no longer battle with low energy or annoying food cravings. In addition, you will elevate your metabolic rate, helping to directly attack fat around your midsection.
Step 3
Take in 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent healthy fat at each meal. "The Fat Burning Bible" recommends this ratio as optimal for fat-burning. The fat and protein at each meal or snack helps to balance your blood sugar, preventing fat storage.
Step 4
Do resistance training workouts at least three days a week. Alternate your days, so, for example, do a full body workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. According to "The Abs Diet," this training burns fat for up to 48 hours, which means you will be burning fat all week long. More importantly, weight training can increase the body's natural production of potent fat burning hormones that directly target belly fat, according to "Combat the Fat."
Step 5
Add cardiovascular exercise at specific times to optimize belly fat burning. For example, doing cardio immediately after your resistance training workout causes the body to use its own fat stores as a primary source of energy, according to fitness author Jeff Anderson. Other effective times to add cardio are upon waking on an empty stomach in the morning, or try 30 minutes of low-intensity cardio before bed.
References
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
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