Decreasing belly fat naturally is a challenging goal for many people. Your body stores fat around the stomach as a defense mechanism against starvation, so it will naturally fight you at every turn. You must coax your body into burning fat through targeted nutrition, exercise and supplementation. If you utilize these strategies correctly, you can decrease belly fat in no time and learn to keep it off for life. You will not need to stop eating all the foods you love to get into the best shape of your life.
Step 1
Add a few potent supplements to your program--CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), whey protein and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and caffeine. Take 6 grams (g) CLA per day, divided among your meals. Take one to three servings of whey protein a day to meet your protein needs. Make sure to take one of them after your workout. Lastly, take green tea, standardized to 300mg EGCG with 200mg of caffeine, one or two times per day.
Step 2
Do resistance training workouts at least three days per week for 30 to 60 minutes. Weight-training burns fat in several different ways. It builds muscle, which is metabolically active, which means it burns more calories even at rest. Resistance training also burns calories for up to 48 hours after your workout, not to mention the fat burned while you are doing it. Working out every other day will cause your body to elevate its metabolic rate all week long, according to "The Abs Diet" by David Zinczenko.
Step 3
Finish every workout with 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, such as walking on the treadmill, riding the exercise bike or using the elliptical machine. Cardio burns additional calories and fat, but this particular timing is essential. According to fitness author Jeff Anderson, this "super cardio," when it follows your resistance training, burns fat directly.
Step 4
Have five to six smaller meals throughout the day, rather than the traditional three big meals. Eating more frequently elevates metabolic rate, so that your body will be burning more fat all day long. In addition, this mode of eating stunts production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can inhibit belly fat burning and actually cause more fat to be stored around the midsection.
Step 5
Follow the 40-30-30 macro-nutrient ratio to burn more fat. "The Fat Burning Bible," written by Mackie Shilstone, recommends 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent proteins and 30 percent healthy fats at each meal or snack. Eating protein and healthy fats (olive oil, avocados or nuts and seeds) at each meal keeps blood sugar levels low to prevent storing body fat by spiking the hormone known as insulin.
Things You'll Need
- Green tea, standardized to 300 mg EGCG
- 200mg caffeine
- Whey protein
- CLA
References
- "The Abs Diet;" David Zinczenko; 2004
- "The Fat Burning Bible;" Mackie Shilstone; 2005
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; 2008
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