Burning stomach fat can be frustrating. It can be difficult to know what to believe when it comes to diet and exercise because misinformation abounds. If you ask three personal trainers how to lose weight, you will get three different answers. The human body does not help matters by hoarding fat around the stomach and burning it only as a last resort. Timing is everything when it comes to burning stomach fat, and sometimes it is even necessary to break all the rules of your diet to reach your goals. Follow a few dietary and training guidelines to burn fat off your stomach.
Step 1
Eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day, spaced two or three hours apart. More frequent meals suppress the appetite, increase metabolic rate, stabilize blood sugar and stunt production of the stress hormone, cortisol. Since the fat cells around the stomach have many receptors for cortisol, this hormone can be especially stifling to your fat-burning efforts.
Step 2
Take in 30 percent lean protein, 40 percent low-glycemic carbohydrates and 30 percent healthy fats at each meal. Author Mackie Shilstone's "The Fat Burning Bible" recommends this macro-nutrient ratio for optimal fat burning. Choose lean proteins like chicken, fish and turkey. For carbohydrates, eat oatmeal, brown rice, beans and whole grains, as well as fresh fruits, such as berries, apples, pears, grapefruits, grapes and peaches. Eat healthy fats like olive oil, natural peanut butter and avocados, which can improve fat burning, according to "The Abs Diet."
Step 3
Add cardio sessions to your workout regimen. Doing 30 to 60 minutes of cardio immediately following your resistance training workout can directly target stomach fat burning, according to "Combat the Fat." You need not even do intense cardio to improve fat burning significantly. In fact, author Jeff Anderson prefers low-intensity cardio, because it does not cause the loss of metabolically active muscle tissue.
Step 4
Do resistance training workouts three to five days per week for 30 to 60 minutes. Focus on the compound movements for each muscle group, such as the bench press for the chest and the squat for the legs. This form of training can increase the production of potent fat-burning hormones that target the abdomen directly, according to "The Abs Diet."
Step 5
Have one cheat meal on one day out of the week. Forget all the rules and just eat whatever you want. Besides being a rewarding way of celebrating a week of healthy eating, this technique actually elevates metabolic rate. The body can decrease metabolism in response to a caloric deficit. So, the cheat meal actually helps you burn more stomach fat.
References
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Abs Diet;" David Zinczenko; 2004
- "The "Fat Burning Bible;" Mackie Shilstone; 2005
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