The quickest way for men to lose belly fat is to combine powerful training and nutrition strategies that encourage fat-burning directly from the abdominal area. Belly fat cells are extra stubborn because men's bodies are virtually programmed to resist burning them. Your body will sacrifice other energy stores, including muscle tissue, longer before your belly fat, if you do not take the proper metabolic approach. If you burn away muscle tissue, your body will lose the ability to burn more calories at rest. Follow a few simple guidelines to lose belly fat fast and keep it off for good.
Step 1
Do three full-body workouts per week. For example, work out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. According to "The Abs Diet," this strategy keeps your metabolic rate elevated all week because resistance training increases fat burning for up to 48 hours. In addition, this form of training releases potent fat-burning hormones, such as testosterone and human growth hormone.
Step 2
Add one session of low-intensity cardio immediately after your resistance training. Try walking on the treadmill at an incline for 30 minutes. Best-selling fitness author Jeff Anderson calls this "super cardio" because it directly attacks your fat stores. You can also add additional cardio sessions, as needed, because the effect of cardiovascular training is cumulative. Other excellent times to do cardio are in the morning upon waking or at night before retiring.
Step 3
Eat six small meals per day, rather than the traditional three large meals. More frequent meals increases metabolic rate. The traditional three square meals can trigger the release of insulin and cortisol, which have dire effects on body fat storage. Insulin directly causes blood sugar to be stored as body fat. Cortisol teams up with the receptors in belly fat to prevent fat burning and further encourage storing abdominal fat.
Step 4
Take in 1g of lean protein per pound of your body weight every day. Protein has a thermic effect, which means that it takes a lot of energy to digest. Your body uses nearly three times the calories in processing dietary protein, as compared to carbohydrates and fats. Lean sources of protein include turkey, fish, chicken, lean cuts of beef and pork, egg whites and whey protein.
Step 5
Have one cheat meal every week to keep your metabolic rate elevated and avoid dieting plateaus. The human body has a built-in mechanism to prevent starvation. In response to decreased caloric intake, the body slows down it metabolic rate, so it can function with fewer calories. This ingenious survival technique can prevent you from burning fat. So you must briefly increase caloric intake to keep metabolic rate high, according to "Combat the Fat" by Jeff Anderson.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "The "Fat Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
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