Lose Belly Fat
Sounds a bit like an infomercial. If it was that easy, we would all have flat stomachs and six pack abs.
Many people believe that to shed those unwanted pounds, you must do 100 abdominal exercises or 500 crunches each day.
Although these will help build and strengthen your abdominal muscles, they have nothing to do with losing body fat, especially in your stomach.
Stomach fat is one of the most problematic areas for many people, especially as we age.
Looking for ways to flatten your stomach goes beyond just doing ab exercises.
You may be thinking that “she’s crazy; of course I have to do the best ab exercises to get a flat stomach”.
The fact is that building and toning your stomach will do very little to help you lose belly fat and flatten your stomach.
Don't put away your exercise mat as you will want to do stomach exercises as well. But to really shed that excess body fat (in order to show off your toned stomach), check out the tips below.
How to Lose Body Fat
To do this you must do two simple things; 1) start eating healthy and 2) do aerobic exercises.
Additionally, you should also reduce stress and get a good night’s sleep. Now you’re asking yourself, “What does this have to do with losing belly fat”.
Well, if you want the ultimate flat stomach, then you have to reduce the fat that surrounds your abdominal muscles.
In order to do this, you must eat the right foods, reduce stress and get good sleep. Keep reading to see how each of these help to flatten your stomach.
Fat around the belly is just one of the signs of metabolic syndrome.
Eating Healthy
Although there are claims that certain foods will melt away the fat, the truth is no certain foods have the magic to reduce fat. But if you start eating healthy and consume fewer calories than you burn, then you will begin to lose fat.Your genetics is what determines where you will shed fat first.
But don’t be discouraged, as you continue to lose fat you will eventually lose fat everywhere, including your belly.
Whether you are trying to lose weight or just lose belly fat, the foods you select can play an important role. Try to minimize the amount of calories from sugars and fats.
Also select whole grain foods and skim milk.
And don’t forget to add veggies and fruits to your healthy diet. You may want to check out these metabolism booster foods to add to your healthy menu.
Aerobic Exercise
e of the best benefits to exercise is burning calories and fat. Aerobic exercises are the best way to get the higher calorie and fat burn from your exercise efforts.You should aim to get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week, more if you really want to lose belly fat faster.
Your aerobic exercise could be something you enjoy like dancing, jogging, water aerobics or just walking for exercise. If you are just starting an aerobic exercise routine, start our slowly and remember to stay within your target heart rate zone.
Try these weight loss workout example weekly routine. There's an example for beginners and intermediate level and they include both aerobics and strength training exercises.
Reduce Stress
Stress can cause many different health related issues from high blood pressure to chronic heart
diseases. But stress also is a main
cause to weight gain and increased body fat. When a person is stressed, the body prepares itself to either fight or get the heck out of there. This “fight or flight” response is your body’s way of protecting itself in stressful situations.
What happens when you are stressed is your body releases adrenaline, cortisol and insulin. What doe’s this mean to you? Well, the increase in cortisol can cause you to feel hungry and can increase fat production.
This extra fat generally settles in your stomach, creating more belly fat. The extra insulin can also cause higher levels of fat as too much insulin sends a signal to your body to start storing fat.
Another great benefit of exercising is to reduce stress. So by adding aerobic exercises to your weekly routine you are not only reducing stress, but you are able to lose belly fat. Be sure to read about all the benefits to exercise.
Get More Sleep
Getting more sleep can help in a couple of ways to help you lose the fat. One, when you are more rested you are able to exercise at a more intense level and/or can exercise for a longer period of time.And now that you know you need aerobic exercises to lose belly fat, you want to make sure you are well rested and up for the challenge.
Secondly, studies have shown that those who get less than four hours of sleep per night are 70% more likely to be overweight or obese.
Lack of enough sleep lowers leptin, which is a protein that helps suppress appetite and tells the brain when you are full.
Also, lack of sleep can impact the production of insulin, which is needed to regulate the blood sugar level.
If you have already read my “Metabolism Booster Foods”, then you know that too much insulin in your system can cause your body to store foods as fat.
Abdominal Exercises
Although doing abdominal exercises does not reduce your belly fat, it will help strengthen and tone these muscles. So, once you have reached your goal to lose the fat, you will have toned abdominal muscles.There are many abs exercises; in fact there are probably at least 100 abdominal exercises. This does not mean you have to do all 100, but just pick some that will strengthen and tone all the abs muscles. Visit the abdominal exercises page to see a list and links to instructions and illustrations on many common ab exercises.
In addition to the helpful article mentioned above, you can also use these free weight loss tools to help you lose belly fat and to help you track your progress.
There are calculators such as the target heart rate calculator, a weight loss calculator and even a free printable weight loss journal.
Additional Articles
Abdominal Crunches
Use these free fitness videos to workout your stomach to help tighten
and tone those muscles. Crunches are a great way to work the rectus abdominis muscles, also
known as your six pack.
Quick Weight Loss Tips
Want to jump start your weight loss? Try this healthy tips to lose
weight quicker without resorting to fad diets.
Fat Burning Exercises
Put your fat burning furnace into overdrive with the best fat burning
exercises.