How You Get Lower Stomach Fat
Before we start the discussion about lower stomach fat loss, its important to understand how you get stomach fat. It would be an oversimplification to say that heavy people also have a high amount of stomach fat. Obesity affects us in different ways, and some people are more prone to lower stomach fat than others. Here are some of the reasons why:
Cut Calories But Not Too Much
It is a well-known fact that you need to cut calories to produce weight loss.
One popular approach is to reduce your daily intake by 5001,000 calories to expect to lose approximately 12 pounds per week .
That being said, restricting your calorie intake too much can be counterproductive.
Eating too few calories can cause a major , or the number of calories you burn on a daily basis .
In one study, a group of people who ate 1,100 calories per day slowed their metabolic rate more than twice as much as those who consumed about 1,500 calories per day for four consecutive days .
Whats more, this decrease in metabolic rate may persist even after you start behaving like you normally do. That means you may have a lower metabolic rate than you had before you severely restricted your calorie intake .
Therefore, it is important that you dont restrict your calorie intake too much or for too long.
Bottom Line:
Eating too few calories may slow your metabolic rate, even in the long term. Therefore, it is important not to restrict calories too much or for too long.
The Best Exercise To Lose Belly Fat
Before you ask about the best exercises for a flat stomach, let’s get clear on why crunches and sit-ups alone not going to be the thing to help you lose belly fat. ‘While crunches will help strengthen your abdominals and core muscles, theyre not enough in isolation to burn calories,’ Luke Hughes, Origym PT says.
Instead, Hughes recommends a rounded bodyweight or free weights workout routine done at a higher intensity as the best exercise to lose belly fat. These sessions will help to burn calories and increase muscle mass, which will, in turn, tap into your body fat stores even within a limited time period.
Do note though, too much HIIT can elevate cortisol in your body, which could hinder how effectively you lose stomach fat . Aim for three to four sessions per week and make sure you’re allowing your body plenty of time and space to recover.
‘Burning calories through cardio exercise like this helps to burn belly fat, particularly when we operate at a calorie deficit,’ says Hughes. ‘Try adding star jumps and mountain climbers into your workouts.’
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Fitness Tips To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat
Now that weve gone over diet tips that can help to get rid of lower belly fat, lets look at exercise tips. Whether youre male or female, we cant tell you how to get rid of lower belly fat in a week.
Unfortunately, you wont see results that quickly, and if you do, it may have been bloat or water retention. However, if you take these fitness tips along with the diet tips above, you should be able to over time.
Whenever you need workout inspiration or exercise ideas, make sure to check out our library. Weve got a great list for you, most of them divided up by muscle group, for ease of use.
Add Vinegar To Your Diet
If youre trying to lose weight, vinegar is an excellent addition to your diet. Whether white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, vinegar is one of the most versatile condiments regarding health benefits. One study found that a mere 15 to 30 ml of vinegar daily reduced body weight, belly fat and waist circumference over a three-month period.
According to one study, adding vinegar to your diet will reduce your daily caloric intake by 275 calories. Considering there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, you can lose over half a pound of fat per week with this one simple change. To increase your metabolism and satiety, try adding white vinegar to refreshing, hydrating salads and tangy barbecue sauces.
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It Helps Preserve Lean Muscle
When people cut calories and lose weight, they often lose some muscle in addition to body fat.
This can be counterproductive, as muscle is more metabolically active than fat. This means that having more muscle helps you burn more calories each day.
Exercise, including walking, can help counter this effect by preserving lean muscle when you lose weight.
Preserving lean muscle helps reduce the drop in metabolic rate that often occurs with weight loss, making your results easier to maintain (
20 ).
In one small study, women with obesity who walked for 5070 minutes three times per week for 12 weeks, on average, reduced their waist circumference and their body fat. The fat directly under the skin and the hidden fat within your abdominal cavity were both significantly reduced in the exercise group in comparison to the control group .
Another study found that people on a calorie-controlled diet who walked for 1 hour five times per week for 12 weeks were able to lose inches off their waistlines as well as more body fat, compared with those who followed the diet alone .
Summary
Regularly taking part in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise like walking is associated with lower levels of belly fat.
S For Beating Belly Fat
There are four keys to controlling belly fat: exercise, diet, sleep, and stress management.
1. Exercise: Vigorous exercise trims all your fat, including visceral fat.
Get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least 5 days a week. Walking counts, as long as it’s brisk enough that you work up a sweat and breathe harder, with your heart rate faster than usual.
To get the same results in half the time, step up your pace and get vigorous exercise — like jogging or walking. You’d need to do that for 20 minutes a day, 4 days a week.
Jog, if you’re already fit, or walk briskly at an incline on a treadmill if you’re not ready for jogging. Vigorous workouts on stationary bikes and elliptical or rowing machines are also effective, says Duke researcher Cris Slentz, PhD.
Moderate activity — raising your heart rate for 30 minutes at least three times per week — also helps. It slows down how much visceral fat you gain. But to torch visceral fat, your workouts may need to be stepped up.
Rake leaves, walk, garden, go to Zumba, play soccer with your kids. It doesnt have to be in the gym, Hairston says.
If you are not active now, it’s a good idea to check with your health care provider before starting a new fitness program.
2. Diet: There is no magic diet for belly fat. But when you lose weight on any diet, belly fat usually goes first.
Continued
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You’ve Got Too Much Of The Wrong Gut Bacteria
Most of the bacteria that dwell in your gut are pretty useful. They produce hormones, regulate your immune system, digest food, extract nutrients, control your mood, manage your appetite and much more besides.
Now, two groups of beneficial bacteria are dominant in the human gut, the bacteroidetes and the firmicutes. However, the number of bacteroidetes is decreased in obese people when compared with lean people, according to research.
In another study, scientists took stool samples from 1300 twins and found that the less diverse your gut bacteria, the more likely you are to have belly fat. Grow your gut community to shed serious timber.
Stubborn Fat Is More Insulin Sensitive
Insulin plays a major role in how the cells in your body store fat.
Primarily, it does this by increasing the activity of LSL , and decreasing the activity of HSL .
And since stubborn fat cells are typically more insulin sensitive, meaning that they react more strongly to insulin, this means that they tend to store more fat and release less fat than regular fat cells.
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Stop Drinking Sugary Drinks
If there’s a hierarchy of sugary goods, then sugary drugs would sit even higher than sugary foods. However, even a small change to your habits here can make a big difference. That was proved in a study by researchers at Virginia Tech, which looked at the benefits of replacing just one sugary drink with water.
“We found that among US adults who consume one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per day, replacing that drink with water lowered the percent of calories coming from drinks from 17 to 11%,” said study author Kiyah J. Duffey. “Even those who consumed more sugary drinks per day could still benefit from water replacement, dropping the amount of calories coming from beverages to less than 25% of their daily caloric intake.”
Is There Really One Trick To Losing Belly Fat
When ads claim a “one trick” solution, remember that their main objective is to sell their product rather than to help you. Good marketing means one message, because it is hard to follow too many things at once. So they focus on one fad, and that tickles your curiosity and you click on the link to go their website.
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You Do Not Take Enough Proteins
Another reason you may be having lower belly fat is that you dont take enough protein. High protein intake is key when it comes to preventing weight gain. Proteins make you feel fuller and more satisfied for longer, thus, helps reduce your daily calorie intake . Proteins also increase your metabolic rate, and in the long run, cause a reduction in your calorie intake. When your diet has less protein, you are more likely to gain weight and most importantly belly fat compared to a person whose diet has lots of proteins. In addition to this, when you have high levels of a hormone known as a neuropeptide, you have more appetite, which in the long run leads to gaining belly fat. This hormone increases when your protein intake is low.
You’re Doing The Wrong Type Of Workout
Listen up here. “Only doing abdominal-focused workouts, like crunches, won’t help,” Luke emphasises Belly fat is simply where your body stores energy, so you need to take a whole-body approach to tackle it, he reckons. Try HIIT training he says it’s “a great way to burn fat and get your heart rate up”, with squats, burpees and treadmill sprints all being examples of moves to try.
Emily agrees, saying that, in its simplest form, training abs alone, won’t get you abs. “Focus on the staple movements and progressively getting stronger at them over time. I’m talking about your planks, crunches, twists, holds and v-ups.”
She also points out that compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, overhead press and pull-ups are all effective at activating and working your core. Her final two cents on it? “Moving your body in a way that feels good, and keeps you moving consistently.” Hear, hear.
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Building A Healthier Diet
This point is the same old, same old one because anyone trying to lose weight and excess fat could have not come across this advice in numerous forms. But honestly, this point can not be stressed enough. Not only for weight loss, but a proper and balanced diet is a necessity for a good and stress-free life.
Especially with reference to the lifestyle that we have adopted today, one can not fathom how much sugar or fat do the processed foods actually contain. And sugary foods can lead to obesity by not only increasing the fat content but also slowing down the metabolism. Trans fat also causes inflammation which leads to obesity.
Basically, a diet high in protein, complex carbohydrates and plenty of fruits and vegetables are recommended.
Think Eating Plan Not Diet
Ultimately, you need to pick a healthy eating plan you can stick to,Stewart says. The benefit of a low-carb approach is that it simply involveslearning better food choicesno calorie-counting is necessary. In general,a low-carb way of eating shifts your intake away from problem foodsthosehigh in carbs and sugar and without much fiber, like bread, bagels andsodasand toward high-fiber or high-protein choices, like vegetables, beansand healthy meats.
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And Maybe Cut Your Carbs Too
You dont have to go low carb to lose body fat and lower belly fat. But breaking up with bread might help you reach your goal a little faster.
In a 2014 study, participants who ate a low carb diet lost more weight than those who ate a low fat diet. Bazzano LA. . Effects of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets. Going low carb also seems to help people lose more fat while preserving calorie-torching lean muscle tissue.
Avoid Swallowing Air And Gases
The biggest source of gas in the diet is carbonated beverages such as soda.
The bubbles in it contain carbon dioxide, which is released from the liquid in your stomach. This may cause stomach distention or bloating.
This can also happen when you chew gum, drink through a straw or talk while eating.
Eating in silence, drinking from a glass and swapping carbonated drinks out for water may help you achieve a flatter stomach.
Bottom Line:
Carbonated drinks and gum may both cause stomach distention and bloating in some people.
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Bonus Round: Losing Belly Fat After Having A Baby
Its totally normal for your belly to feel loose or jiggly in the early days and weeks after giving birth. In addition to pregnancy weight gain, your abdominal muscles were stretched to the max to accommodate your growing bundle of joy.
Losing belly fat postpartum starts with the same strategies youd use to lose belly fat at any other time: Eat a little less and exercise more.
It may not happen overnight, but its reasonable to be back to your prepregnancy weight by the time your baby reaches their first birthday.
Does that mean your lower belly will look the same as it did before you got pregnant? Not necessarily. For some women, pregnancy causes the abdominal muscles to separate and create a noticeable bulge, even after theyve fully recovered from giving birth.
This condition, called diastasis recti, is fixable with abdominal exercises. A physical therapist can help you get the hang of them. Just ask your healthcare provider for a recommendation they can point you in the right direction.
Reduce Refined Carbohydrate Intake
Just as you should drink whole milk because it is less processed, you should also reduce refined carbohydrate intake for the same reason. Refined carbs, during processing, are stripped of their bran and germ. The end result is food that is artificially low in fiber and nutrients and high on the glycemic index. When you eat foods with a high glycemic index, your blood sugar levels fluctuate.
Blood sugar levels spiking and crashing increases hunger and calorie consumption. This results in excess belly fat. Contrastingly, when you incorporate more whole grains into your diet, you will lose inches off your belly, lower your BMI and burn overall body fat. Replace processed cereals, white bread, and pasta with whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread, oats, barley, and quinoa.
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Eat More Healthy Fats
When youre trying to burn belly fat, dietary fat is not the enemy. While it may seem counterintuitive, eating healthy fats can increase satiety, which mitigates the risk of future weight gain. It also makes weight loss easier because you will be less tempted to overeat. Try adding fatty foods to your diet such as fatty tuna, salmon, almonds, olive oil, and whole milk.
At the same time, you should make a conscious effort to limit your consumption of unhealthy fats. Do not consume processed food that includes trans fats. Eat foods with saturated fat in extreme moderation. The best foods to eat include only monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat unless the food is natural. For instance, a cup of milk has 1.5 grams of saturated fat, but this occurs naturally.
Combine All Of The Above
No one method is going to get rid of your belly for you, so if you want to see results you’re going to have to take heed of the above advice and make changes to your diet, training and lifestyle as a whole.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Losing Stomach Fat
If youre seeking a solution to losing lower stomach fat, you should consult with a professional. Most people would benefit from a three-pronged approach, like diet, exercise, and laser fat removal, for instance. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are seeking body fat reduction solutions.
Decrease Foods That Cause Inflammation
All foods in balance are healthy, but there are a few that cause inflammation in our bodies.
Which can then increase lower abdominal fat.
Some foods that promote inflammation include the saturated fat found in meat and dairy products, fast food, junk food, fried food, palm oil, foods with trans fats .
The good news is that some foods aid the inflamed body. Lowering inflammation can be achieved by increasing unprocessed foods.
Good diet tips: Choose foods with unsaturated fats, such foods are the oil in fish oils, nuts, flaxseed these carry the famed omega-3 fatty acids.
Also, olive oil, avocado oil and fruits and vegetables, mushrooms, legumes, whole grains, teas, and spices.
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