You’re Not Tracking Your Progress
Another important point from Dr Luke. While every person is different and what weight loss plan works for them will be different, tracking your progress can serve as an encouraging reminder that what you are doing is working.
“There are some great apps and wearable tech devices available that make it easier to stick to your plan. They can help you monitor your goals, your food intake and the calories burned during exercise. If these arent an option, write down a meal and exercise plan. This will help you stick to your goals and remain focussed,” he explains.
How Long Does It Take To Lose Belly Fat
As mentioned, anyone wondering how to lose belly fat fast isn’t alone, but this isn’t always realistic, and almost always not sustainable. It plays out differently for every single person. Our genetics, age, lifestyle, stress and sleep all play a role in how fast we lose belly fat the same goes for all body fat actually.
It’s not about trying to lose belly fat in a week or get rid of belly fat fast it’s about sticking to a pace that keeps you trucking on. For most people, the best way to lose belly fat looks like an 80/20 split of healthy habits and ones that are, perhaps, more fun than functional.
Read our complete guide on how long it takes to lose weight.
Foods To Reduce If You’re Trying To Lose Belly Fat
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Eat More Fermented Foods
“The root cause of many health concerns can be linked back to our digestive tracts. A high-stress lifestyle, poor food choices, and inadequate sleep can all disrupt the body’s natural ability to break down food and maintain a healthy weight Eating fermented foods like miso, kimchi, kefir, and sauerkraut can help put the good bacteria back into our digestive tracts, allowing everything to work more efficiently. Taking a probiotic like HUM’s Gut Instinct is a great way to get an added boost of the healthy bacteria needed to maintain a healthy weight.” Sarah Greenfield, RD, CSSD, HUM Nutrition‘s Director of Education
Use Less Cream And Sugar In Your Coffee
You don’t have to drink your coffee black for it to be healthy, but it’s important to consider what you’re adding to your morning cup of Joe on a daily basis.
“Unhealthy creamers that we put in our coffee have added sugars and artificial flavors that can be detrimental to our belly area. On top of that, adding your own sugar with the creamer to your coffee will have double the effects. Too much sugar, especially at breakfast, can cause us to want more sugar throughout the day. It also slows down our metabolism, which won’t help us burn calories, provide the energy we need to exercise, or burn belly fat. Instead, try having your coffee black, or with alternative sweeteners. You can even add protein to your coffee, which would be an awesome habit replacement,” says D’Angelo.
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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.
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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Swap Carbs For Proteins
“Although there is no magic cure for getting rid of belly fat, eating adequate protein and cutting down on refined high glycemic carbs can help,” says , a New York City-based registered dietitian. “Protein helps keep you feeling full longer and the body burns more calories breaking them down compared with carbs and fat. Lastly, protein doesn’t cause insulin spikes like refined carbs do. High levels of insulin have been linked to more belly fatand this is especially true as we get older,” says McKittrick. Swap white toast for greens or fruit salad at brunch, pick Greek yogurt over a bagel for breakfast when you’re dining out, and opt for grilled chicken or fish instead of a pasta dish.
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.
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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.
What Causes A Beer Belly In Men
If you want to know how to lose belly fat for men, you need to know what triggers a beer gut in the first place. The following factors can lead to a hardened, rotund abdomen and excessive weight gain in men.
- Drinking carbonated beverages
- Aging
- Smoking
When there are multiple contributing factors to an extended abdomen and waistline, there is an increased risk of suffering cardiovascular health problems, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Sometimes genetics is a significant reason a man quickly gains a beer belly and has difficulty getting rid of it. Reducing the visceral fat accumulated over the intestines and liver is vital to creating a flattering gut.
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Eat Every Three To Four Hours
Starving yourself and skipping meals is no way to lose weight safely. Instead, keep your metabolism fire up by eating every three to four hours and adding in plenty of complex carbs and protein, with fibre
Swap refined carbs such as white pasta, bread and rice for the wholemeal version and ditch processed foods. One of the good things that’s come out of lockdown is that people have had time to prepare food from scratch rather than relying on a quick ready meal. Keep in that habit a simple rule to follow is that if something needs an ingredients label, make it yourself instead.
Choose Red Fruit Over Green
If you want to make a simple swap that’ll help you lose belly fat in 2 weeks, start eating red fruits over greens. That means Pink Lady over Granny Smith apples, watermelon over honeydew, red grapes over green ones. The higher levels of nutrients called flavonoidsparticularly anthocyanins, compounds that give red fruits their colorcalm the action of fat-storage genes. In fact, red-bellied stone fruits like plums boast phenolic compounds that have been shown to modulate the expression of fat genes.
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Do Exercises Standing Instead Of Sitting
Performing exercises while standing up may benefit your health more than performing the same exercises while sitting or using weight machines.
A study comparing the effects of standing and sitting exercises showed that some standing exercises increased muscle activation by 725%, compared to sitting (
62 ).
In fact, walking briskly for 3040 minutes per day has been linked to a significant reduction of dangerous tummy fat and a slimmer waistline .
Bottom Line:
Walking for 30 minutes daily may slim your waistline and prevent the accumulation of dangerous tummy fat.
Here Are More General Tips To Help You Lose Body Fat
The focus should be on losing body fat all over, not just in your belly. Be aware of the decisions you are making throughout your day that may preventing you from losing belly fat.
For example, are you consuming a lot of alcohol, soft drinks, fast food, or dont make time to exercise?
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How To Shrink Belly Naturally
- Drink water: Drinking water before meals help stretch your stomach and increases your fullness before eating.
- Drink coffee: It can naturally enahnce slow metabolism and increase the chance of burning fat
- Eat a healthy diet: this includes proteins, healthy carbs, fruits, and veggies because the stomach lining recognizes this food as most beneficial, and hunger hormones will decrease.
- Eat small meals: This habit will reduce solid cravings for carbs or sweets and control your blood sugar as well.
- Be mindful
Shrinking your stomach is not only about what you are putting in the body but also what is going in the brain. The Brown University carried out research and concluded that individuals with less mindfulness had less visceral fat around their stomachs than stressed ones. In addition, eating mindfully can also happen as the top best way to shrink your stomach.
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- Eliminate the sugary drinks
Essentially, consuming excess sugar may seem a major driver to having lots of fats in our stomach. This is because high sugar consumption increases the levels of visceral fat by promoting insulin resistance as well as spurring inflammation in your body. In this case, avoid sweetened tea, sodas, and coffee in hot drinks and other diets.
- Make the metabolism tea.
Generally, a sluggish digestive system is almost equal to a sluggish metabolic rate. Thus, wake upright in your innards and starts your day with ginger tea.
- Choose healthful fats
Best Foods To Lose Belly Fat
It’s not all about eating less. Music to our ears, we’re sure you’ll agree. Rather than simply cutting down on kcals, you need to consider the kind of food you’re consuming, too.
Belalij suggests building meals around lots of nutrient-rich vegetables, a source of protein and some healthy, unprocessed carbs. ‘Start with leafy greens such as spinach, kale and collard greens, then add carrots, broccoli and peas.’
‘Lean meats, including turkey and chicken, are ideal as they are lower in fat and therefore calories, or, if you are vegetarian/vegan, add in tofu or a handful of nuts such as pine, cashew or almonds and a sprinkling of seeds . When it comes to carbohydrates, rice, quinoa and potatoes are perfect.’
Your best course of action is to make small, manageable changes, and figure out what’s most sustainable for you. Remember: we’re after long term change, not short-lived tweaks. Cutting down on processed foods will also likely help with water retention which, while it’s not an approach we’d recommend, can be helpful for anyone searching ‘how to lose belly fat in a week’.
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Scientific Reasons For Belly Fat
We all know that eating too much and moving too little is the foundation upon which flab is built. But theres more to the belly fat equation than calories in and calories out. Certain stressors, for example, will see you scaling your belt notches with very little effort. Heres what you should look out for.
Eat Plenty Of Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gel that helps slow down food as it passes through your digestive system.
Studies show that this type of fiber promotes weight loss by helping you feel full, so you naturally eat less. It may also decrease the number of calories your body absorbs from food .
Whats more, soluble fiber may help fight belly fat.
An observational study in over 1,100 adults found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fiber intake, belly fat gain decreased by 3.7% over a 5-year period (
Make an effort to consume high fiber foods every day. Excellent include:
- flax seeds
- blackberries
SUMMARY
Soluble fiber may help you to lose weight by increasing fullness and reducing calorie absorption. Try to include plenty of high fiber foods in your weight loss diet.
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Avoid Foods That Contain Trans Fats
Trans fats are created by pumping hydrogen into unsaturated fats, such as soybean oil.
Theyre found in some and spreads and also often added to packaged foods, but many food producers have stopped using them.
These fats have been linked to inflammation, heart disease, insulin resistance, and abdominal fat gain in observational and animal studies .
A 6-year study found that monkeys who ate a high trans fat diet gained 33% more abdominal fat than those eating a diet high in monounsaturated fat .
To help reduce belly fat and protect your health, read ingredient labels carefully and stay away from products that contain trans fats. These are often listed as partially hydrogenated fats.
SUMMARY
Some studies have linked a high intake of trans fat to increased belly fat gain. Regardless of whether youre trying to lose weight, limiting your intake of trans fat is a good idea.
Alcohol can have health benefits in small amounts, but its seriously harmful if you drink too much.
Research suggests that too much alcohol can also make you gain belly fat.
Observational studies link heavy alcohol consumption to a significantly increased risk of developing central obesity that is, excess fat storage around the waist .
Cutting back on alcohol may help reduce your waist size. You dont need to give it up altogether, but limiting the amount you drink in a single day can help.
One study on alcohol use involved more than 2,000 people.
- meat
- beans
26 ).
Thin People Have It Too
Even if you’re thin, you can still have too much visceral fat.
How much you have is partly about your genes, and partly about your lifestyle, especially how active you are.
Visceral fat likes inactivity. In one study, thin people who watched their diets but didn’t exercise were more likely to have too much visceral fat.
The key is to be active, no matter what size you are.
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