Getting Rid Of Belly Fat With Exercise
Best Lower Ab Exercises
If youre looking for the best lower ab exercises then you come to the right place.
A lot of the time it can feel like many of your workouts arent hitting your lower abs a.k.a. the area below the belt.
Many people when theyre working their abs will feel it more in the upper portion. It can be hard to find the right exercises to work your lower abs and its also the most stubborn area.
Your lower abs will be one of the hardest parts on your body to get rid of and youre really going to need to put some work in.
Many women tend to hold extra fat there because of hormones. It can be incredibly frustrating and embarrassing area of fat to have hanging onto your body.
Some so-called experts out there say theres no such thing as lower abs.
Yes, its true the rectus abdominis is just one muscle. But it is possible to target different parts of the same muscle such as your upper and lower abs to a certain extent.
It can be hard to find the most effective lower ab exercises to tone up that stubborn area below your belly button.
The good news is youll be able to tone up that lower ab area despite your genetics and your current fitness level.
Here youll find the 10 best lower ab exercises you can use to finally tighten up the area below your belt.
What Causes A Stomach Pooch
There are a number of reasons why you may develop a stubborn bulge or pooch of abdominal fat, including:
- Hormones
In many cases, the actual cause of an abdominal pooch is a separation of the abdominal muscles, known as diastasis recti. In patients with diastasis recti, the abdominal muscles become weakened and pull apart at the midline, often due to pregnancy and/or weight gain. Other times, stubborn pockets of fat that do not respond well to diet and exercise simply develop as a natural side effect of aging. Finally, loose or sagging skin can mimic the appearance of bulging belly fat and is sometimes caused by weight loss, aging, or pregnancy. Whatever the cause of your stomach pooch, it can understandably be frustrating and embarrassing.
Don’t Miss: Does Holding Your Stomach In Help Lose Belly Fat
Focus On The Way Your Clothes Fit More Than Reading A Scale
As you add muscle mass and lose fat, the reading on your bathroom scale maynot change much, but your pants will be looser. Thats a better mark ofprogress. Measured around, your waistline should be less than 35 inches ifyoure a woman or less than 40 inches if youre a man to reduce heart anddiabetes risks.
You’re Consuming Too Much Sugar
“If your diet consists of lots of sports drinks, sugar-sweetened drinks like fizzy coca cola and flavoured waters, or sugary foods like chocolate and cakes, it will make losing weight harder,” Dr Luke reckons. He also explains that while whole fruits and vegetables are undoubtedly good for you, they can also sometimes cause weight gain if you eat too much, as they have high levels of natural sugars in them. “Low-fat food options might have high amounts of added sugar in there too, so make sure to check the food label”, he warns.
Plus, cutting back on the amount of simple carbohydrates you eat, like pasta and bread, and substituting for healthier alternatives, like courgetti, could help with weight loss. “It wont be easy, but by dropping your overall carbohydrate intake , you will have the best chance of tackling your belly fat,” shares Dr Luke.
However, Emily has a slightly different take on this one. She explains that, while Dr Luke isn’t wrong in saying that, nutritionally speaking, the above foods aren’t as nutritionally-dense, they won’t ultimately affect weight loss if you’re still maintaining a calorie deficit. “I’m a big believer that you don’t need to cut out foods or become consumed with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ labels when it comes to your nutrition,” she shares.
See, you don’t have to cut out the foods you love. It’s all about moderation.
Don’t Miss: Does Birth Control Make Your Stomach Hurt
Try Curbing Carbs Instead Of Fats
When Johns Hopkins researchers compared the effects on the heart of losingweight through a low-carbohydrate diet versus a low-fat diet for sixmonthseach containing the same amount of caloriesthose on a low-carb dietlost an average of 10 pounds more than those on a low-fat diet28.9 poundsversus 18.7 pounds. An extra benefit of the low-carb diet is that itproduced a higher quality of weight loss, Stewart says. With weight loss,fat is reduced, but there is also often a loss of lean tissue ,which is not desirable. On both diets, there was a loss of about 2 to 3pounds of good lean tissue along with the fat, which means that the fatloss percentage was much higher on the low-carb diet.
Whether Youre Trying To Lose Fat Around The Belly Or Trim Your Lower Body Including The Thighs And Legs You Need To Focus On All Key Areas Required To Slim Down Along With Those Targeted Exercises
New Delhi: Running on a treadmill everyday would certainly help you burn calories and lose weight. But it seems you would need a strategic approach and move to help you lose fat from one particular area such as the thighs, legs, waistline, and even buttocks. But, before getting started with your weight loss plan, you need to understand the fact that its important to overhaul your lifestyle if youre really serious about achieving a permanently fit body.
You need to keep in mind that while spot reduction has been promoted as a way to target belly fat or fat stores in certain areas, many studies have dismissed the idea. So, whether youre trying to lose fat around the abdomen or trim your lower body, including the thighs and legs, you need to focus on all key areas required to slim down along with those targeted exercises.
Diet comes first
Remember, a healthy and fit body is achievable when you are very focused on your diet and nutrition, which is the single most effective way to help you do the job. Your diet has a great impact on your body composition, weight, and overall health and well-being. Focusing on eating more of fibrous fruits and vegetables, protein from fish and lean meats, healthy fats from nuts and seeds, whole grains will help you drop fat from all areas of your body, including your stomach, thighs and calves. Make sure you drink enough water to help you stay hydrated, filter out bloating toxins, and keep your digestive system running smoothly.
Train smart
Recommended Reading: How To Tighten Stomach Muscles In 2 Weeks
Limit Sugary Foods And Drinks
Consuming a lot of sugar like soda, candy, or sweetened coffee can spike your blood sugar.
In turn, that signals your body to store fat, especially in your belly. Too much sugar can also create an inflammatory response in the body, and when that happens, belly fat will accumulate. Cutting back on your sugar intake can help you avoid this storage of belly fat.
Move Your Body Everyday In Any Way You Can
Daily movement is not only healthy, but typically makes you feel better, too. Make sure to move your body in some shape or form every single day, and remember that this exercise doesn’t necessarily require a trip to the gym. It can be anything from walking a certain amount of steps to taking the stairs instead of the elevator. “If you’re looking to burn more calories than you consume, you need to get yourself moving at least once a day,” Pelc Graca says.
Read Also: Can You Get Rid Of Cellulite On Stomach
These Steps Will Show You How To Reduce Bloating
When you’re trying to ease the pressure off of your bloated tum , you’ll want to rely on these digestion-promoting methods to help you reduce bloating in just 24 hours. Here, we help you identify which habits and foods can help reduce bloating and rev up your metabolism along the way.
Hopefully, after you follow a few of our 25 tips on how to reduce bloating there will be minimal instances of trying to squeeze into your favorite pair of jeans.
Add Some Acidic Foods
Don’t buy your tickets to Bonnaroo just yet the kind of acid that will help you slim down is the stuff right inside your cabinet. A 12-week study published in Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry reveals that obese study subjects who made vinegar part of their diet dropped more belly fat than a control group, and other research suggests that acidic foods, like vinegar, can increase the human carbohydrate metabolism by as much as 40%.
Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Flabby Stomach
How To Lose Fat From Stubborn Areas
I know that you cant spot reduce fat. This means that if you do crunches, its not going to help you get rid of the fat from your stomach. But you can do certain things to help lose fat from stubborn areas, such as inner thighs, hips , lower belly and back of arms. Obviously losing weight overall will help you slim down these areas too and is always a good thing to focus on if you want to lower your body fat. Losing fat overall will come from a combination of a good diet, cardio and resistance training.
In this blog post, I want to tell you about my own experiences with losing fat in these stubborn areas and what works for me .
Consider The 80/20 Guideline For Nutrition Vs Exercise
It’s not possible to reduce fat from specific spots in your body, but you can reduce lower belly fat by reducing your overall percentage of body fat, explains Nick Hounslow an LA-based ISSA certified personal trainer.
“This is done by following a diet of whole or minimally processed foods that contain protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients, he says. “You’ll want to make sure that you’re eating fewer calories than you are burning in a day.”
Be careful not to overdo it and cut too many calories or do so too quicklya slow and steady weight loss is optimal for long-term success, he says.
“As a nutritionist, I tell my clients that you can work your core all you want but if your nutrition isnt 80% you will not see any results,” says Stephanie Rofkahr, nutritionist and certified personal trainer. Here, Rofkahr is speaking to the concept that is generally accepted by the fitness and nutrition community: weight loss is 80% proper nutrition and 20% exercise.
Read Also: How To Flatten Stomach Naturally
Exercising To Flatten Your Stomach
Avoid Eating After Dinner
Stop treating your kitchen like an all-night diner and you’ll stop seeing those unwanted pounds piling onto your frame, too. The results of a study published in Cell Metabolism found that mice who only had access to food during an eight-hour period stayed slim over the course of the study, while those who ate the same number of calories over a 16-hour period gained significantly more weight, particularly around their middle. When you’re finished with dinner at night, shut the fridge and don’t look back until morning your belly will thank you. When you do head back to the kitchen in the A.M., make sure the best healthy kitchen staples for cooking are there waiting for you.
Recommended Reading: What Causes Your Stomach To Hurt All The Time
You May Have Excess Visceral Fat
The stomach stores two types of fats, subcutaneous fat and visceral fat.
Subcutaneous fat is stored beneath the skin while visceral fat is stored around internal organs.
You may have small amounts of subcutaneous fat but a lot of visceral fat. Not only will this make your belly bigger, but itll also increase the risk of diseases.
Research has linked visceral fat to insulin resistance, high blood pressure, heart disease, and type II diabetes.
How to fix it: Do high-intensity exercises, reduce alcohol intake, avoid trans fats, and eat low-calorie foods.
Take Time To Meditate
The older, wiser, less-bendy sister of yoga, meditation is an amazing activity that people can reap major rewards from. A 2014 study in Eating Behaviorsfound that individuals who meditate are less likely to overeat or give in to emotional eatingand this is key if you want to stay on track with your anti-bloat plan over the next day. To get started, unroll a yoga mat or sit on a carpet in a sunny room and take five uninterrupted minutes thinking about something that you’re grateful for.
Don’t Miss: How To Get Rid Of Bad Stomach Pain
You Haven’t Got The Right Exercise Balance
With all the different tips out there, it can be tricky to understand exactly which exercises work the best. “HIIT is great for fat burning and will get your heart rate up, but I’d also recommend including strength and resistance exercises too,” shares Dr Luke. “Try lifting weights, using resistance bands or using the weight machines at the gym as these will increase your metabolism to help with weight loss, and increase your muscle strength. It’s important to mix-up your whole-body workouts so you don’t get bored.”
Eat More Protein Particularly From Dairy
A study from Canadas McMaster University put women on several different diets and found they all lost the same amount of weight but that the higher-protein, high-dairy group lost the most belly fat while also gaining and holding onto the most muscle mass. It seems increasing calcium and protein in the diet may help to further promote loss of fat from the worst storage area in the body, said Andrea Josse, lead author of the study.
You May Like: How To Lift Your Stomach
Eat More Fiber Especially Soluble Fiber
Soluble fibers absorb large quantities of water and slow down the passing of food through the digestive tract.
This has been shown to delay stomach emptying, causing the stomach to expand and make you feel full .
Furthermore, soluble fiber may decrease the number of calories your body is able to absorb from food .
By eating soluble fiber, you are also less likely to accumulate fat around your organs, which reduces your waist circumference and the risk of several diseases .
One observational study showed that each 10-gram increase in daily soluble fiber intake decreased fat gain around the midsection by 3.7% over five years (
- Lactobacillus gasseri
Probiotic foods include some types of yogurt, kefir, tempeh, kimchi and pickles.
There are also a wide variety of probiotic supplements available. However, these supplements usually contain several strains of bacteria, so make sure to pick one that contains at least one of the strains mentioned above.
Bottom Line:
Probiotics may help build up beneficial gut flora. Some Lactobacillus strains have been shown to be particularly effective at reducing waist size.
Go Without Processed Grains
Processed grains, like white bread and pasta, take less time to digest and are quickly converted into sugar and eventually fat.
“By frequently eating highly processed grain products, even in moderate amounts, you will be signaling to your body to store the high levels of sugar as fat,” Quebbemann says.
What the research says: A 2010 study found that people who limit refined grains and eat more whole grains have lower levels of visceral fat, which is located around abdominal organs.
Don’t Miss: What To Do To Slim Down Stomach