For all of those who have struggled with obesity, spot reducing problem areas is a nightmare. Whereas healthy diet and light exercise may help you drop few pounds overall, shedding your “spare tire” is another story. Sometimes you don’t have to be visually overweight in order to have problems with obesity. Even skinny people struggle with problem areas like thighs fat, chest fat and belly fat.
But all fat tissue – and this is backed by scientific research – is not created equal. Not only that certain areas are far more problematic when it comes to weight loss, but they raise various degrees of red flags in terms of overall health as well. This guide will address a specific type of weight loss. If you ever wondered how to lose belly fat, just continue reading and have an answer to your questions that is scientifically proven and backed by research.
So let’s scroll through this article and wave your abdominal fat goodbye.
How to lose belly fat – step 1, change your diet
This comes as a shock for some, but your nutrition habits are the ones mostly responsible for your large tummy. Even if you don’t exercise, you can still reduce your belly fat by getting rid of certain foods, and consume more of what’s healthy and recommended. For starters, you will have to:
- Get rid of processed sugar
Whether it comes in the form of food or beverage, it doesn’t really matter. It is contributing to your insulin resistance, and as such getting your entire system out of balance. It doesn’t have nutritional value and packs a lot of calories for the smallest of servings. But this concern comes secondary… What’s more important is that artificial sugar increases insulin resistance making you even hungrier. - Stop consuming alcohol for a while
The term “beer belly” doesn’t come out of nowhere. For alcohol, you see, is packed with calories. It will cause an imbalance to your hormonal levels as well, increasing estrogen, making you even more prone to gaining weight. - Avoid trans fats at all cost
Trans fats, the most dangerous of the bunch, are a type of fat that metabolizes at a much slower rate than usual. They are stored in your body and stay there much longer. Mostly used in order to prolong shelf lives of certain products, they will increase the risk of a palate of other health disorders and diseases. Avoid them at any cost.
After you accept these barriers, it comes time to locate the foods that will help you reduce abdominal fat. Here is a short list of dietary habits and types of food that will burn fat at a much faster rate:
- Eat more protein
Protein consumption increases your metabolic rate up to 30%, so you’d want to have a protein rich diet on the expense of fewer carbs. Your best option would be to go with lean chicken breasts, or turkey, and salmon or tuna. Eating whole grain as your main source of carbs will help you reduce your carb caloric intake while at the same time providing extra dietary protein as well. - Eat more fiber
Fiber, when you are trying to lose belly fat, is definitely your best friend. Most people don’t consume the recommended daily intake, and this is heavily correlated with increased obesity. You’d want to consume up to 37 grams of fiber if male and 27 if female. And here is why… Fiber comes in two types- soluble and insoluble. And this division refers to its ability to dissolve in water. Soluble fiber, the one that dissolves in water, will stay in your digestive track for a while, making sure that your hunger and appetite is lowered significantly. It will also provide healthy bacteria that improve digestion. - Eat 5 meals per day
Not only you will reduce hunger and improve hormonal balance, but you will make sure that metabolic rates are up throughout the entire day. Aim for 3 main meals and 2 snacks in between them.
And while we are still in the department of food, here is a list of 3 super foods that will help you lose belly fat faster than usual:
- Curcumin
Curcumin is the active ingredient in the Turmeric spice. The one that gives curry its distinctive color. It has anti-inflammatory properties and reduces oxidation and forming of free radicals. What curcumin also does is increasing the fat burning properties of your system. Simply supplement some into your daily meals and watch the belly shrinking over the next month or two. Due to its low bloodstream absorption, you’d want to add an additional supplement to help remedy that. As it turns out, there is a natural and cheap method available, and it’s adding black pepper along with curcumin. - Cruciferous vegetables
Rich with Indole-3-carbinol, vegetables like cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower can really help you lose belly fat. They lower bad estrogen and will help you lose fat tissue at much faster rates. A single serving of 100 grams per day is sufficient to see results over the long haul. - Ginger root
Ginger root is a powerful antioxidant, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory agent. It can help you lose weight much faster by improving digestion, detoxifying the body, and increasing metabolic rates. Lots of studies point out to the efficacy that ginger has when it comes to getting rid of abdominal fat.
Anaerobic exercises will help you lose belly fat
As all fat is not created equal, workouts differ from one another as well. And while resistance workouts might help you in strengthening the muscles and burning fat over the long haul, anaerobic exercise has a much stronger effect when it comes to getting rid of belly fat. Everything that gets your heart rate up is going to help.
You will want to start with cardio workouts, mixed with some resistance moves to activate your core. Once or twice per week is enough at first and you will be able to notice a slight drop in weight even after 10 days. Then, you can pick up a competitive sport, and shed your belly even more. Competitive sports will have you accelerating and resting on repeating intervals, and that’s very similar to Tabatha and high-intensity interval workouts.
You can also search YouTube for cardio based ab-centric exercises, and find plenty of ones that will have you sweating in short 30-minute intervals. Avoid long repetitive cardio at low intensity at all costs, and you will be doing visible progress with these anaerobic workouts in less than 10 days.
So there you have it, a full guide on how to lose belly fat in less than a month. Follow the instructions from above, stay consistent, and you will drop few pounds even within the first 10 days.