Top 10 Tips to Lose Belly Fat
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Losing fat around the midline, especially after the holidays, is one of the main weight loss goals most people and my new clients want to achieve.
Not only does it make it harder to close those pants, but belly fat puts us more at risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, according to Harvard Health.
The harmful fat which accumulates around our belly and internal organs is visceral fat. Men and menopausal women are more likely to carry around this visceral fat. What’s considered too much belly fat?
Stand and place a tape measure around your bare stomach, just above your hipbone.
Pull the tape measure until it fits snugly around you, but doesn't push into your skin. Make sure the tape measure is level all the way around.
Relax, exhale and measure your waist, resisting the urge to suck in your stomach.
For women, a waist measurement of more than 35 inches (89 centimeters) indicates an unhealthy concentration of belly fat and a greater risk of health problems.
10 tips to lose belly fat
Are you ready to lose a little around the middle? I am giving you the top 10 changes from my book, so you can begin your weight loss journey.
Cut down on the sugar. Sugar is in most everything we eat. Other than the obvious cookies, cakes, donuts and candy, sugar is in jarred tomato sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, orange juice and many more foods. Take a look at this food label from a “healthy cereal” box.
cereal nutrition label
2. Control portion size. We, as a society, have been eating larger portions since the 1970’s. With the popularity of value meals and open buffets our portions increased along with our waistlines. Our plate should be broken down to include lean protein, whole grains, fruit and vegetables at every meal.
3. Get sleep. With our obsession of always being busy, whether its work, school, shuffling kid’s schedules, or endlessly scrolling social media, we’re just not getting enough sleep. A 16-year study involving more than 68,000 women found that those who slept less than 5 hours per night were significantly more likely to gain weight than those who slept 7 hours or more per night.
4. Track your food and exercise. Using a tracker or food log really helps you see the big picture when it comes to how much macros you're eating as well as calories. Macros are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Same with exercise and calorie burn. I give my new clients a mini tracker so they can track our sessions and plan what exercise they can do on their own.
Additional reading: Carbohydrates: Friend or Foe
10 High Protein Food Which Help with Weight Loss
5. Get in some cardio. Whether it’s a powerwalk, swimming, biking, a class, just do-it. Cardio three times a week for 20 minutes really does help burn calories. Make sure you get your heart rate between in the 80-89% range. Use a heart rate monitor that you can wear to track calorie burn and heart rate. I use my Apple Watch. Another good fitness tracker is the Fitbit.
6. Strength training. Alternate your cardio days with strength training. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. You don’t have bulk up like Arnold but lean muscle mass does definitely help with caloric burn. You don’t even have to go to the gym. You can have a few inexpensive pieces of equipment at home such as a kettlebell or a medicine ball.
7. Do a HIIT class. I’m very biased to HIIT classes, first, because I teach them at the gym and second because they are such a great workout for both cardio and strength. My clients get an average 400 calorie burn in one 50-minute class. HIIT is high intensity interval training which means we do bursts of 30 second to 1-minute sprints with rest in between followed by strength training.
8. Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol can have health benefits in small amounts, but it’s 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 don’t need to give it up altogether but limiting the amount you drink in a single day can help.
9. Reduce stress. You’re probably saying yeah right. I know, I sit in traffic too. But stress can make you gain belly fat by triggering the adrenal glands to produce cortisol, which is also known as the stress hormone. Research does show that high cortisol levels increase appetite and drive abdominal fat storage, especially for women.
10. Lead a healthier lifestyle. Just doing one of these items doesn’t have a big effect all on its own. If you want results, you need to combine different methods which have been shown to be effective. Therefore, changing your lifestyle for the long term is the key to losing your belly fat and keeping it off. When you have healthy habits and eat whole food, fat loss tends to follow.
There are no magic solutions to losing weight. It takes effort, time and commitment. But again, leading an overall healthy lifestyle which includes eating the right type of food and getting enough exercise will assist if your goal is to lose belly fat and/or maintain a current healthy weight.
