The best exercise and healthy diet tips for losing weight.
When talking to people about weight loss, the most common response that most people will give you is that they would like to lose belly fat. Although, fat loss in this area can be incredibly tough. This is due to the fact that belly fat loss occurs at a slower rate than other body fat. There are a number of factors that contribute to this. However, in its simplest form, fat cells in the stomach area have a higher number of alpha receptors, alpha receptors slow lipolysis (fat burning) down and beta receptors trigger lipolysis, in turn, this makes the belly fat more stubborn to get rid of!
There are many things that you can do to help get rid of belly fat, but there is no one size fits all solution. The best way to lose belly fat is through a healthy diet and exercise. Here are 12 simple and effective methods that will help you cut belly fat in a healthy way so your weight loss goals can be met!
What is Belly Fat and what exercise and healthy diet tips can you use to tackle it?
So, what is belly fat? And why should you care? Belly fat, clinically referred to as visceral adipose tissue (VAT), is the most serious form of body fat. It’s located in the midsection around your abdominal organs and contributes to diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and dementia.
Unlike subcutaneous fat (the kind that sits just under the skin), belly fat surrounds your vital organs and releases inflammatory molecules that impair function. This type of fat increases the risk for chronic diseases more than any other kind of body fat.
That’s why it’s so important to lose belly fat: not only will it make you look and feel better, but it could also save your life!
1. Reduce Your Caloric Intake
One of the simplest and most effective ways to lose belly fat is to consume fewer calories. If you are eating more than you are burning, you will not lose weight, no matter what else you do! Aim to reduce your caloric intake by 500-1000 per day whilst maintaining a healthy diet and the results will quickly show.
2. Control Your Portion Sizes
One of the most effective ways to control your caloric intake is to simply eat smaller portions. Eat 5/6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. This will help keep your metabolism stimulated and prevent you from overindulging later in the day!
3. Avoid Sugar and Processed Foods as part of a healthy diet
Sugar is one of the main culprits for building belly fat! It causes swelling in the body and can lead to weight gain. Processed foods are high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and sodium. All of these things can lead to weight gain and belly fat.
If belly fat is your problem, try to avoid sugar as much as possible. Avoid fizzy drinks, sweets, and sugary cereals. Cut down on processed foods and eat whole, unprocessed foods that are low in sugar and calories.
4. Drink Lots of Water
Water is key to a healthy and balanced diet. Water will help you stay hydrated and flush out toxins in the body that might be causing belly fat storage. Being hydrated is incredibly important for achieving weight loss goals because it helps quench thirst, which can often be confused for hunger! It’s recommended that men consume 10 cups of water a day and 8 for women.
5. Incorporate daily cardio
Adding some exercise into your daily routine can quickly burn any unwanted excess belly fat. Whether you go on a walk first thing in the morning or find time during lunch break at work for a quick jog around the block. Even if you only have a few minutes to spare in between tasks throughout the day, try incorporating some crunches, planks or press-ups in intervals into your routine It’s easy and fits right into any schedule!
Other cardio exercises like jogging, cycling, and swimming are great ways to burn belly fat while keeping yourself fit. Initially, aim for an attainable goal such as 30 minutes per day minimum. Working up to 60 minutes total each day depending on how much belly fat you want to lose!
6. Strength Train At Least Twice a Week
Strength training not only helps you burn belly fat, but it also helps tone your body and improve your overall fitness.
Strength training is a vital part of any weight loss program because it helps build muscle mass, which ultimately burns more calories. It’s also great for building better posture, making it easier to maintain a healthy belly. Working out with weights or doing bodyweight exercises (such as squats, lunges, push-ups, crunches) a few times per week will help get rid of belly fat.
7. Add High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Exercises
Cardio is a great way to burn belly fat and lose weight. Cardio doesn’t have to mean long, boring runs on a treadmill. Try doing HIIT for 20 minutes three times per week and you will help your belly fat disappear, faster! HIIT is an exercise routine that involves short bursts of intense activity followed by longer recovery periods. This type of exercise helps you get fit more quickly than traditional workouts while helping you burn belly fat at the same time!
8. Avoid Eating Late at Night
Eating late at night can cause weight gain because your body is not able to metabolize the food when you are inactive or sleeping. If you are trying to maintain a healthy diet and shed belly fat, try to avoid snacking after dinner altogether or have something light like fruit or yoghurt instead, although the best course of action would be to try to stop eating at least two hours before you plan on going to bed.
9. Get Plenty of Sleep
Sleep depravity will lead to unhealthy habits that cause weight gain in general, and belly fat is no exception! When you’re tired, you are more likely to reach for easily accessible, unhealthy foods in order to gain energy. Adequate sleep regulates your body’s release of hormones which in turn regulate a plethora of matters including appetite. When we don’t get enough sleep, our hunger hormone ghrelin increases while our satiety hormone leptin decreases. Leads us to feel hungry more often and gives our bodies the impression, that we need to eat more than necessary to become full. This leads us to eat more than usual without realizing it – hence belly fat gain! Aim for at least seven hours of shut-eye each night if you’re trying to lose weight or maintain an already slim figure.
10. Eliminate Alcohol
Alcohol, including small portions of red wine, can constitute a healthy diet although you should eliminate alcohol from your life if belly fat loss is what you are trying to achieve. Alcohol contains empty calories that contribute nothing nutritionally to your diet and will massively hinder your weight loss goals.
If eliminating alcohol completely is too much of a shock to your system and lifestyle, then find ways of limiting your consumption, including low-calorie alcohol options, or just sticking to non-alcoholic beverages on a typical night out. For most of us, it’s the after-effect that alcohol has on us which is the problem, hangovers generally lead to inactivity, binging and bad eating behaviours. Ultimately, overindulging in alcohol isn’t part of a healthy diet although don’t beat yourself up over the occasional wild night out!
11. Eat Smaller, More Frequent Meals Throughout the Day
Eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day instead of three large meals. Larger meals can drain energy due to the body reallocating energy to digest your food. When you eat smaller meals, your body will have an easier time digesting them, giving you more energy to exercise and improving the likelihood that you will be less likely to store belly fat.
12. Make sure that every meal includes protein
Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet and an important nutrient for weight loss because it helps build muscle and keeps you feeling fuller for longer thus preventing cravings for readily available, unhealthy foods. Good sources of protein include lean meats such as turkey and chicken, eggs, tofu, mushrooms, legumes, and nuts/seeds.
Ultimately, if you’re dealing with stubborn belly fat, the best steps you can take to reduce it are improving your diet, lowering your calorific intake, and consistently exercising. At Revive Nutrition, we know all too well how difficult it can be to maintain a healthy diet around a busy work/life schedule. That’s the beauty of our meal prep. We’ll deliver fresh, healthy meals with perfect portion sizes and macro information to help you monitor your goals!
So, why not try Revive today and allow us to help you achieve your goals!
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