Get Rid of That Stomach! How to Lose Belly Fat

     If you asked any random person off the street where the most unpleasant place to gain weight was, chances are the vast majority of people would agree: The stomach. It's never encouraging to see your belly hanging over your pants or jiggling when you walk, but the blow to our confidence is the most mild blow that belly fat deals. In fact, of all the fat that accumulates on a person's body, stomach fat is the most unhealthy. A recent study has shown that fat accumulating around the stomach can triple your risk of dementia and double your risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. What then can we do to help shed off all of this stubborn tummy fat?

Stomach fat has long been thought of as the most stubborn kind of fat to lose, but fortunately, despite popular opinion, it's actually not as hard to lose as it can seem. Burning off belly fat is a two-step process: Consistent, daily exercise and eating low-fat and healthier foods. As obvious as these two steps may sound, there is no better way to flatten your stomach.

It is commonly thought that to lose weight around the stomach and get those perfect "six pack abs", one must do a lot of crunches or other abdominal exercises, and while these exercises are great for toning the muscles, they are not what need to be done to lose belly fat. The very best exercising you can do to lose abdominal fat is cardiovascular exercise. This is because there is no real way to selectively "choose" where your body loses fat from, so to lose weight from your stomach you also have to set out to lose weight all over. We're back to that system of energy input must be less than energy output. - AKA: You shouldn't intake more calories than you expel in a single day. Stomach fat is stored energy, so to get rid of it, you must burn extra energy through aerobic exercise. Walking, jogging, stair stepping and bicycling are all great exercises to help your body burn fat.

Like all things, your workout routine shouldn't be one-sided, and studies have shown that those who incorporate muscle-building and weight training exercises into their workout can lose almost three times more weight than those who do cardiovascular exercises alone. This is because muscle burns far more calories than fat, even at rest. More muscle means a greater metabolism, which means your body's fat burning power will be greatly increased. You don't need to try to become a body builder, but stimulating those muscles to grow and become more toned can make losing weight much faster and easier!

Everyone knows that eating fattening, unhealthy foods is the number one culprit in gaining weight, especially belly fat. Unfortunately though, when it comes to dieting, we are usually exposed to harmful "fad" diets. - Extreme changes to our lifestyles and eating habits that take an incredible amount of self-discipline and effort. This isn't the proper way to lose weight. When it all comes down to choosing what we eat we don't have to go on extreme fad diets. - Eating healthier can be a very simple process. One of the best things you can do is fill your house up with healthy alternatives to fattening foods. While at the grocery, ignore the aisles filled with junk food and instead go for the healthier choices. Foods like granola, fruits and veggies and organic varieties are great things to stock up your house with. It's also important to try and keep fast food dining to a bare minimum.

In the end, nothing will help you lose weight better than consistency. By taking small steps in the right direction, exercising and better eating habits, you will have the biggest impact on your physique. Stick to these great tips and you'll soon find that your belly is shrinking right before your eyes. All it takes is a little dedication and you can have that perfect beach body!

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