Lose Belly Fat Tips

Many people want to lose belly fat and reduce their stomach size. Recent research has shown that, not only is belly fat unsightly, but that it makes people more prone to certain illnesses. Apparently, being over is not healthy but having excess fat around the mid-section is especially bad.

So how can you lose that belly fat to make you look, feel and be healthier? One thing you should realize is that targeting your stomach or midsection when it comes to exercising is not going to make you lose fat any faster. Doing sit-ups or crunches, for example, will give you more endurance and make the muscles stronger, but it won’t cause you to lose fat. The way to lose belly fat is to target the entire body, which means watching your caloric intake and getting more physical activity.

Lose Belly Fat Tips

Certain foods are especially likely to cause you to put on unhealthy pounds. Trans fats are among the worst culprits. These are found in many junk foods, such as deep-fried foods and snacks that have hydrogenated oils. There is some debate about saturated fats, which are found in animal products. It is best to limit your intake of saturated fats and try to get them from high quality sources. If you do consume animal products, look for natural or preferably organic varieties.

The healthiest fats are monounsaturated. These can be found in foods such as coconut and olive oils, avocados and almonds and other nuts. These are all excellent sources of healthy fats. So, in summary, when it comes to fats, look for monounsaturated, eat quality saturated fats in limited quantities and stay away from trans fats completely.

Stress and Losing Belly Fat

In addition to the more obvious issues of diet and exercise, there have also been some interesting links found between over people, stress and sleep deprivation. It seems that people who are sleep deprived, and/or suffer from high stress levels, are more likely to be carrying around excess pounds. So if you want to lose fat, one thing you should do is learn to relax. One thing you can do that can help you to relax and will also mean taking in fewer unhealthy calories is to cut back on sugar and high caffeine drinks. If you need a boost, consider a healthier alternative, such as green tea. Both of these, incidentally, may be beneficial for loss in addition to containing less caffeine than coffee or energy drinks.

If you want to lose belly fat, you also have to increase the amount of physical activity you get. If you don’t exercise regularly, you should seriously consider starting a program, whether that means joining a gym or even taking a walk every day. You can also make the effort to move around more in your everyday life. Eat a lighter lunch and go for a walk during your lunch hour; take stairs instead of elevators; walk to the store instead of driving.

There are no magical solutions to losing belly fat. It probably took you many years to put on the excess pounds. It doesn’t have to take that long to shed them, but you will have to make some real changes in your life and stick with them. If you do this, you will see results, maybe not overnight, but within a few weeks you should start lose belly fat.

1. Prev:Motivation to Lose Weight: How Do I Stay Motivated?
2. Next:How Specific Should Your Diet Meal Plan Be?