You are here: Home | Fat Loss | Reduce Stomach Fat
How to Reduce Stomach Fat
How to reduce stomach fat with these elements. This article offers safe solutions to lasting weight loss (while retaining lean body mass). Fad diets, or that new "magic" pill that everyone's talking about, will not get you closer to your goals... and will definitely not help you in pursuit of releasing fat off of a specific area of your body.
There are some things you can do, however, which are guaranteed to help you reduce stomach fat... but they require some effort, commitment, and discipline on your part. Also, the majority of fat you shed will come off of where it's genetically predisposed to come off of. This is just the way that it is. Of course, when you get your body fat percentage low enough, all areas of your body will be lean and toned... which is something anyone would be happy about. You can take the following steps to lower your body fat percentage, and once you've reached a comfortable level of fitness, you can begin to build up muscle in specific areas (which certainly CAN be done).
Cardio
The first and most crucial element to reduce stomach fat is cardiovascular exercise. It targets the heart, and helps to burn fat. Some great examples of cardio training are walking, jogging, running, climbing, cycling, and swimming. If you're not an outdoors type of person, you can sign yourself up to a gym where you'll find an array of cardio equipment. These machines are meant to simulate the above mentioned exercises, except instead of enjoying the natural scenery... you can watch television.
Resistance Training
Stimulating muscle fibres by use of light-to-moderately-heavy weight training will get the muscles bigger... and, in turn, raise your metabolism levels. The muscles are your fat burning engine (and, therefore, are a contributing factor to reduce stomach fat efficiently). Without them, you can do cardio (meaning aerobic-related exercises) all you want... and still won't reduce stomach fat (or receive any other aesthetic benefits). That's why you often hear about people who go jogging six times per week, and can't lose a pound (let alone significantly reduce stomach fat)... even though they might be 100 pounds overweight; Someone who is medically considered to be obese shouldn't have a problem losing 2-3 pounds of mostly fat per week (given they are following the steps in this guide). Take this point about muscle building seriously, as I promise you that it will raise your metabolism. Otherwise, results will be fruitless compared to the hard work you put into cardio training.
Don't fear getting bigger. To control this, instead of relying on a weight scale for measurement... resort more often to the body fat percentage scale. You will look and feel better (and lighter), once you've allowed yourself to build up your muscles as you simultaneously reduce stomach fat... even if you weigh the same thereafter. As an extra note on training, working of the abdominal area two to three times per week will aid in tightening the stomach as well as straightening the lower back... thus creating an illusion of a leaner you. Start off by performing two sets until failure (meaning the maximum number of repetitions you're capable of doing), eventually including two or three exercises (of 2-3 sets each) in your workouts.
Rest
Getting adequate amounts of rest on a regular daily basis, is also extremely important. Although you might burn more calories when standing or sitting upright, your body's fat-burning functions will not be working properly if you continually overdo it and are always tired. I often tell my clients as well as visitors to this site who have contacted me, that sometimes you need to take a step back, in order to take three steps forward shortly after. And this goes for every aspect of fitness, not just fat loss.
Good Nutrition
Proper nutritional intake (food + water) is a given, with its opposite causing most people to experience repeated failed attempts at lowering body fat. But this is a puzzle that even experienced bodybuilders and athletes have trouble putting together. If one thing is off, then it messes up the entire picture. Confusion with regards to your diet will result in not being able to reduce stomach fat. Too many starchy carbs, especially when eaten before bed, will lead to bloatedness; Foods loaded with un-natural preservatives will yield similar results; Take-out or fast food which is usually high in saturated fats & sodium simply makes you fatter, and eating it more than once per week is a habit worth breaking (for the betterment of both your physique and your health). All of these (and many others), when combined, take a huge negative toll on the body. Not only that, but once it does affect you in this manner, you'll begin to get strange addictive cravings. Any negative emotion, for example, will trigger the brain to send a signal asking the body to ingest more high-fat, chemically-enhanced, starchy meals.
Although I haven't spoken much about simple sugars (like maple syrup or sugar itself), it's important to know that they are also highly addictive, not easy to let go of, and can cause health-related issues that go beyond being over-weight. They do, of course, contribute to obesity by significantly halting the body's ability to burn fat (when prominent in the blood).
To get off on the right foot when setting out to reduce stomach fat, begin eating only natural, whole foods. Take in quite a few vegetables each day, and about two fruits. Carbohydrates responsible mainly for fueling the body, which you can have in moderation, are plain oatmeal cooked with water (mixed with a fruit for added flavoring), brown rice, and potato (regular or sweet). A variety of protein forms - ranging from almonds (and other nuts), to beans/lentils (and other legumes), and finally to lean cuts of meat, fish and poultry - should be included in every meal to up or at least maintain lean muscle mass. Once again, this is to increase metabolism levels. You can complete your nutritional intake with some low-fat yogurt and plenty of water each day.
Keep in mind that eating well doesn't mean your food has to taste bland. You can have a steak on occasion, and add some sea salt to it too. To satisfy your sugar cravings, blend some fruit with organic cereals. Add delicious, healthy oils, like extra virgin olive oil, to salads. There really are an unlimited number of possibilities with what you can create based on what's already provided in nature. With eating in this way consistently, you'll begin to notice that when you do cheat (hopefully not more than once per week)... the takeout pizza or hamburger you ordered won't satisfy your palate as it did before; Instead of the ingredients enhancing taste as in more 'natural' cooking, poor food choices are generally powered by huge amounts of fat, sodium, and/or sweeteners - that don't actually measure up when in comparison to simple, whole-food combinations.