It seems so simple. The key to how to lose belly fat is to simply eat less food energy than the body needs to run each day. But people and their lives are a lot more complicated. The busy and activity packed lifestyles of people today do not give them the time to spend hours in the gym and hours cooking nutritious meals.
Something to avoid when trying to lose weight rather than just fat are very low calorie diets. These are diets where less than 1,000 calories are taken in each day. Whilst they may seem like a good idea, actually they are not. This is because when so few calories are taken in, the body assumes that there is a famine, and it must protect its reserves. So the body tries to slow down the metabolism, hoard fat and cannibalize muscle tissue.
Fad diets, especially those based on a single food are also a very bad idea. What happens with these diets is that few calories are consumed as the food choice is restricted and people get bored. They are unlikely to do any harm for a couple of days, but over a longer period of time, a person will not be supplying their body with the nutrients it needs to function correctly.
The healthy diet for someone who wants to achieve fat burning is the same as a healthy diet for most people – just less of it! This diet should be based on fresh fruits and fresh vegetables combined with whole grains. Small portions of nuts, dairy products, and lean proteins can then be added to round out meals, and simple sugars should be restricted as much as possible.
The best type of exercise to promote losing fat is resistance or weight training. This helps in two ways. When the muscles are worked properly, they will not be cannibalized for energy, as the body will realize that it needs them. In addition, muscle mass is more metabolically active (takes more fuel to run each day) so the metabolism will be boosted by the exercise itself and by the muscle gain it causes.
Cardiovascular work should also be done to help with fat loss. The best type of workout does not need to mean spending hours jogging. A far better way to do this is interval training. Many team sports are also good. This method involves spending a short amount of time working with as much intensity as can be managed, then spending another short time recovering but still working gently, this process is repeated a few times.
Something else to include in a fitness routine is some yoga. No one is quite sure why it can help weight loss – although there are plenty of theories! But it is defiantly helpful, and it is beneficial for overall health including flexibility and muscle strength. It can also help to tone the body and improve posture. All of these things will make a person look great.
It is unfortunate that there are no quick fixes or magical techniques for instant fat burning. However, learning the fundamentals of how to lose belly fat properly will improve the efficiency of the process and will ensure that the fat does not come back.
– Ben Pate